Mrs. Partington outdone 1912

"Mrs. Partington Outdone," a 1912 political cartoon by American artist Louis Glackens, satirizes the futility of fighting against social problems. The image depicts a woman sweeping away the rising tide of gambling, symbolized by a large wave, with a broom labeled "Raids on Gambling Houses." The woman's efforts are clearly futile, as the waves of gambling continue to flood the shore, labeled "Police Graft" and "Gambling House Profits," highlighting the pervasiveness of corruption and vice. Glackens uses caricature and humor to critique the hypocrisy of societal efforts to suppress gambling while simultaneously benefiting from it. The cartoon reflects the concerns of early 20th-century America grappling with the complexities of social reform and the pervasiveness of corruption.