“Municipal ownership”
Subject(s): Corruption, Durham, Israel W., 1856-1909, Government ownership, Kenna, Michael, 1858-1946, Municipal government, Murphy, Charles Francis, 1858-1924
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A towering figure with three heads – of Charles F. Murphy, Michael “Hinky Dink” Kenna, and Israel W. Durham, political bosses respectively of New York City, Chicago, and Philadelphia – places a medal labeled “Bossism” around its large neck. Papers sticking out of Murphy’s pockets are labeled “Patronage, Contracts, Graft, [and] Jobs.” Caption: Are we ready for it?
Comments and Context
The point of J. S. Pughe’s cover cartoon in Puck is not the mere corruption that surrounded big-city political bosses in 1905. The bosses’ venality was a given.
Rather, the point of the cartoon is in the subtitle — “Are we ready for it?”
The wave of municipal reform and the urgency of its adoption in these years addressed utilities and activities that served all citizens: transportation, water, power, etc. To that extent, corporate monopolies and trusts were the targets of reformers — those businesses and the newspapers and judges that enabled corruption.
Pughe’s cartoon was a reminder that there two sides to the coin that was municipal ownership. Many American cities were in control of local corrupt politicians, whose venality and corruption could be as toxic to the general public as that of trust magnates.
Reform mayors in cities like Toledo, Chicago, Detroit, and New York — even if only for one term — occasionally broke the cycle of corruption and began the trend to municipal reform in the United States.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1905-05-24
Creator(s)
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
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:
“Municipal ownership”. [May 24, 1905]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278104. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909. “Municipal ownership”. [24 May. 1905]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 24, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278104.
APA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909., [1905, May 24]. “Municipal ownership”.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278104.
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.
