The Wasp — 1890 — page 73: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains two satirical illustrations about San Francisco infrastructure problems: **Top cartoon** ("Watch he surprise that train!"): Shows a man on a bench above sleeping vagrant, mocking the city's cable car system failures. The text discusses how cable car breakdowns cause disruptions and property damage. **Bottom cartoon** ("He is surprised!"): Depicts figures apparently slipping on snow/ice, illustrating hazards from the Omnibus Cable Company's negligence. The page's main text criticizes the Omnibus Cable Company's defective equipment—specifically wheels as "round as the head of a Chinook papoose"—and resulting disturbances to Howard and Twenty-fourth street residents. It mocks both the company's incompetence and the city's failure to enforce accountability, while praising the cable system's *concept* as modern progress. The satirical tone suggests these were ongoing public nuisances the magazine wanted exposed.