Another phase of the tariff question is illustrated in this cartoon, which was designed to serve as an offset to the impudent accusations of disloyal desire to serve English interests so frequently made by high protectionists against all those who questioned their divine right to profit by their ingenious scheme of taxation. Adapting Sydney Smith’s famous formula to modern American use, PUCK said on January 18th, 1888: “You may sit down, O well-protected Average Citizen! at your protected table, in your protected arm-chair; and button your protected coat about you, and dream that your protective tariff is a drain on the wealth of the English. But the fact remains that you pay every cent of the duties that you impose upon foreign goods, and that nobody is the worse off for the increased price, except yourself. The fact remains that you pay for goods manufactured in this country the same price which you pay for foreign-made goods of the same grade; that price being greater than the fair price by the amount of the duty imposed. And, above all, the disgraceful fact remains that all these goods on which you pay a tax are brought to this country in English ships, sailing under the English flag, which take back, on their homeward trip, your American money, O Average Citizen! in payment of freight imported by you in English bottoms. And yet, before we had a protective tariff, we were able to do our carrying trade for ourselves.” [Illustration] SIEGFRIED, THE FEARLESS, IN THE POLITICAL DISMAL SWAMP. _PUCK, December 28th, 1887._ When Mr. Cleveland began his now historic struggle for Tariff Reform he found that he had to encounter more ignorance and apathy among the public at large than he had reckoned on. In fact, he began his fight in a very mist or fog of popular misconception, and his surroundings in these first days were such as naturally suggested the grewsome allegory which PUCK published on December 28th, 1887. The animal-portraits in this picture are for the most part readily recognizable--J. G. Blaine, John Sherman, Whitelaw Reid, W. M. Evarts, B. F. Butler, T. C. Platt, (dead, but floating,) C. A. Dana and Joseph Pulitzer. The owl in the left hand upper corner is Secretary Folger. In the corner below him is Most, the anarchist. The hedge-hog and the wild boar on the extreme right are Jacob Sharp and J. B. Foraker. The two tails protruding from holes in the ground are reminders of the brief period of activity enjoyed by Mr. Henry George and his clerical ally. [Illustration] A MIDSUMMER DAY’S DREAM. _PUCK, August 10th, 1881._