From the exhibition
The Silver Candle and the Moths
Hamilton, Grant E., artist · Judge, Vol. 31, No. 771, July 25, 1896
Grant Hamilton pictures the Democratic free-silver movement as a guttering candle labeled SILVER, around whose flame a swarm of politician-headed moths circles helplessly. Named figures include Altgeld, Teller, Tillman, Boies, Bland, Stevenson, and Cleveland—the full roster of contenders and champions of the 16-to-1 silver ratio then convulsing the Democratic Party. Some moths spiral upward intoxicated; others lie writhing on the tray as grubs or caterpillars, already singed and dying. The argument is bluntly Republican-protectionist: free-silver is a false light, and every man drawn to it—regardless of faction or region—will be destroyed by his own infatuation. The cartoon appeared weeks before Bryan's famous Cross of Gold speech secured the Democratic nomination.
Hamilton, Grant E., artist Public domain