The Wasp — 1887 — page 326: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This political cartoon satirizes judicial corruption and bribery during the Gilded Age. A female figure representing "Justice" stands atop a pedestal, but she's actively distributing money bags and scales to several well-dressed men below—depicted as judges or politicians. The caption reads: "While Buckley still handles the weights and the scales, / And Dives is hovering round. / What wonder that coin is the force which prevails, / And Justice lies prone on the ground?" The cartoon mocks how money ("coin") corrupts the legal system. "Buckley" likely refers to a specific political figure of the era, while "Dives" (the rich man from biblical parables) represents wealth's corrupting influence. Justice isn't blind or impartial—she's literally for sale to the highest bidder, rendered helpless ("prone on the ground").