tion it shows the excesses and the defects of its time;more than
any other form , especially when it takes the form of political caricature, it may become vindictive or malicious 33 and thus fail to distinguish between the legitimate and the illegitimate fields open to it.
It has been well shown that while the essential principles of caricature were as well understood in the eighteenth as in the
nineteenth century and the means used were the same, the re sults were radically different. Modern caricature is essentially
journalistic, and it appears regularly in special weeklies and as
a daily cartoon in the newspaper . It thus often shows the effect of haste and speed with a resulting tendency to expend itself on the localand ephemeral. Caricature of the eighteenth century
was spasmodic and was given publicity through print shops. It was essentially personal in its conception and remained a one-man effort.34 The cartoon of Punch has been the result of
the conference of the entire editorial staff and it is thus in accord with the settled policy of the paper as a whole.35 33 In the political campaign of 1872 the personal appearance and the per
sonality of Horace Greeley lent themselves to caricature particularly well, and the caricaturists of the day so improved their opportunity that it was popularly believed the caricatures were contributory causes to the death of Mr. Greeley in November, 1872.
The World printed at the height of the Burchard -Blaine incident, 1884 , a cartoon entitled “ Belshazzar's Feast " that “ portrayed the Republican
chiefs in the robes of ancient revelers at the banquet of privilege with Blaine
himself in close conference with Jay Gould , Commodore Vanderbilt and others. The newspaper cartoon was then an innovation in New York , and
the 'feast' caused a well-remembered sensation.” — J. L . Heaton , The Story of a Page , pp . 32– 33 . Harvey ' s Weekly , during the presidential campaign of 1920 , contained a cartoon , based on the Immaculate Conception , that gave great offense not only to the Roman Catholics but to all who deprecated the use of religious subjects in a political campaign . — Daily press, October, 1920 .
It has been well said that two generations ago American cartoons tried to
mould public opinion, to make political capital, and to win votes, but that they only resulted in personal abuse . Maurice and Cooper maintain that the success of caricature depends on
its timeliness , its seizure of critical moments, and its grasp of the important question of the hour. The best caricature therefore does not merely reflect public opinion , but guides it. - History of the Nineteenth Century in Carica ture, pp . I , 2.
34 A . A .Maurice and F . T . Cooper, “ The Influence of Journalism ,” in The History of the Nineteenth Century in Caricature, pp . 278 - 288.
35 The policy of co-operation and the subordination of the individual to the collective paper has undoubtedly been one of the chief factors in its long
