Judge, 1891-09-05 · page 8 of 18
Judge — September 5, 1891 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Judge magazine cartoon satirizes President Harrison's monetary policy stance during the currency debate of the 1890s. Harrison is depicted addressing a group of caricatured figures representing different political and economic interests—likely silverites (silver advocates), gold standard supporters, and other currency factions. The banner they hold references "Free Coinage" and related monetary issues that deeply divided American politics. The cartoon's satire lies in the contrast between Harrison's noble-sounding rhetoric about maintaining monetary integrity (quoted below) and the chaotic reality of competing monetary interests fighting for control. The exaggerated, almost demonic caricatures suggest Judge's skepticism toward the various factions exploiting currency issues for political gain, rather than pursuing genuine monetary stability.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
PRESIDENT HARRISON SPEAKS FOR GOOD MONEY—-SILVER AND GOLD—THE 4 NAGE ( “1 do believe that the general government is solemnly charged with the duty of seeing that the money issued by it is always and everywhere maintained at par. Every dollar, whether paper or coin, issued or stamped by the general government, should always and everywhere be as good as any other dollar. comicbooks.com