Judge — October 25, 1902 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Revised by 'Judge'" This 1902 cartoon satirizes the American Tobacco Trust. The image shows a caricatured figure (appearing to represent the Trust or its operators) confronting a large barrel labeled "American Tobacco Trust." According to the caption text, the satire revises the classic Ali Baba tale: two brothers named Cassin (American Tobacco Trust) and Small Dealer Ali Baba engaged in tobacco business. The narrative suggests the Trust is depicted as greedy monopolists—"thieves"—using underhanded tactics against smaller competitors, paralleling how Ali Baba's forty thieves operated through deception and intimidation. This reflects Progressive Era anxieties about corporate monopolies and their predatory business practices against independent merchants.