The Wasp — 1890 — page 337: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This editorial cartoon critiques San Francisco's upcoming municipal election (May 3, 1890). The illustration depicts a grotesque figure juggling or managing various elements labeled as representing corrupt political interests—likely "grasping corporations" and "the plunderers of the city treasury," as mentioned in the accompanying text. The *Wasp* argues that voters must elect "strong, positive, capable men" as Mayor and Supervisors to combat municipal corruption and prevent "the sordid corporations" from controlling city government. The cartoon visually represents the precarious balance between public interest and private greed, suggesting that current political leadership is struggling to manage or is complicit with these competing forces. The satire targets systemic political corruption during San Francisco's Gilded Age.