The way of the transgressor is–
Subject(s): Antitrust law, Bulls, Flagellation, Fools and jesters, Meat industry and trade, Trusts, Industrial
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A large bull labeled “Beef Trust,” wearing a crown, sits on its haunches, with its front hooves crushing a “Cattle Raiser” and a “Consumer.” A jester labeled “Anti-Trust Laws” is flogging it with two bags or balloons labeled “Fines” attached to a stick. Caption: “There, you bad, wicked Beef Trust! Take that!!”
Comments and Context
Some of the major political battles of 1905-06 were pressed by President Roosevelt, and some issues came to a head; of course the political confrontations were engaged in synergistic fashion to varying degrees. One of the most intractable of issues concerned the Beef Trust, meat-packing monopolies, and pure food and drug matters: everything from manipulated prices of meat to adulterated canned food and drugs. These issues were all related, and exacerbated by “muckraking” writing by Upton Sinclair (the meat industry), Samuel Hopkins Adams (medicines and drugs), and others.
Cartoonist Pughe provided a very simple, and powerfully truthful, picture of the challenge to President Roosevelt and reformers who addressed the “Beef Trust” — chiefly, five large packing and processing operators who fought regulation, manipulated prices, stifled competition, and used technicalities like shifting state locations of their primary offices, to avoid scrutiny and standards.
As Pughe’s cartoon showed, this last-named scheme made it difficult for the consumer and the ranchers to have much control of their destinies. The public sought help from the government, especially the national government, as these were national problems, and crossed state lines. The five major meat packers decided to form an alliance as a trust, and the old Sherman Anti-Trust Act was further de-clawed, even with nominal fines. Roosevelt’s influence prodded Congress to pass the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1905, and the Meat Inspection Act the following year.
These laws, and the enabling legislation to establish regulatory commissions, led to purity standards, dating, labelling requirements, and other consumer assurances. A crusader and ally within the Roosevelt administration was the chemist Dr. Harvey W. Wiley. After his innovative and effective government service, Wiley headed up the Good Housekeeping Institute, opening testing laboratories and writing monthly magazine columns for almost twenty tears.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1905-09-20
Creator(s)
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
Repository
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Page Count
1
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
The way of the transgressor is–. [September 20, 1905]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278389. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909. The way of the transgressor is–. [20 Sep. 1905]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278389.
APA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909., [1905, September 20]. The way of the transgressor is–.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278389.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
APA:
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-prints-and-photographs.
