The Wasp — 1878 — page 167: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page presents multiple vignettes satirizing a police officer or "guardian of the peace." The scenes depict various scenarios where the authority figure encounters different situations—from saloon ordinances to street theater interactions—suggesting critique of inconsistent or selective law enforcement. The cartoons appear to mock how police enforce rules unevenly: protecting some establishments while ignoring others, dealing with street performers, managing theaters, and handling various social characters. Labels reference specific ordinances ("saloon ordinance," "blue ribbon man") that were apparently controversial enforcement priorities. The overall satirical point seems to be that peace officers selectively applied laws based on class or circumstance rather than impartially, a recurring Gilded Age critique of police corruption and favoritism.