A complete issue · 16 pages · 1884
Judge — August 23, 1884
# Explanation for Modern Readers This August 1884 *Judge* cartoon satirizes political hypocrisy regarding voting rights. The title "Sauce for the Goose is Sauce for the Gander" compares Little Cleveland (likely President Grover Cleveland) to a "Workingman." The joke hinges on V-E-T-O-S (vetoes): Cleveland apparently vetoed legislation benefiting workers, who now question why they should support him politically. The workingman's response—"they were used on us as V-E-T-O-S, we will use them next November as V-O-T-E-S"—warns that voters will reject Cleveland at the ballot box, just as he rejected their interests through vetoes. The cartoon criticizes Cleveland's anti-labor stance and predicts electoral consequences.
# Understanding This Judge Magazine Page This 1884 page defends **Grover Cleveland's** Democratic presidential nomination against Republican critics, particularly targeting **James G. Blaine** supporters. The left column's editorial "The Why and Wherefore" sarcastically defends Cleveland as nominee, acknowledging he's an unknown figure with a blank record—admitting this was actually advantageous since reformers couldn't yet criticize his actual record. "Running the Gauntlet" continues this theme, suggesting Cleveland will face attacks from his own party over his personal moral failings. The right column's "How Blaine Was Nominated" responds to Republican complaints about their own nominee. It argues Blaine received substantial support in previous conventions (1876, 1880), so his 1884 nomination wasn't imposed on the party—Republicans genuinely wanted him, contrary to critics like Curtis, Beecher, and Schurz. The cartoon (upper left) likely depicts Cleveland, though the specific satire is unclear from this image alone.
