Puck — January 23, 1889 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Puck cartoon satirizes **monopolies and trusts** attempting to gain access to the U.S. Senate. The large figures labeled "Standard Oil Trust," "Copper Trust," "Steel Beam Trust," and "Nail Trust" are personified as wealthy industrialists in top hats, trying to enter a door marked "Entrance for Monopolists." Inside the Senate chamber below, legislators appear indifferent or complicit. The cartoon criticizes how corporate monopolies sought political influence and favorable legislation in Congress. By depicting trusts as enormous, bloated figures literally trying to squeeze through the Senate entrance, the artist mocks both the brazenness of industrial monopolies and the perceived weakness or corruption of senators who might accommodate them. This reflects Progressive Era concerns about unchecked corporate power threatening democratic governance.