Judge — September 12, 1885 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Cleveland's Pets: General Jail Delivery by Democratic Civil Service Reform" This 1885 cartoon satirizes President Grover Cleveland's civil service reform policies. The large figure in the top hat appears to be Cleveland himself, depicted as a jailer opening a cage labeled "Jail Birds" to release imprisoned figures—a visual metaphor suggesting his reforms are freeing political appointees or corrupt officials who should remain imprisoned. The satire criticizes Democratic civil service reform as inadequate or counterproductive. Rather than cleaning up government corruption, the cartoon suggests Cleveland's policies are actually releasing wrongdoers back into society. The "jail birds" represent those the cartoonist believes should be held accountable, implying the reforms are misguided or hypocritical.