Till we forget
A person labeled “Bossism” sits in a chair, with many bandages labeled “New York, New Jersey, Penn. [and] Ohio.” On the table next to him is a medicine bottle labeled “Cashtoria.” He is being attended to by a well-dressed man labeled “The Big Interests” pretending to be a doctor. Caption: Old Doctor Dough — Keep quiet a while longer and I’ll pull you through.
Comments and Context
Cartoons like Keppler’s were cyclical — observing, or celebrating, the possible demise of bossism and political corruption — through the years, precisely because “reform” waves were likewise cyclical. In 1872 presidential candidate Horace Greeley railed against the corrupt administration of Ulysses S. Grant: “Throw the Rascals Out!” They were not thrown out.
