Judge, 1895-03-02 · page 9 of 16
Judge — March 2, 1895 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Judge magazine cartoon satirizes a controversial government bond transaction. The figure on the left represents **Uncle Sam** (personified America), depicted as humiliated and subordinate. The figure on the right, labeled "Profit Rothschild Syndicate," represents wealthy financiers—likely referencing the Rothschild banking family, who were frequent targets of antisemitic conspiracy theories about controlling governments. The Shakespearean quote ("Shylock, we would have moneys") explicitly evokes *The Merchant of Venice*, casting the financiers as greedy usurers demanding their "pound of flesh." The cartoon's complaint, per the New York World quote, is that the government secretly negotiated a bond deal with this syndicate without competitive bidding, thereby compromising the nation's credit and financial independence. The satire attacks both the financiers' exploitation and the government's backroom dealing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
a ‘Seckiett a Wihelms Litho Co New York: RATION HUMILIATES UNCLE SAM. “re ot BY percent. No bids were invited. No opportunity was given to the country at large to maintain the nation’s credit. —New York World. Go to, then ; you come to me and you say Shylock, we would have moneys’: You say so. Moneys is your suit.” beffce, oF Barker, ry (He lends the money and exacts his pound of flesh.) i Ccomicbooks.com