Judge — May 5, 1900 — page 1: what you’re looking at

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# Analysis of Judge Magazine Cover, May 5, 1900 This satirical cartoon adapts Aesop's Fable of "Jupiter's Two Wallets." The central figure is a demon or devil-like character juggling multiple papers labeled with various political positions and policies (text reads "BRYAN," "CURRENCY," "EXPANSION," "ANTI-EXPANSION," and others). The satire targets William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic presidential candidate, suggesting his political inconsistency and contradictory positions on major issues of 1900—particularly regarding currency policy, imperialism, and territorial expansion. The overloaded wallet metaphor implies Bryan is dishonestly carrying incompatible political stances simultaneously. The fable's moral warned against keeping one's faults hidden while displaying virtues; here Judge accuses Bryan of the opposite: concealing inconsistency behind multiple contradictory public positions.