The difference between trimming a hedge and cutting it down
Harper's Weekly, 4 August 1888, p. 568, by W. A. Rogers. A gardener trims a hedge labelled "Protection" while a seated Uncle Sam tells two crying boys not to come "tellin' me that old story about cuttin' down the hedge". A sign quotes the Republican Party's pledge to correct tariff inequalities and reduce the surplus. It argues for tariff revision, the Democratic position, and quotes only the opponent's pledge.
- Date
- August 4, 1888
- Period
- Pre-1914
- Made by
- W. A. Rogers (artist); Harper's Weekly, New York
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Cartoon
- Issuer type
- Media
- Regime
- Cleveland Administration
- Leader
- Grover Cleveland
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Event
- 1888 US Election
- Techniques
- Card stackingTransfer
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Library of Congress, retrieved October 2, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain by age (published 1888); LOC rights advisory: No known restrictions on publication
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.
Text on the object
HARPER'S WEEKLY / [on the hedge] PROTEC[TION] / [on the sign] The REPUBLICAN PARTY in 188-: "Pledges itself to Correct the Inequalities of the Tariff [the Protection Hedge] and to Reduce the Surplus." / THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRIMMING A HEDGE AND CUTTING IT DOWN. / UNCLE SAM. "Now don't come around tellin' me that old story about cuttin' down the hedge and bein' eat up by the free-trade b'ars."
The final digit of the year on the sign and the bracketed words are small and read with some uncertainty.
