Can the Law Reach Him?

In this political cartoon Nast depicts a child sized police officer with a captured thief in his left hand, struggling to reach for larger than life Boss Tweed with his right. Tweed, the corrupt head of the New York City Democratic Party, is centerfold, looking down on the officer with amusement, hands casually tucked in his pockets as the officer strains to reach Tweed’s midsection. In the background is the "State Prison," looking much too small to hold the giant Tweed. With this cartoon Nast warns that Tweed’s gowing political corruption and power can imbue him with an untouchable gift, making it impossible to take him down.

Can the Law Reach Him?-The Dwarf and the Giant Thief
Thomas Nast
Harper’s Weekly, January 6, 1872
Engraving