The Wasp — 1879 — page 42: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily TEXT rather than illustrated satire. It contains three articles: 1. **"Are They All Sound?"** - Discusses Bank testing methods, criticizing legislative proposals to verify bank soundness through citizen inspection. 2. **"Justice in Jail"** - Satirizes a Constitutional Convention debate where Senator Bones proposed hiring an Indian rain-maker to beat tom-toms and draw rain from clouds. The author mocks this as absurd governance. 3. **"Consistency Thou Art a Jewel"** - Criticizes a Sand-lot leader (likely Denis Kearney, based on context) for advocating revolutionary change while seeking political office—exposing hypocrisy. The satire targets 1870s-80s California politics: banking regulation, constitutional reform debates, and populist contradictions. "The Wasp" used humor to critique institutional failures and political inconsistency.