The Wasp — 1891 — page 136: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page documents a heated dispute between California State Senators Taylor and Northey over voting on a bill to grant the Electric Radiator Company a franchise for heating the State in Sacramento. **The satire:** Senator Taylor accuses Northey of accepting bribes—specifically $500 in "cut rates" per vote. Taylor defends his own vote-selling as honest, claiming he never went below $500 per vote and acted with transparency. The irony is brutal: rather than condemning bribery itself, Taylor attacks Northey's *negotiating tactics* as undignified. The two engravings show gold discovery landmarks in Sacramento—visual context suggesting this dispute occurs in a region built on fortunate discovery, now corrupted by opportunistic politicians. The satire exposes legislative corruption as routine business, with both senators casually discussing vote prices as legitimate transactions.