The Wasp — 1879 — page 395: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **text content**, not a cartoon. It's an article about San Francisco's police force organization, structure, and personnel circa the late 1800s. The piece describes the Police Department's divisions: the Detective Force, Patrolmen (organized into three watches), Harbor Police, and Patrol Force. It details salaries, duties, and working conditions—notably that officers work grueling shifts (six consecutive hours without rest) for modest pay ($250-$295 monthly). The article also discusses police conduct issues, mentioning corruption temptations (bribes) and brutality toward prisoners, particularly regarding "Chinamen." It characterizes police leadership as strict but somewhat sympathetic to officer hardships. **No cartoon appears on this page.**