Judge — April 8, 1893 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This **Judge** magazine cartoon satirizes "Office Seekers Battery"—politicians scrambling for government jobs. The upper left shows a crowd of eager applicants manning a cannon aimed at the White House (visible on the right with its flag). The central figure appears to be a decorated military or political leader surrounded by various job-seekers carrying labeled ammunition barrels marked "FOR OFFICE." The cannon represents their collective pressure on the presidency to secure positions. The satire mocks the post-election frenzy of patronage-seeking: politicians and their supporters bombarding the administration with requests for lucrative government appointments. The militaristic imagery emphasizes the aggressive, coordinated nature of this "battery" of office-hunters, treating their pursuit as a coordinated assault on presidential decision-making rather than merit-based hiring.