The Wasp — 1889 — page 306: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon depicts California's political corruption as a monstrous octopus with tentacles strangling the state. The large face on the left (labeled "BOODDLE"—slang for bribes/corruption) appears to represent a political boss or corrupt official controlling everything through his grasping tentacles. The smaller figures trapped within and around the tentacles include politicians, judges, and citizens being manipulated or destroyed. A building labeled "STATE CAPITOL" is clutched in the creature's grip, suggesting government itself is corrupted. The title warns that unchecked political corruption will reduce California from a state to an "almshouse or dog pound"—implying complete societal collapse and degradation. This reflects late-19th/early-20th-century concerns about machine politics and bribery in California governance.