To the Victors Belong the Spoils

To the Victors Belong the Spoils

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Title: To the Victors Belong the Spoils

Year: 1861

Creator: Frank Leslie’s Budget of Fun

Description: Patronage was a major problem for the incoming Lincoln administration and a constant vexation for the new chief executive. A long-limbed President Lincoln is approached by Secretary of State William H. Seward.
William H. Seward: “Abe, here’s old Botheram just passed the window. We shall have to give him a mission. He worked hard for us, and he’ll just worry our lives out till he’s served.”
President Lincoln: “Yes, he deserves something good and he shall have it.”
In the second frame, Seward tells Botheram: “My dear friend Botheram, I’m delighted to inform you that, as a slight acknowledgment of your services in the late campaign, I am requested by his Excellency to hand you the mission to San Juan de Loando, a charming location on the coast of Africa. To be sure, the last four Ministers have died there of the coast fever; but your robust constitution can laugh at such trifling ailments – and, should the worst happen, you will have the glorious satisfaction of dying for your native land!”