Judge — May 19, 1894 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This political cartoon satirizes the "Cleveland-Wilson conspiracy" through a skull-and-crossbones memento mori image. Two men in formal attire toast over a document labeled "BILL" inside a skull, surrounded by military weapons and implements of war on the decorative frame. The caption "DEATH TO OUR INDUSTRIES!" identifies this as criticism of an alleged political conspiracy between President Grover Cleveland and William Wilson (likely Congressman William L. Wilson, known for tariff reform legislation). The imagery suggests the cartoon's creators believed Cleveland-Wilson tariff policies threatened American manufacturing. The death symbolism and weaponry frame the issue as an attack on national prosperity. This reflects the fierce partisan debate over protective tariffs that divided American politics in the 1890s.