The Wasp — 1888 — page 508: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains three distinct sections: "Our Pictures" (a political cartoon), "Where the Corn Juice Flows" (a humorous poem), and "A Lucky Widow" (a human-interest story). The main cartoon illustrates a Supreme Court case involving "two of our condemned murderers" who were refused new trials. It alleges that Justice Harrison's sudden judicial death prevented their execution, attributing broader societal problems to judicial corruption and the "wild charge of Free Trade." The accompanying poem mocks excessive drinking and moral degradation, using metaphorical "corn juice" (whiskey) to critique working-class vice. The final story celebrates a weaver who won a $5,000 lottery prize, presenting an optimistic narrative of modest upward mobility through chance rather than labor.