The Wasp — 1891 — page 564: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes the "Baccarat Scandal," a gambling controversy involving European royalty. The figure on the left, labeled "Prince of Wales," wears a military uniform decorated with medals and holds what appears to be a rifle or cane. He's being questioned by a juror about his involvement in illegal gambling. The dialogue reveals the scandal's hypocrisy: the Prince claims baccarat gambling isn't permitted in "these United States," yet he apparently engaged in it elsewhere. The caricatured small man (likely representing a defendant or witness) is being interrogated. The satire mocks aristocratic privilege—royalty breaking laws they expect common people to obey—and critiques California's legal inconsistency regarding gambling regulations. The "Wasp" magazine used this real scandal to expose class-based legal double standards.