The Wasp — 1877 — page 268: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page from *The Wasp* contains two distinct sections: a long article about Chinese cigar manufacturing and labor in California, and a short poem titled "The Little End of the Horn." The main article discusses Chinese workers in the cigar industry, their skills, and efforts by white manufacturers to eliminate Chinese competition and protect white labor. It describes how Chinese workers have achieved dominance in cigar-making through competence and efficiency, prompting calls for legislative restrictions and apprenticeship laws to exclude them. The poem appears to be satirical verse offering cynical life advice about ambition and social climbing, using the metaphor of "the horn" (likely referencing the horn of plenty or cornucopia). The overall content reflects late 19th-century labor tensions and anti-Chinese sentiment prevalent in California during this period.