Judge, 1900-10-20 · page 14 of 26
Judge — October 20, 1900 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical letter mocks the Populist Party's 1900 campaign, written in exaggerated rural dialect by "Hiram Pennick." The humor targets Populist rhetoric and supporters as unsophisticated farmers with unrealistic demands. Key satirical points: A character named John Bird Fitler campaigns against "expansion" and trusts with passionate, flowery speeches—but turns out to be an escaped asylum inmate, suggesting Populist anti-expansion views are mentally unbalanced. An older supporter, Lem Hodges, is positioned as a relic from the 1856 Frémont campaign, implying Populism attracts outdated political thinking. The accompanying illustrations show a rural parade and townspeople listening to the "anti-expansion orator," depicting Populists as rural, simple, and easily swayed. Judge's elitist stance dismisses the Populist movement's genuine concerns about railroad monopolies and government ownership as the ravings of lunatics and rustics.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
FAVRAM PENNICK’/ g O20 gen Ad PD PoPULIST CAMPAINER.: ne 3. is EIGHTH leteer icky ‘ h HC NNY agate so HOD TRIVETT FIRES A SALUTE, list citzen fired 3 welcum slutes frum a old btrect. Big meetin in cort hous square. %, 4% "ya, g GG Z | ) SH Branchburg, Ill. Oct. 3. 1900. DEER JUDG — Well thers just 3 more weeks of the camp: i haint got time fer to get over in Ioway as i cale- lated. Am figrin on reechin my son Steves bout 2 days fore lectshun, Steve lives at Brod- hed Wis. runs a grocry there doin well too. ile lev the hors with Steve, he needs a hors fer delivry, an take the cars back to Davis Junction fer to yote. When the per- cesshun marchd into Green- ridg. there yesterday peerd like the hull town wus out to look on. Hod Trivett leedin pop- army musket when he seed us cumin up the Trivett’s daugter Hattie giv me a bokay of pineys akin a purty bow an sum complementin wurds. After the meetin i hed a talk wit h Uncle Bill Gapen on the outlook he seys the hull Populist tiket will go thru a hoopin. Bill wus Postmaster here in 84 Hes a leedin stock buyer, ships hogs to Chicago. He seys thers a grate uprisin agin the rale roads all over the country. He seys frum what he kin heer mong peeple hes talked with, youment ownin rale roads is the big question, Heel bet a dougnut he seys thet fore anuther 3 yers the govment will own evry rale road an ship hogs free. Moren that he seys he wont be suprised if drect vote of the hull peeple will lect their conducters, brakemen, sectshun-bosses an U.S. seneters. A grate stump specker joind the perces- shun Monday, The way it wuz i seen him makin a speech to sum fellers ina grove just other side of Plainview. i drew up long of fence an ast him if he culd speck agin panshun an Trusts. side xe He sed them wus just 77 uw Za \y his fort. i told him we ért to have more speckers an he sed hed like nothin bet- ter then join in the ranks. Sed his name wus John Bird Fitler. Wellsir while he wus speekin in the opri hous last night a feller cums rushin in who sed hes keeper of the Plain- | view asylum an leeds Fit- ler out. Evrybody sed theys sorry the feller wuldent let him git thru speckin. He wus makin the best argiment agin expanshun i ever herd. Ezra Briggs man heerd Bryan onct an he sed Fitler hed the same way of yellin out flowry wurds sos you just feel like youd got to git up an shout fer suthin but you dont know what an dont keer. Lem Hodges spoke aa [ chair- KNOWS ALL ABOUT THE ESTION. on the greenback question. Hodges stumpt the state fer Fremont back in 56. Yurs truly HIRAM PENNICK. (To be continued.) AN ANTI-EXPANSION ORATOR. } y oh, Why Sh y 5 ey Wy Gg * My wi Ally yy ty Wy) Wa Maat NNICK PROCESSION ON ITS WAY TO GREENKIDGE Pea MM, Y “y yt O% AQ % y Wy e “= comicbooks.com