Bill Sikes

A large mean-looking man labeled “Coal Trust,” patterned after Charles Dickens’ character “Bill Sikes” from the novel Oliver Twist, holds a club labeled “Control of Rail Roads” in his right hand and looks down at a cowering man/dog figure labeled “Independent Mine Owner.” On a table on the left is a bottle labeled “Rebates.”

Comments and Context

Students of history, studying this cartoon by Udo J. Keppler in Puck, might guess that it was drawn in 1902, because these symbolic characters and the issues addressed were burning matters at the center of the Anthracite Coal strike whose solution was mediated by President Roosevelt. 

In fact the end of that strike was a compromise; the miners received increased pay and shorter hours, but not the right to unionize, and — as Keppler’s cartoon of four years later indicates — the underlying problem in America’s coal fields was not solved. The Coal Trust and the Railroad Trust were hand-in-glove in 1902. In fact the representative of the coal mines’ owners in White House meetings was actually a railroad executive.

Through manipulation of rates, price fixing (rigged rebates), and collusion, the owners of small and independent coal mines had little control of their fates. Neither did miners.

It was not until 1906 that Congress fell in line (somewhat reluctantly) with the president and with some of the courts, and brought publicity, accountability, and regulation to the railroad and coal-mining industries.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1906-03-07

Creator(s)

Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956

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

Cartoon

Rights

These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.

Citation