The Wasp — 1894 — page 417: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

The central cartoon depicts three well-dressed men examining what appear to be portraits or documents, with the caption "AN ERA OF REFORM." The dialogue references the "Patriotic Order of the Sons of America" and discusses keeping "New England Yankees" out of New England, while complaining about "New York Jews" intruding in city government. This satirizes nativist and anti-Semitic sentiment masquerading as "reform." The figures appear to represent established American elites claiming to protect civic virtue while actually promoting ethnic and religious exclusion. The cartoon mocks their hypocrisy: their supposed "patriotic order" merely excludes outsiders rather than achieving genuine governmental improvement. The satire targets 1890s-era reform rhetoric that deployed xenophobic and anti-Jewish language under the guise of civic improvement.