Judge — November 11, 1893 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Busted" - Judge Magazine, November 11, 1893 This political cartoon satirizes free-silver advocates during the 1893 economic depression. The sign reading "THE 'REPEAL' TRAIN THIS WAY OCT. 30" references recent political efforts around currency policy. The cartoon depicts a bearded figure (representing a free-silver statesman) with a broken bicycle labeled "FREE SILVER SPEECH" and "SOUND MONEY" wheels. The caption states: "The free-silver statesmen only traveled on wind." The satire mocks free-silver politicians as all talk and no substance—their rhetoric (wind) cannot sustain actual policy. The bicycle's deflated wheels suggest their arguments have collapsed under scrutiny. This reflects the intense 1890s debate over monetary policy between free-silver and sound-money factions.