Life, 1884-05-15 · page 11 of 16
Life — May 15, 1884 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Political Satire on James G. Blaine This is a satirical interview with **James G. Blaine**, a prominent Maine politician of the 1880s. The cartoon depicts him as absurdly self-aggrandizing while claiming false modesty about presidential ambitions. The satire targets Blaine's notorious corruption. He references the **"Mulligan Letters"**—a real scandal involving evidence he'd used political influence for personal financial gain. His boast about teaching congressmen "how to go to Congress without a cent" and "retire with several millions of dollars in hard cash" mocks his actual wealth accumulation through questionable means, including railroad bonds. The interview's humor comes from Blaine's transparent hypocrisy: he claims to avoid politics while obviously positioning himself for the presidency, and feigns ignorance about current issues while promoting his own historical narrative. The elaborate illustration shows him dictating to multiple stenographers, satirizing his self-mythologizing through his historical writings.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
MR. JAMES G. BLAINE ON THE COMING CAM- PAIGN. BY OUR SPECIAI. CANDIDATE REPORTER. N Sunday last your correspondent went to Washington to interview the Maine statesman on the coming campaign, and found him hard at work on the second volume of his histori- cal boom, writing with both hands, steadying his manuscript with his chin, and at the same time dictating a few dozen extra chap- ters to a like number of stenographers. After much conversa- tion on such abstruse topics as the weather, and the effects of sunstroke ona man’s political p ospects, I asked Mr. Blaine what he thought of the political situation. “T have n’t any,” he replied. “ Have n’t any what ?” said I. “Any political situation. I have several ex-situations, how- ever, and plenty of status, but for the present I am out of politics.” Here the speaker winked at a bust of Fortune over the door. “You see,” he continued, ‘I'm too busy on my book to dip into politics, By-the-way, who are the-candidates this year? I’m very ignorant on the subject, you know, as I never read the papers.”” “Well,” said I, ‘‘ they ’re substantially the same as the last time.” “Who ’s this Tariff I hear so much about ?” “Well, Mr. Blaine, that ’s one of those things no fellow can find out. Gen. Hancock says;he ’s a local issue,” said I. “Sort of John L, Sullivan in the political arena? Now, my idea on the Presidency is that some quiet, inoffensive sort of per- son like myself should be chosen, Of course I would not consent to my name being seriously thought of in the Convention. 7hat's not the way to get into the White House. So 1’m just working along quietly on my little book. I'm going to give in full the history of those Mulligan Letters and my South American policy.” ‘* Yes, Mr. Blaine, in the event of your running for the Presi- dency, many would like to thoroughly understand those little matters.” “I think so, And then the young men in politics will find the chapter I’m writing on how to go to Congress without acent, get a salary of $5,000 per annum, spend $15,000 per annum, and [Axor jem L or 7 i} ’ ponds Fup fr dial fe “9 | ea an q oe zee a a fag “yy for Nhs bi a FE ewe ‘ba ef fo hay $- p~* cB Aan ~ heft h~ FIG. 1. Geer retire with several millions of dollars in hard cash, not to men- tion Fort Smith and Little Rock Railroad bonds, and other inse- curities to a large amount, very interesting indeed.” “Who will you take for a model, Mr. Blaine ?” “« Modesty, sir, forbids me to go further.” comicbooks.com