The Wasp — 1879 — page 196: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon attacks San Francisco Mayor (labeled "REV. MAYO") for financial corruption. The top panel shows him at his office with "$25,000" marked as "OFFENDED BUT NOT STIFF"—suggesting embezzlement or misappropriated funds. The middle section depicts city officials literally "knocking spots out of it—bottom out" through corrupt schemes involving sewage, manure sales, and tree contracts—mocking how they extract money from municipal services. The bottom panel shows officials at a desk distributing "school certificates" and selling "rates," satirizing how public resources are sold off or misallocated for private profit. The cartoon's central message: city leadership systematically exploits public services and taxpayer money for personal enrichment, with no legitimate civic function remaining intact.