Life — February 16, 1911 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

The cartoon depicts a fly labeled "DIVIDEND SCOOP" sitting atop a tiered structure labeled "TRUST," "BUTTER TUB," representing monopolistic corporate structures. The fly symbolizes how profits (dividends) are extracted from monopolies and trusts, spreading contamination like disease. The satire targets **trust monopolies** and their exploitative practices. "The Germ Bearer" suggests these corporate entities are parasitic, spreading economic harm throughout society. The butterman reference indicates dairy industry monopolies specifically. This reflects early 20th-century **anti-trust sentiment**, when monopolies were widely condemned as public enemies. The image argues that concentrated corporate wealth—represented as a disease vector—contaminates the economy and harms ordinary workers and consumers.