Judge, 1884-03-22 · page 16 of 16
Judge — March 22, 1884 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This political cartoon depicts a man (labeled "Mr. Arthur," likely President Chester Arthur) attempting to control two horses pulling in opposite directions. The horses appear to represent conflicting factions or interests within his administration or the Republican Party during his presidency (1881-1885). The caption—"They'll never trot well together for you, Mr. Arthur"—suggests Arthur faced irreconcilable opposing forces he couldn't harmonize. This likely references the Republican Party's internal divisions between the reformist "Half-Breeds" and the patronage-supporting "Stalwarts," competing factions that plagued Arthur's presidency. The satire criticizes Arthur's inability to unite or control these opposing political forces, portraying his leadership as fundamentally compromised by competing interests pulling in different directions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE JUDGE comicbooks.com “e AN ILL-MATCHED TEAM. JUDGE-—“They’ll never trot well together for you, Mr. Arthur.”