Judge — May 9, 1885 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "A Hard Rub for the Rank and File" This political cartoon from May 9, 1885, depicts a man in pinstriped clothing scrubbing a donkey with a brush labeled "CIVIL SERVICE" (visible on the drum). The donkey wears a sash reading "PROMISES" and appears to be a Democratic Party symbol. The satire criticizes the gap between Democratic campaign promises and actual implementation of civil service reform. The "rank and file" refers to ordinary party members and voters who expected substantive reform after supporting the party, but instead received only superficial or painful "scrubbing"—symbolic of empty gestures or inadequate action. The cartoon mocks how political parties make grand promises during campaigns but deliver disappointing results once in power.