The Wasp — 1889 — page 178: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This political cartoon satirizes **court fixing**—the corrupt practice of bribing judges or court officials to manipulate legal outcomes. The scene depicts five men in what appears to be a laboratory or office, conducting what looks like a chemical experiment or scheme, suggesting that "fixing" court cases is treated as a systematic, manufactured process. The caption's chorus—"It wasn't me. It was the other feller"—mocks how those involved in corruption deny responsibility and blame others. One figure is labeled "MARTIN KELLY" (unclear without additional context whether this identifies a specific corrupt official or represents a typical perpetrator). The cartoon critiques San Francisco's judicial corruption as an established "profession" with practitioners who operate openly and without consequence.