The Wasp — 1914 — page 36: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains text only—no visible cartoon or illustration. It describes James Burnham, Esq., a visitor who spent two nights with a merchant (apparently McLatchy). The passage satirizes Burnham's unsuitability for the sugar export trade. It mocks his violent temperament and suggests he nearly attacked McLatchy during their stay. The satire culminates in Burnham leaving with his money intact and subsequently associating with "gentlemen who had no dealings with either Bibles or ledgers"—implying he became a dissolute or criminal element. The piece uses Burnham's incompatibility with respectable merchant business as social satire, though without the page's cover or previous context, the specific historical figure referenced remains unclear.