The poor man’s candidate
Subject(s): Astor, John Jacob, 1864-1912, Capitalists and financiers, Carnegie, Andrew, 1835-1919, Depew, Chauncey M. (Chauncey Mitchell), 1834-1928, Frick, Henry Clay, 1849-1919, Gould, George Jay, 1864-1923, Harriman, Edward Henry, 1848-1909, Hyde, James H. (James Hazen), 1876-1959, Morgan, J. Pierpont (John Pierpont), 1837-1913, Presidents--Election, Rockefeller, John D. (John Davison), 1839-1937, Rogers, Henry Huttleston, 1840-1909, Sage, Russell, 1816-1906, Schiff, Jacob H. (Jacob Henry), 1847-1920, Schwab, Charles M., 1862-1939, Stillman, James, 1850-1918, Straus, Nathan, 1848-1931, Straus, Oscar S. (Oscar Solomon), 1850-1926, Tramps, United States, Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 1843-1899, Vanderbilt, William K. (William Kissam), 1878-1944, Widener, P. A. B. (Peter Arrell Brown), 1834-1915
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President Theodore Roosevelt stands on a reviewing stand, holding hat in raised right hand as a large group of capitalists, industrialists, and financiers wearing the tattered clothing of tramps, march past the stand. Some carry placards with such statements as: “Irrigate the Trusts,” “No place to go but the Waldorf,” “We want the earth,” “Free quick lunches,” “Pity the poor banker,” “Dividends or we perish.” At the front of the group, J. P. Morgan carries a wooden bucket labeled “The full water pail.” Caption: “Aggregated wealth largely represented among Parker’s Supporters”–New York Tribune.
Comments and Context
It might be said now, as it was in 1904, that the Republican Party is the home of the wealthy class, industrialists, and plutocrats. And then as now, cartoonists have fed that stereotype. Also then as now, major figures of Wall Street have supported the Democratic Party in great numbers, whether from agreement on social and political issues or frank self-interest.
Some of the moguls in hobo garb in S. D. Ehrhart’s irony-filled drawing were known to be prominent Democrat donors and supporters, for instance Edward H. Harriman, Jacob Schiff, Nathan Strauss, Jacob Schiff, and Charles Schwab. J. P. Morgan, too, contributed to both parties.
Nevertheless a parade of magnates-as-tramps passing before a finely attired Theodore Roosevelt made for political fun in a cartoon. In addition to the ironic caricatures are elements like the “empty water pail,” a jab at the Republicans’ boastful symbol (birthed in Judge Magazine, a rival of Puck) of the “full dinner pail.”
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1904-09-14
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:
The poor man’s candidate. [September 14, 1904]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277856. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937. The poor man’s candidate. [14 Sep. 1904]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 24, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277856.
APA:
Ehrhart, S. D. (Samuel D.), approximately 1862-1937., [1904, September 14]. The poor man’s candidate.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o277856.
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.
