The Wasp — 1876 — page 66: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon depicts the 1876 California Republican campaign. The caption identifies the figures as "Hayes providing Gorham and Sargent with the sinews of the campaign for California." The cartoon shows two men pushing a wheelbarrow labeled "Babcock" (likely referring to General Orville Babcock, Grant's secretary embroiled in scandal) toward a "Republican Head Quarters" building. A third figure at a window (presumably Hayes, the Republican presidential candidate) controls the operation. The satire suggests Republican campaign financing involved corrupt or problematic sources—the "sinews" (resources/money) coming from scandalous figures. The wheelbarrow and manual labor imagery implies the campaign was being sustained through disreputable means rather than legitimate support, mocking Hayes' and his associates' handling of the contentious 1876 election campaign.