Judge, 1893-02-18 · page 1 of 16
Judge — February 18, 1893 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes the 1893 Hawaiian Revolution and American imperialist involvement. Two men in the State Department (identifiable by the label) manipulate Hawaiian affairs like puppeteers controlling marionettes, while a bearded figure (appearing to represent a Hawaiian or business interests) watches from the doorway. The text explicitly names Claus Spreckels, a sugar magnate who allegedly orchestrated the overthrow of the Hawaiian government to protect his commercial interests. The satire suggests American diplomatic officials are complicit in this corporate-driven coup—that behind the rhetoric of revolution lies profit motive and foreign manipulation of Hawaiian sovereignty for sugar industry benefit.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOL. 24 NO.592 : FEBRUARY 18 1893 PRICE 10 CENTS EROANTILE LIBRARY, NEW YORK. Ewrento ar tHe Post Orrice ar New Yorn as SeconoCiass Marren, Corymionr 1893 ey THe Juoce Pusuamine Co. BEHIND IT ALL. “SAN FRANCISCO, January 29.— Facts have leaked out which show clearly that the intrigues which resulted in the overthrow of the Hawaiian government had been going on for several months, and that Claus Spreckels was a chief mover. . . . . ‘Spreckels is the heaviest stockholder in the Hawaiian commercial company, which controls practically all the sugar produced on the islands.” . . . . ‘The moment annexation goes into effect Hawaii becomes a vital part of this country, and every pound of sugar produced on the islands receives two cents bounty. This amounts to the fat sum of forty dollars per ton and represents a good profit to the planters.’ . . . . ‘Take it all around, annexation will put into Spreckels’s own pockets not less than $10,000,000 in cash.’ "—New York Sun, 2 comicbooks.com