A complete issue · 16 pages · 1882
Judge — July 22, 1882
# "Fire Him Out" — Judge, July 22, 1882 This cartoon satirizes President Chester Arthur's alleged plan to send someone (likely Secretary of Navy George M. Robeson, based on the caption) to Egypt to build a navy there, with the cynical joke that Egypt won't pay for it anyway. The cartoon depicts a large naval cannon or explosive device being fired, with small ships visible in the background waters. The satire targets both American foreign policy adventurism and corruption—suggesting the administration would dispatch officials on expensive, dubious international projects to incompetent or unwilling clients, essentially defrauding them. The "Fire Him Out" title suggests removing Robeson from office through this absurd assignment. This reflects 1880s political criticism of Arthur's administration's naval spending and foreign entanglements during a period of post-Reconstruction political uncertainty.
# Judge Magazine Satire Analysis This page contains two distinct satirical pieces: **"The State Encampment"** mocks wealthy National Guard volunteers complaining about harsh camp conditions at Peekskill. Judge sarcastically defends their grievances—poor food, no ballroom dancing with ladies—treating legitimate military hardship as entitled whining from "peaceful soldiers" expecting Fifth Avenue luxury rather than actual camp life. **"What May Be"** is an antisemitic piece predicting Jewish dominance in America within twenty years. It stereotypes Jewish people as "naturally aggressive" and claims they're "making themselves perfectly at home" in countries they adopt. This reflects 19th-century prejudices common in such publications. The magazine's tone throughout is biting irony, using exaggeration to ridicule both the soft National Guardsmen and, disturbingly, to express xenophobic anxieties about Jewish immigration and influence—views that were mainstream in period satirical publications but are now recognized as offensive and discriminatory.
