Judge — August 18, 1888 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This political cartoon satirizes the hypocrisy of the Temperance movement—advocates for alcohol prohibition who are themselves intoxicated. The scene depicts drunk men outside "The Corner Dru(g) Shop," holding a sign advertising "The Regular Democratic Meeting" and "Protest Against Free Whiskey." The hiccupping dialogue ("hic") emphasizes their drunkenness while they champion temperance. The satire targets Temperance Party activists who publicly oppose alcohol while privately consuming it. This likely references early-20th-century Prohibition-era politics, when temperance advocacy was contentious. The cartoon mocks the moral contradiction between the movement's stated principles and its members' actual behavior, suggesting their crusade is motivated by hypocrisy rather than genuine conviction.