Before the Trojan horse is admitted the puzzled citizen will have to be shown a little more fully

A worried man dressed as a farmer, labeled "The Puzzled Citizen," scratches his head while standing near a box marked "$" near the doorway of a barn marked "Missouri." He is confronted by an octopus symbolizing Standard Oil and its subsidiaries, bent into the shape of a Trojan horse. The octopus's head, marked with the words "Same Old Contortionist," peers out furtively from a box that forms the body of the horse. The box is marked with word "Partnership" and is tagged "Please Take Me In."
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Signed, lower left: Bradley.
Bequest and gift; Caroline and Erwin Swann; 1977; (DLC/PP-1977:215.59)
In March, 1905, the State of Missouri brought suit against John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil conglomerate for operating in violation of its anti-trust laws. A motion was introduced to cancel Standard's licenses, thereby prohibiting three of the company's subsidiaries (Waters-Pierce Oil Co., Standard Oil of Indiana, and Republic Oil Co.) from conducting business in the state. In an effort to thwart the motion, defending attorneys filed a proposal on February 2, 1909 (the day before publication of this cartoon) suggesting that Standard and Missouri form a corporation to administer the oil company's holdings. This unprecedented concept, put forth by a corporation known for its secrecy, aroused the suspicions of state officials and the press. Bradley expresses his own skepticism in this cartoon.
Published in: Chicago Daily News, February 3, 1909.