_PUCK, February 28th, 1877._
The idea of this cartoon is not free from guilty obligation to a small
pun; yet it depicts the situation of the Democratic Party in the last
months of 1876 with considerable aptitude and force. It appeared at the
time when the Democrats in Congress had been hoodwinked into accepting
the Electoral Commission scheme, which deprived Mr. Tilden of the
Presidency, and put Mr. Hayes in the chair. Under these circumstances,
it was certainly truthful, even if it was trite, to say that the
“Democ-Rats” were caught in the political trap.
[Illustration:
THE
DEMOC-RATS
CAUGHT IN THE PRESIDENTIAL
Trap
[ZUR PRESIDENTEN-FRAGE]