The Wasp — 1879 — page 332: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This December 20, 1879 *Wasp* cartoon depicts two well-dressed men as a seesaw, balancing baskets labeled "Salaries." The left figure represents "More Work, Less Salaries" (totaling $440), while the right shows "More Salaries, No Work" (totaling $800). The cartoon satirizes wage disparity and labor inequality of the Gilded Age—critiquing how workers performing actual labor earned far less than those receiving income without contributing work. The lists of names appear to represent actual San Francisco citizens or officials, making this likely political commentary on specific local corruption or mismanagement regarding public salaries during the economic retrenchment period following the 1870s depression.