Life, 1907-04-25 · page 7 of 24
Life — April 25, 1907 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes President Roosevelt's anti-trust efforts. The main cartoon depicts a prisoner in striped clothing (representing a "trust" or large corporation) confronted by a woman visitor in prison. The caption reveals the visitor is a poor man who couldn't afford a corporation lawyer—suggesting he's been imprisoned for poverty while wealthy trusts escape consequences. The accompanying text mocks Roosevelt as ineffectual at actually breaking up monopolies, despite his reputation as a "trust-buster." It suggests his efforts are performative: the imprisoned figure represents small-time offenders, not the powerful corporate interests the policy supposedly targets. The bottom vignettes contain unrelated satirical jokes about horse-dealers and romance.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Visitor (to prisoner): POOR MAN ! Convict: POVERTY, MUM. 1 DID TELL ME HOW TER STEAL LEGALLY! ORSE-DEALER : A hundred horse-power, I suppose? AvuTososiList: Oh, no. small auto. “T wasn’t going by the size, but by the smell.” Four. It’s only a WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THIS? 'T HEV MONEY ENOUGH TER HIRE A CORPORATION LAWYER TER & ILLIE, I hope you didn’t listen to me kissing your sister in the parlor last night.” “Dear me, no. I got tired of that sort of thing long ago.” 575 Busting the Trusts NY statesman can bust up a trust, If the people insist that he must. But the worst of it is In this trust-busting biz ‘That the blamed things will never stay bust. ZRHAPS it was not money that President Roosevelt in 1904 urged Mr. Harriman to get for the New York State Com- mittee. Maybe it was moral support. UR President is just a grain too paroxysmal, especially in the spring of the year. “TS HOWARD stingy?” “Is he stingy! Why, that man won’t even buy a calendar for fear he may not live the year out to use it up.” A COLD BOTTLE AND A SMALL BIRD. PESU!” —A COLD BIRD AND ASMA mR. comicbooks.com