The Wasp — 1895 — page 1082: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page from *The Wasp* satirizes San Francisco Mayor Sutro's opposition to the Anglo-American War (likely the Boer War). The large cartoon depicts Sutro as a disheveled, wild-haired figure exploding amid destruction at Sutro Heights—his famous hilltop estate—as buildings and debris scatter everywhere. The accompanying article explains Sutro's "dreadful demolition" resulted from his vocal anti-war stance. The text notes his junk shop at Sutro Heights accumulated rare items; the satire suggests his passionate pacifism is comically destructive. A smaller cartoon titled "Paying for Style" depicts a woman in a nightdress, mocking frivolous social pretension—likely connecting Sutro's wealth and status to his criticized war opposition. The satire ridicules both Sutro's pacifism and San Francisco's wealthy elite.