Judge — January 21, 1888 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a political cartoon titled "Washington" from Judge magazine, adapting Shakespeare. The caption quotes a modified line—"I love you both; but for pity's sake get me out of this Tariff Scrape"—suggesting a character caught between conflicting pressures. The scene depicts elegantly dressed figures in what appears to be a Renaissance court setting. Based on the theatrical staging and the "Tariff Scrape" reference, this likely satirizes late 19th or early 20th-century American tariff debates, a major political issue of that era. The cartoon uses Shakespeare's authority and formal theatrical language to mock political figures struggling with trade policy decisions. The exact identities of the figures remain unclear from the image alone, but the satire targets the difficulty politicians faced balancing competing economic interests during tariff controversies.