Another air-ship failure
Subject(s): Aircraft accidents, Airships, Antitrust law, Capitalists and financiers, Harriman, Edward Henry, 1848-1909, Hill, James J. (James Jerome), 1838-1916, Morgan, J. Pierpont (John Pierpont), 1837-1913, Nixon, Lewis, 1861-1940, Schiff, Jacob H. (Jacob Henry), 1847-1920, Schwab, Charles M., 1862-1939, Trusts, Industrial
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The wreck of an airship labeled “High Finance” appears at the leading edge of storm clouds labeled “Investigation [and] Merger Decision Law.” The crash has ruined the blades that lifted or propelled the airship, labeled “Over Capitalization, Manipulation, Ship Building Trust, Steel Trust, [and] Northern Securities,” and has brought down six men (“Morgan, Schwab, M’Cook, Harriman, Schiff, [and] Hill”) with the wreckage and two men (“Dresser [and] Nixon”) in a swamp labeled “Ship Trust Receivership.” A lightning bolt labeled “Publicity” flashes from the clouds.
Comments and Context
There is a specific context of this cartoon.
In general, trusts were having a hard time of it in the United States economy. Magazine and newspaper articles exposing monopolies, corruption, faulty manufacturing, and dangerous ingredients in food and drugs were proliferating, written by “Muckrakers.” Labor unrest and unionization were growing. J. P. Morgan seemingly was on a mission to consolidate businesses in “vertical combinations,” but his steel and shipbuilding operations were met by challenges. He and other trust magnates were caught “watering stocks” — raising capital by inflating values and shares. President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration was making trust-busting a signature crusade.
Specific to this cartoon, however, is the fact only weeks earlier, the Supreme Court validated the administration’s anti-monopoly suit against the Northern Securities Company.
It was not quite the crash-to-earth depicted by Pughe in this cartoon. However, the markets — and the chief wailer in the cartoon, J. P. Morgan — were rattled. Because of the combination Morgan designed in Northern Securities, many of the pictured men were affected, as were various aspects of financial houses, railroads, and the steel industry.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1904-04-20
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:
Another air-ship failure. [April 20, 1904]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277812. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909. Another air-ship failure. [20 Apr. 1904]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 24, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277812.
APA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909., [1904, April 20]. Another air-ship failure.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277812.
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 24, 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.
