Back to the woods
Subject(s): Brisbane, Arthur, 1864-1936, Bryan, William Jennings, 1860-1925, Hearst, William Randolph, 1863-1951, Jones, James K. (James Kimbrough), 1839-1908, Pettigrew, Richard F. (Richard Franklin), 1848-1926, Presidents--Election, Railroad tracks, Railroads--Track, Silver question, Towne, Charles A. (Charles Arnette), 1858-1928, Williams, Gardner F. (Gardner Frederick), 1842-1922
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William Jennings Bryan, walking along railroad tracks and following a sign “To Salt River,” drags a carpet bag which contains a gold cross, crown of thorns, bellows, and possibly a megaphone. Following him are Arthur Brisbane who is carrying a doll-like William Randolph Hearst, James K. Jones, Charles A. Towne, Richard F. Pettigrew, and Gardner F. Williams.
Comments and Context
In the 1904 Democratic convention, the remnants of Bryanism — remaining supporters and a few old platform planks — and William Jennings Bryan himself were routed. The conservative but obscure Judge Alton Brooks Parker was the party’s presidential nominee, and the traditional views of leaders like former president Grover Cleveland were ratified in the platform.
It was a victory of limited fruits, because the popularity of the incumbent president, Theodore Roosevelt, led to a massive defeat; and in 1908 the moderately chastened Bryan once again captured the party and the nomination.
The sign pointing to “Salt River” is a now-forgotten political reference. In Kentucky there is a winding river of difficult navigability that empties into the Ohio River south of Louisville. Legend says that a Democrat boatman ferried Henry Clay to a meeting “mistakenly” on the Salt River, intentionally to make Clay miss a speaking engagement. Commencing in the 1840s, cartoonists and politicians referred to the Salt River as a destination, or a route, of frustration and defeat.
Keppler’s brilliant caricatures depict the few titular leaders of the waning Populist-flavored ranks. The second-place vote-getter in the nominating process was newspaper publisher and “yellow journalist” William Randolph Hearst. Keppler depicts Hearst as the puppet of his editor Arthur Brisbane. Brisbane was a radical at this time, as was Hearst (both influential men were to turn very conservative in their politics) but Hearst hardly was anyone’s puppet. Brisbane’s father was the pioneer utopian socialist Albert Brisbane, an influential editor and writer. Arthur Brisbane was the New York World‘s editor under Joseph Pulitzer until Hearst hired him away, and for more than 30 years he was the Hearst chain’s most prominent editorial voice.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1904-07-20
Creator(s)
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:
Back to the woods. [July 20, 1904]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277839. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. Back to the woods. [20 Jul. 1904]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 26, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277839.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1904, July 20]. Back to the woods.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277839.
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.
