Judge, 1929-05-11 · page 13 of 36
Judge — May 11, 1929 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Dr. Seuss satirical cartoon mocks financial scheming and con artistry in 1920s New York. The top left depicts "Cartwright Sandpiper," a con man posing as a subway entrance on Broadway, tricking gullible New Yorkers into giving him nickels—playing on the then-common phrase "there's a sucker born every minute." The middle section ridicules stock brokers competing for Will Rogers' (the famous humorist/investor) business through absurd stunts—practicing lasso tricks in their office to impress him. The bottom scene lampoons PR desperation: when President Oldbustle of Oldbustle Chandelier Corp. can't get stock exchange attention denying rumors about his company's finances, he stages an outrageous theatrical performance (riding an elephant and "spiking" the rumor) purely for shock value to grab attention. The satire targets how financial operators used spectacle and trickery—not substance—to manipulate markets and public perception.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDGE The Subterfuge of High Finance By Dr. Seuss “There's one born every minute!" is the original slant Cartwright) Sandpiper has on the sucker situation. Cartwright) may be seen daily on Broadway... sitting on the curb with his turn stile hat on. Hundreds of gullible New Yorkers take him for a subway entrance and replenish his coffers with nickels, All the brokers in town are after Will Rogers’ business, and consequently spend much time devising ways to attract his at- tention. Above is pictured the daily lariat practice at the office of Graymouse, Blue- mouse, Littlemouse and Titmouse. ‘Titmouse is seated in the foreground. As soon as his at is long enough, they will visit Mr. ers to solicit his trade. Recently a false rumor got loose on the Stock Exchange floor concerning the finances of the Oldbustle Chandelier Corp. Pres. Oldbustle raised his voice to deny it, but nobody listened. Determined to attract at- tention, Oldbustle and his office force then tableau representing three of the ons. And when everyone was look- r. Oldbustle calmly stepped onto the clephant’s back and decisively spiked the rumor. comicbooks.com