The Wasp — 1877 — page 78: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

The cartoon depicts two figures seated and conversing—likely political candidates or party representatives debating election strategy. Based on the text, this appears to address San Francisco's Ninth Ward election and the Democratic nomination for Assemblyman. The satire concerns internal Democratic Party disputes over candidate selection. The text endorses J.V. Coffey as "a ready debater, clear, able thinker, forcible writer" while criticizing the party's political machinery and factional conflicts. The cartoon's dialogue and body language suggest the figures are engaged in contentious political negotiation or argument—mocking the behind-the-scenes deal-making and strategic posturing that characterized late-19th-century San Francisco Democratic politics before public primaries.