A complete issue · 16 pages · 1899
Judge — March 11, 1899
# "The New Motto" - Judge Magazine, March 11, 1899 This political cartoon satirizes American **corporate trusts** and monopolies during the Gilded Age. The central figure represents "Trusts" as an octopus-like creature crushing a building labeled the Capitol, symbolizing how monopolistic corporations wielded excessive power over government institutions. The accompanying list of trusts—ranging from oil and steel to railroads and whiskey—documents the era's dominant cartels. The "new motto" appears to be that trusts, not democratic institutions, now control America. This reflects genuine 1890s anxieties about trust concentration. President Theodore Roosevelt would later campaign on trust-busting (starting 1901), making this cartoon representative of widespread public concern about corporate power overwhelming democratic governance.
# "In the Klondike" Cartoon Analysis This cartoon depicts two figures arguing over a duck and a shark in what appears to be the Klondike region (referenced in the caption). The male figure claims he "never saw any one put on so many airs as that old hen," while the female responds sarcastically about the duck's supposed sophistication. The satire appears to comment on human vanity and pretension during the Klondike Gold Rush era. The absurdist scenario—debating animal behavior in harsh frontier conditions—mocks people's tendency to maintain social affectations even in extreme circumstances. The cartoon suggests that regardless of environment or hardship, humans cling to class-conscious attitudes and petty arguments, revealing the artificiality of social pretense.
# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page **Top Cartoon:** References Chauncey Depew going to the U.S. Senate. The dialogue suggests railroad workers (Kelly and O'Rourke) expect Depew will lose his railroad job, with dark humor about him only getting a "drink and cheap a joke for his trouble" at Brannigan's saloon instead. **Middle Section:** "My Penance" is a poem by Sarah B. Pratt about romantic heartbreak and longing during Lent—unrelated to politics. **Bottom Cartoon:** "To Be Taken Off His Time" depicts a job applicant negotiating wages ($3/week plus 33¢ per cent off) with a businessman surrounded by cluttered papers and office chaos. The satire mocks both excessive haggling over pittance wages and workplace disorder during the Gilded Age.
# Analysis of This Judge Magazine Page This page contains several satirical pieces about courtship, marriage, and social behavior: **"Judge's Favorites"** features Laura Burt, a photograph suggesting she's a public figure or actress the magazine endorsed. **"How He Keeps His Word"** mocks a man who promised abstinence during Lent but breaks his vow through cocktails—satirizing hollow religious observance. **"Philosophical Observations"** jokes about bad habits and tea-holding etiquette. **"Passing Sentiment"** presents a marital exchange where a new wife insists on controlling the automobile, suggesting early-20th-century anxieties about women's independence. **"Beneath the Regulation Age"** depicts men discussing young ballet dancers' ages, making an uncomfortable joke about age and eligibility that reflects period attitudes toward women's bodies and marriageability. The overall theme concerns gender relations and social propriety.
