The Wasp — 1894 — page 306: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon depicts **Lady Justice** (the classical allegorical figure, shown in her traditional flowing robes) awakening to chaos in San Francisco. The surrounding newspaper headlines scream sensational crime stories: "HORRIBLE MURDER," "MURDER AND SUICIDE," "BLOODCURDLING MURDER," and "MURDER-BLOOD! CRIME!" On the right, people flee through an exit marked "MURDERERS," suggesting criminals escape the system easily. The satire criticizes San Francisco's courts of law as corrupt or ineffectual—Justice has been asleep while violent crime runs rampant and perpetrators evade accountability. The exaggerated newspaper "extras" emphasize how publicly visible this failure is. The cartoon indicts the legal system's inability or unwillingness to protect citizens.