The Philippine Oliver asks for more

A large, bloated man, wearing an apron labeled “The Trusts,” stands next to a large cauldron labeled “Tariff Reduction.” Standing in front of him is a diminutive, emaciated man labeled “The Philippines” holding a cup labeled “25%.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

Keppler’s cover cartoon delineates a contrast between a bloated trust figure (did cartoonists ever depict the trusts otherwise?) and an emaciated supplicant, representing the new United States territory of the Philippine Islands — evoking the scene in Dickens’s novel where Oliver Twist begs for more food.

Behind Keppler’s cartoon, uncharacteristically declining to address to complicated subtext, were roiling issues. Virtually every new “possession” of the United States acquired in victory over Spain in the 1898 war had issues that were separate and different than the others’. The logical factors of this situation were due to varying stages of development; commercial and agricultural health; traditions of trade and commerce with other countries of the world with and without the previous Spanish components; the profile of natural resources and manufactured products; and proximity to other countries.

The United States had promised eventual independence to the Philippines and, after an uncomfortable and bloody insurrection, President Theodore Roosevelt diffused the problem by granting pardons and amnesty to rebels in mid-1902. When this cartoon appeared a year and a half later, and as Filipino leaders and factions decided their pace and place in evolving independence, very real dilemmas had to be solved.

It was not only the trusts in America who wore expressions of consternation — which were justified, as their livelihood was affected by trade policies — but, one might say, Uncle Sam himself, in the parlance of political cartoons. The Islands’ main exports were sugar and tobacco, also hemp and coconut. Their major imports were cotton cloth and rice; at this time the former mainly supplied by England and Germany, and the latter from French colonies in Indo-China. The United States could substitute its own commodities, and was in a position to do so.

The rest of world regarded the Philippines as a virtual nation unto itself, and considered American trade concessions as discriminatory; and if the United States became, in effect, a middle-man in global transactions, mischief and complaints were sure to arise. The American-Filipino Tariff Commission tried to finesse some of the issues by maintaining tariff rates but granting partial rebates to Manila to boost its economic health and independence. For most of 1903, during negotiations, the Philippines hoped for an adjustment of 75 per cent of the Dingley Tariff (1897 law) rates on imports to the United States, and a rebate of duties on items exported to the Islands.

The Commission recommended a reduction to a 25 per cent levy, a welcome outcome for Manila. But on the very last day of the United States Senate’s session, it was hiked to a “compromise” of 50 per cent tariff levels — hence the scenario depicted in Keppler’s cartoon. Very few parties were satisfied, except, presumably, the trusts and monopolies.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1903-12-09

Creator(s)

Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956

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

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