Judge, 1888-04-28 · page 1 of 16
Judge — April 28, 1888 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Ah Sam Randall, the Heathen Chinee" This 1888 *Judge* cartoon satirizes anti-Chinese sentiment and protectionist trade politics. The illustration depicts a Congressional building with three American figures (likely politicians or business representatives) examining documents at a table, while an elderly Chinese man stands apart. The accompanying verse references "Sam Randall" and "Randall Protection," likely alluding to Congressman Samuel J. Randall's protectionist policies. The cartoon's title invokes Bret Harte's 1870 poem "Plain Language from Truthful James," which satirized anti-Chinese prejudice using the phrase "heathen Chinee." The satire appears to critique American political hypocrisy: politicians who invoke nationalist "protection" rhetoric while engaging in trade disputes with China, framed through dehumanizing racial language of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOL.14 NO.341 APRIL 28, 1888. PRICE 10 CENTS. ENTERED AY THE POST OFFICE AT NEW YORK AB SECOND CLASS waTTER, copra 1907 BY THE JUDGE PuBLIBHING Co. AH SAM RANDALL, THE HEATHEN CHINEE. But the hands that were played And he gazed upon me; By that heathen Chinee, And he rose with a sigh, And the points that he made, And said, “Can this be? Were quite frightful to see. We are ruined by Randall Protection, Then I looked up at Nye, And he went for that Heathen Chince. comicbooks.com