Question about this New Yorker cartoon

It MIGHT have something to do with Porter's relationship with partner 'Jock' Sturges.

Whitney was a very wealthy philanthropist.

Don't know what the significance of the sewer is.

I will be watching to see what others think.

Thanks Punkey, the sewer is just the set-up; Soglow drew about 30 of these "workers in manhole" cartoons during the New Yorker's early days.

The joke turned out to be fairly straightforward: this is the sort of conversation society folk would be expected to have, yet here it’s being had by sewer workers.