Judge — November 5, 1898 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# A Would-Be Imitator of Hobson This 1898 *Judge* cartoon satirizes someone attempting to imitate Admiral George Dewey's naval success during the Spanish-American War. The large gas bag labeled "SILVER" and "GAS BAG BRYAN" references William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic presidential candidate. The caricatured figure at left appears to be trying to inflate this bag using a pump, suggesting Bryan is attempting to replicate Hobson's (or Dewey's) military heroism through political bluster rather than genuine achievement. The caption reads: "If I could only get this big bag of gas loose I would try and float the old wreck"—mocking Bryan's inflated rhetoric as mere hot air incapable of producing real results. The ship in the background and Colonel O'Neill's signature complete the political commentary on Democratic overreach during the 1898 election cycle.