The Wasp — 1891 — page 124: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page features a biographical profile of **Marshall Cushing**, Private Secretary to the Postmaster-General. The left column provides his career history, emphasizing his rise from Harvard graduate and newspaper editor to his current influential position in Washington. The accompanying photograph and text present Cushing as an exemplary civil servant—knowledgeable, indispensable, and wielding significant behind-the-scenes power. The satire appears subtle: *The Wasp* highlights how such administrative officials, while technically subordinate, actually control important governmental functions and access to decision-makers. The bottom section shifts to satirical dialogue and jokes, typical of the magazine's lighter content. Overall, this celebrates (or ironically examines) the quiet influence of bureaucratic gatekeepers in American government.