The Wasp — 1891 — page 150: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes a bank crisis. The main figure is labeled as **R. H. McDonald**, who appears to be a bank official or manager. He's depicted as a well-dressed man with a substantial belly, holding what looks like a cloth money bag, standing before a cart piled high with sacks of money marked with dollar signs. Behind him, inside the "Peoples Home Savings Bank" (visible on signage), depositors are lined up—suggesting a "run" on the bank where frightened customers withdraw their savings simultaneously. McDonald's quoted statement—"Well, gentlemen, the rush is over and there is still a little left!"—suggests either reassurance or sarcasm about the bank's remaining funds after the panic withdrawal. The satire likely critiques either McDonald's management or broader banking instability of the 1891 period.