Life, 1885-01-29 · page 1 of 16
Life — January 29, 1885 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Rotation in Office" — Life Magazine, January 29, 1885 This political cartoon satirizes the spoils system practice of "rotation in office"—replacing government workers when a new political party takes power. The scene shows a postman and a woman at a fence. The postman says he's looking at "an old gal" (the current officeholder), implying she'll be replaced. Mrs. Mulligan responds that she thought "how poine me b'y Moike will be lukin' whin he gits thim clothes on"—suggesting her relative Moike will get the job next. The Irish dialect and names ("Moike," "b'y") reflect 1880s stereotypes about Irish-American political patronage networks. The cartoon mocks how government positions were distributed through personal connections and party loyalty rather than merit, with jobs constantly changing hands based on politics rather than competence.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
~YOLUME V. NEW YORK, JANUARY 29; 1885. Entered at New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. ES ro eu sJamererties ROTATION IN OFFICE. Postman: WHAT ARE“YOU LOOKING AT, OLD GAL ? Mrs. Mulligan: SHURE AN’ I WAS THINKIN’ HOW FOINE MF B'Y MOIKE WILL BE LUKIN’ WHIN HE GITS THIM CLOTHES ON.