Judge — June 3, 1899 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This 1899 *Judge* cartoon satirizes fraudulent faith-healing practices. A jester-like charlatan peddles a sign reading "FAITH IN 16 TO 1 (FREE SILVER) WILL CURE YOU" to a dying donkey. The "16 to 1" ratio references the heated monetary debate of the era—whether silver should be valued at 16 times the price of gold. The cartoon equates faith-based silver currency advocacy with snake-oil medicine: both are presented as worthless remedies promising miraculous cures. The dying jackass (donkey) likely represents the American economy or public, portrayed as terminally ill from free-silver policies. The satire mocks both faith healers and the Populist/Democratic push for unlimited silver coinage as dangerous delusions.