Life — April 13, 1911 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This comic strip satirizes the contrast between wealthy burglars and poor ones. The large, well-dressed burglar labeled "Meat Trust" and "Egg Trust" represents corporate monopolies who exploit consumers through price-fixing—depicted as legitimate "burglary" sanctioned by society. The smaller, ragged burglars represent common criminals who steal out of desperation. The final panel showing prison bars ("Two Years") underscores the hypocrisy: ordinary burglars face imprisonment while corporate "burglars" (the Meat and Egg Trusts) operate openly, stealing from the public through inflated prices. The cartoon critiques how wealthy industrialists commit economic theft with impunity while the poor are criminalized for actual theft.