A rank foozler
Subject(s): Bryan, William Jennings, 1860-1925, Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908, Golf, Golfers, Sand traps
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William Jennings Bryan, as a golfer holding a club labeled “Spite,” is stuck in a sand trap trying to hit a golf ball labeled “Cleveland” and showing his likeness. Shafts of broken clubs lie in the sand, labeled “Envy, Jealousy, Malice, [and] Cussedness.” A hat labeled “Bryan” lies in the grass and there is a marker in the background labeled “16 to 1.”
Comments and Context
When William Jennings Bryan broke upon the national political scene with his “Cross of Gold” speech at the 1896 Democrat convention and his subsequent years of party domination and three presidential runs, his populist critique was a veiled attack on Grover Cleveland as president and Democratic party leader. Conservative Democrats like Cleveland, who were loyal to sound money, the Gold Standard, and such policies, were the enemy of Bryanism, although the populist scarcely ever attacked the former president by name.
Cleveland reciprocated the disdain, although less veiled. As 1904, another presidential year, approached, Bryan desired yet another nomination. And Cleveland continued his opposition to Bryan, even to the extent of sustaining whispers that he run, himself, yet again after three nominations and two presidential terms.
Pughe’s cartoon illustrates Bryan’s frustrations, as well as the costume and trappings of the contemporary game of golf, relatively new to America. The wooden shafts, for instance, recall a day before “irons,” and when clubs were identified by names — like the Mashie Niblick (today’s 5-iron) — and not numbers. The old clubs, sometimes designed individually by golfers themselves, had wooden heads and iron heads.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1903-08-19
Creator(s)
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909
Period
U.S. President – 1st Term (September 1901-February 1905)
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:
A rank foozler. [August 19, 1903]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277339. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909. A rank foozler. [19 Aug. 1903]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277339.
APA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909., [1903, August 19]. A rank foozler.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277339.
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.
