A complete issue · 16 pages · 1885
Judge — May 23, 1885
# The Judge Magazine - May 23, 1885 This page contains a single political cartoon titled "The Union Reverse," drawn by F. Beard. It depicts two military figures on grand stairs: a Union soldier (seated, appearing dejected) and a Confederate officer (standing, in formal dress). The caption quotes the Union soldier telling the Confederate: "I have lost by the triumph of my government, you have gained by the overthrow of yours." The cartoon sarcastically critiques Reconstruction-era politics, suggesting that despite the Union's military victory in the Civil War, former Confederate leaders gained political power or influence in the post-war period—while Union soldiers faced hardship. This reflects late-1880s frustration that Southern Democrats had regained control despite Northern victory.
# Judge Magazine Commentary Analysis This page from *Judge* (a Republican satirical weekly) contains editorial pieces criticizing President Cleveland's Democratic administration (1885-1889). **"Why We Wave"** attacks Cleveland for favoring ex-Confederate officials over Union veterans and their families. Judge argues Cleveland appointed ex-Confederate soldiers to positions while excluding Union officers, and even removed a Union widow from her position. The piece frames this as betrayal—the Union cause deserves equal honor and protection, not discrimination. **"The Unspeakable Policeman"** satirizes New York City's corrupt police force, citing documented scandals: police conspiring with gambling houses and brothels for profit, a police inspector's son witnessing misconduct without consequences, and Officer Conroy receiving lenient punishment for murder. Judge questions how such lawbreakers can be entrusted with administering justice and protecting citizens. Both pieces deploy moral outrage as political ammunition against Democratic governance.
# Page Analysis: The Judge, Page 3 This page contains two separate satirical pieces about women's social behavior: **"A Flower Idyl"** (left) mocks women's obsessive floral ornamentation—likely poking fun at the Victorian fashion trend of adorning clothing and hats with elaborate flowers and botanical elements. **"Lillian Goes to the Circus"** (center) depicts a woman's frustrating circus outing with her reluctant husband "Jack." The satire targets both female persistence in dragging husbands to entertainments they dislike, and Jack's sullen behavior afterward. The piece humorously captures domestic tension. **"Feminine Reflections on the Street"** (right) satirizes women's anxieties while walking in public: preoccupation with others' appearances and fashion choices, self-consciousness about being watched, concerns about their own appearance, and obsessive social comparison. **"Satisfactory Substitutes"** (bottom) shows a brief joke about a husband offering a monkey instead of romantic attention—mocking marital disappointment. The overall theme critiques women's vanity, social obsession, and relationship friction in late-19th-century urban life.
# "The Judge" - On the Road (Page Analysis) This is a humorous short story with an embedded illustration about a traveling salesman's misadventure. The narrative describes how Josh Brown becomes ill after eating oysters and can't travel, so the narrator volunteers to take over his undertaking/coffin sales route to Milwaukee. The central joke involves the narrator's aggressively unconventional sales pitch to an undertaker named Pallbury. The salesman uses absurdly casual language—comparing coffins to "wooden overcoats," baseball diamond measurements, and other crude analogies—to describe what should be somber funeral merchandise. His deliberately inappropriate tone and forced friendliness ("I never drink anything in the morning") are meant to be comedic. The illustration shows the salesman demonstrating casket designs to the bewildered undertaker, who appears deeply uncomfortable with this irreverent approach to his business. The satire targets aggressive 1890s-era salesmanship and the American tendency to commercialize everything—even death—with forced cheerfulness and dubious marketing tactics. The humor relies on the incongruity between the grave subject matter and the pushy, flippant sales approach.
