Judge — July 15, 1893 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon critiques Illinois Governor John Altgeld's 1893 pardon of anarchists convicted in the Haymarket bombing case. The title sarcastically calls Altgeld a "friend of mad dogs"—equating the pardoned anarchists with dangerous animals. The image shows Altgeld (identifiable by the caption reference) alongside figures representing the freed anarchists, while Judge Gary (who presided over their trial) appears denounced. The cartoon satirizes Altgeld's decision to free the convicted men and his public attacks on both Judge Gary and the jury, suggesting he's protecting dangerous radicals rather than upholding justice. *Judge* magazine, a conservative publication, opposed the pardon as misguided leniency toward violent revolutionaries. The cartoon expresses the contemporary backlash against Altgeld's politically controversial act of clemency.