The ark of the Dingley covenant
Subject(s): Aldrich, Nelson W. (Nelson Wilmarth), 1841-1915, Ark of the Covenant, Biblical interpretation, Cannon, Joseph Gurney, 1836-1926, Foraker, Joseph Benson, 1846-1917, Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850-1924, Monopolies, Shaw, Leslie M. (Leslie Mortier), 1848-1932, Tariff, Trusts, Industrial
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Joseph Gurney Cannon leads a procession including Nelson W. Aldrich, Joseph Benson Foraker, Henry Cabot Lodge, and Leslie M. Shaw who are carrying the golden ark of the Dingley Tariff, with figures labeled “Trust, Infant Industries, [and] Protected Monopoly” bowing as it passes.
Comments and Context
Approximately a decade had passed since the last major revision of tariffs in the United States, when Puck Magazine published this scathing cartoon by Udo J. Keppler. It depicted the sacrosanct regard for high tariffs among Republicans and industrialists (trusts), and specifically the inviolability of the Dingley rates. Those schedules took effect in 1897 after a major Depression during the second Cleveland administration, and prosperity returned, punctuated by good weather, record crop yields, the war with Spain, and a presidential assassination. The five years of President Roosevelt saw unprecedented prosperity.
To an extent high tariff rates were responsible, but not in the minds of powerful Republicans. In Keppler’s drawing, the kneeling figures are generic, and those bearing the ark of the covenant all are senators, excerpt for Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon, and Secretary of the Treasury Leslie M. Shaw.
In truth, it was not so much the detailed rates of the Dingley schedules of which the solons were enamored… but the opposition to any tinkering with the tariff. The campaign slogan of Republican conservatives in 1906 had been “Stand Pat,” not “Raise the Rates” (although when further ensconced in power in Taft’s presidency a few years in the future, the Payne-Aldrich Tariff did raise rates).
Roosevelt, although never a tariff crusader in either direction, was warming to the diplomatic and economic advantages of lower rates or, specifically, targeted reciprocity with nations on individual bases. He strongly fought for free trade pr lower tariffs with the new American overseas possessions. This all made the “Old Guard” of the Party nervous.
The inclusion of Secretary Shaw in this group is interesting. He was a high-tariff proponent, but otherwise was a reform-minded Treasury Secretary. A former governor of Iowa, when in the cabinet he instituted policies that foreshadowed some that returned a century later. He eased reserve requirements for banks, in the name of an elastic currency (which helped solve the 1907 panic). He increased the number of federal-deposit banks, and repurchased government bonds from banks and major financial houses, in order to make them available to the public. He was a hopeful candidate for the 1908 presidential nomination, but when lightning failed to strike he returned to private business.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1906-12-12
Creator(s)
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:
The ark of the Dingley covenant. [December 12, 1906]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o284166. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. The ark of the Dingley covenant. [12 Dec. 1906]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 5, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o284166.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1906, December 12]. The ark of the Dingley covenant.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o284166.
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 5, 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.
