Judge — October 31, 1896 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of "Only a Comet" (Judge, October 31, 1896) This political cartoon depicts Uncle Sam observing a comet through a telescope, with the caption "It will soon be out of sight." The comet likely represents a political figure or issue of concern in 1896—possibly William Jennings Bryan's presidential campaign or another controversial political movement that Republicans (Judge's typical audience) viewed as a temporary phenomenon. The satire suggests that whatever threatens or worries Uncle Sam will naturally pass away without lasting impact, similar to how comets disappear from view. By comparing the concern to a comet's passage, the cartoonist dismisses the threat as fleeting and inevitable to vanish. The artist is Hamilton, signed at bottom left.