The Wasp — 1893 — page 396: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This political cartoon satirizes California's Democratic Party leadership during a period of economic crisis. The main image shows a figure labeled "Resignation" depicted as a hybrid creature—part man, part animal—being ejected from Democratic Headquarters. Inside a window above, three men peer out, apparently the party leadership refusing to step down despite the turmoil. The grapes labeled "Democratic Headquarters" hanging above reference California's agricultural wealth, now threatened by economic depression. The caption's quote—"I guess I don't want any of these grapes—never did like them much anyhow"—suggests Democratic leaders are abandoning responsibility for the party's failures during the 1893 financial crisis, preferring resignation of principles over actual resignation from office.