Judge, 1910-02-12 · page 5 of 16
Judge — February 12, 1910 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes President William Howard Taft's Republican administration during what appears to be a domestic political crisis. The top panel shows a log being split with "Taft's Republican Administration" and "No Split!" — suggesting internal party fractures despite claims of unity. The central comic strip depicts Taft "declaring war on the insurgents" (likely progressive Republican rebels), with subsequent panels showing the administration's struggle: "Making a Path," "The Week in Retrospect," and "Taft's Policies Stalled." The imagery mocks Taft's inability to control his party or implement policy effectively. The accompanying poems below reinforce themes of political failure and weakness. This likely references the 1909-1910 Ballinger-Pinchot controversy or broader progressive-conservative Republican splits that would culminate in the 1912 party schism.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
TAFT DECLARES WAR ON THE INSURGENTS ~ FLOHRI— THE WEEK IN RETROSPECT. THE REPLY. A CONFESSION. By EDWIN L. SaaIN. WHEN 1 was young I used to send SPINSTER prayed; not she, this time, To her I loved a valentine Who figures in the well-known rhyme That offered her my heart and hand, And, answered by the owlish ‘* Who!"” And kisses, too, in every line. Exclaims, ‘Oh, any one will do!” It was a foolish thing to do-— But this my heroine had mind I see it now that I am gray; Of bent quite similar, you'll find, But if I had another girl, As to the lover’s patron saint I'd do the very same to-day. She proffered up her lonely plaint: “A valentine, dear saint, I ask— SIBILANT SENTENCES, And surely 'twere no heavy task, *Mongst all the multitude there be, Shortest speeches sound sweetest. Just one to designate for me! Sufficient sorrow softens sternness. I’m not particular "’— The hail Successful suitors seem sentiment-surfeited. Of postman interrupted: ‘ Mail?” Stunning shapes are sought by snappiest shows. And by the sudden word misl Suckers seeking succor are sometimes stung by “Why, certainly! You know!”” she said. smooth sharpers. WEETHEARTS seek solitude. comicbooks.com