The Wasp — 1892 — page 112: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical cartoon from *The Wasp* (February 6, 1898) mocking the "Bell Trial"—likely referring to a legal case involving evidence tampering or fabrication. The central figure, a mustachioed man in a bowler hat operating a machine, represents someone manufacturing false evidence. Money bags labeled "$" at the machine's base suggest financial corruption or bribery. Documents flow through the mechanical contraption like sausages, with small figures outside the City Hall building (shown in background) apparently distributing or receiving these fabricated materials. The cartoon's message is clear: someone is literally "manufacturing" false evidence through a corrupt system, likely to win a court case through fraud rather than legitimate legal argument. The mechanical metaphor emphasizes how industrialized and systematic this corruption has become.