Judge, 1887-07-30 · page 9 of 16
Judge — July 30, 1887 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes the Cleveland Administration's alleged partisanship despite reform promises. The OCR'd quote attributes to G.W. Curtis (Harper's Weekly) the observation that the administration became as partisan as predecessors. The image depicts a figure (likely President Cleveland) in a hot air balloon labeled "THE MIDNIGHT MIST GO" (unclear exact meaning), desperately throwing ballast overboard—represented as small figures with labels suggesting dismissed officials or broken promises. The balloon fails to rise despite these jettisoned items. **The satire:** Cleveland campaigned as a reformer who would eliminate political patronage, but his administration allegedly removed Republicans and replaced them with Democrats just as readily. The cartoon mocks this hypocrisy—he's discarding principles and people to appear elevated, yet his reform balloon won't "rise" (succeed). The "ballast" thrown overboard represents the casualties of his partisan actions, contradicting his stated anti-corruption platform.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
fe} ce) g 2) = A, = fe) ES o a=) = a i & asby the lose of the term of De Administration Che Otol service wil be as completely partisan as tender any recent Administration.”—G. W. Curtis tn Harper's Weekly, July 9. Amomvr Oxzvztaxn.—‘‘ I've thrown all my ballast overboard, but still the balloon does not rise. I regret the necessity exceedingly—But rou uver Jou! ” comicbooks.com