“Business is business”
Subject(s): Big business, Billiard parlors, Depew, Chauncey M. (Chauncey Mitchell), 1834-1928, Flagler, Henry Morrison, 1830-1913, Hyde, James H. (James Hazen), 1876-1959, Hypocrisy, Jesup, Morris K. (Morris Ketchum), 1830-1908, Morgan, J. Pierpont (John Pierpont), 1837-1913, Reform movement, Rockefeller, John D. (John Davison), 1839-1937, Sage, Russell, 1816-1906, Schiff, Jacob H. (Jacob Henry), 1847-1920
Click on image to zoom in
Two cameo scenes are separated by a telegraph pole labeled “Western Union.” On the left is a civic meeting claiming that “We must uphold our Public Morals and Civic Decency” where seated on a stage are businessmen labeled “Flagler, Schiff, Jessup [sic], Depew, Rockefeller, Hyde, Morgan [and] Sage.” On the right are the same men sitting in a room where they are straining to hear the report of the “Annual Statement” regarding “Sundry other profits from our Subterranean wires increase this total applicable to dividends by $5,000,000” over the din of coins spilling from a cornucopia connected to a telegraph pole and overflowing a barrel labeled “Western Union Pool Room Receipts.” Visible through a window are many buildings labeled “Pool Room.”
Comments and Context
This cartoon requires explanation beyond the depiction of prominent and greedy business tycoons of the day. In May of 1904, shortly before Ehrhart’s cartoon was drawn, the Western Union Telegraph system, which was an essential element of commerce and communication, curtailed the transmission of race track information, including facilitating gambling transactions.
Western Union received substantial income from this business, but it yielded to pressure from moralists and pressure groups. The telegraph trust had another reason to pull back from its association with gambling houses and betting parlors. In many cities where gambling was legal there nevertheless arose an unholy alliance between betting parlors (particularly of the parimutuel variety), saloons, and telegraph agencies. Western Union increasingly was uncomfortable with its de facto partners.
An unintended consequence of “reforming” racetrack gambling was the vacuum filled by Western Union’s pullback — many “news wires” transformed themselves into tickers transmitting racing and betting information. Instead of Western Union’s system, where any gambler could acquire access by paying a fee, the new wire services gained leverage with bookmakers and gambling parlors. A number of local and regional news sheets filled the void, too, providing racetrack and gaming news, including odds and payout data. The Daily Racing Form was able to thrive because of the adjustment. (The DRF, eventually owned by Moe Annenberg, became the foundation-stone of a journalistic empire including the Philadelphia Inquirer and TV Guide. Annenberg was later sentenced to years in a federal penitentiary for tax evasion. His son Walter became Ambassador to Great Britain under President Reagan and a benefactor of journalism schools.)
Ultimately, then, the issue addressed by Puck really is a lesson in nuanced policies, unintended consequences, varieties of corruption, and irony.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1904-06-01
Creator(s)
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937
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:
“Business is business”. [June 1, 1904]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277823. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937. “Business is business”. [1 Jun. 1904]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 26, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277823.
APA:
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937., [1904, June 1]. “Business is business”.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277823.
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 26, 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.
