The Wasp — 1877 — page 308: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

The main cartoon shows two figures at a desk labeled "ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS"—likely representing the magazine's editors responding to reader questions. The illustration satirizes the publication's advice column format. The right column contains a "Political Catechism"—a mock religious-style Q&A about American government and economics. It ridicules political corruption and the wealthy, using simple question-answer format to expose hypocrisy: politicians cause hard times, "dangerous classes" are the corrupt rich, "Trumps" are poor workers, and "Politicians" are office-holders. The satire targets Gilded Age inequality and suggests that common people understand these truths intuitively, mocking both corrupt politicians and the economic system they control. The catechism format itself parodies religious instruction to emphasize moral outrage at political malfeasance.