The Wasp — 1888 — page 454: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page from *The Wasp* contains three distinct pieces of satirical content: 1. **"Sherman Forgotten" (Declaration Day, 1888)**: A poem lamenting that General William Tecumseh Sherman, a Union Civil War hero, receives little recognition on national holidays despite his military service. 2. **"Who Shall Our Leader Be!"**: A political poem debating Republican Party leadership for an upcoming election, invoking figures like Lincoln and Sherman while mocking Democratic opposition. 3. **"French Gold—German Silver"**: A translated dialogue satirizing European aristocratic pretension, where characters mock social climbers and shallow upper-class values. The page reflects 1888 American concerns: Civil War veteran commemoration, Republican Party politics, and mockery of Old World European snobbery—typical targets of this era's satirical journalism.