Opening of the Panama Canal
Subject(s): Air travel, Airships, Canals, Panama, Panama--Panama Canal
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A variety of boats and ships, as balloon aircraft loaded with tourists and travelers, float above the Panama Canal. It is suggested that the age of aviation will render the canal obsolete. Caption: At which distant day ocean navigation will be a trifle out of date.
Comments and Context
This is another shooting-fish-in-the-barrel cartoon for Puck and cartoonist J. S. Pughe — humorous speculation; it is not a political, and barely an editorial, cartoon. The Panama Canal remained in the news; in 1906 it was beset by challenges of earth-moving, new technologies, labor troubles, and budget questions. Yet its progress, and its opening set for the mid-teens, was widely anticipated. It was expected to be (and was) a modern miracle, a Wonder of the New World.
Pughe’s nonsense might have had a ring of truth in the unlikely event that the Canal was planned solely for commuters, sightseers, and for weekend excursions — a higher ride than, say, the Sandy Hook picnic and boat rides between lower Manhattan and the New Jersey shore.
Of course the Canal was being built primarily for saving time in ocean commerce and military eventualities. It was, and with upkeep and modifications for larger ships, continues to be, a vital waterway. But, it also provides a memorable experience for vacationers and sightseers!
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1906-01-31
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:
Opening of the Panama Canal. [January 31, 1906]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278484. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909. Opening of the Panama Canal. [31 Jan. 1906]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 24, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278484.
APA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909., [1906, January 31]. Opening of the Panama Canal.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o278484.
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.
