“He loves me!”

A woman labeled “Wall Street,” appearing as Little Bo Peep, has pulled all the petals, labeled “Tight Money” and “Easy Money,” off a paper flower. The center of the flower, on the ground among the petals, shows a medallion that states “In Cortelyou We Trust.” Her bodice is labeled “Stock Exchange.” George B. Cortelyou, dressed as an Elizabethan suitor, is standing behind her. They are embracing as he holds aloft a diamond ring labeled “Treasury Aid.”

Comments and Context

There had been little doubt (except, evidently, in Puck‘s editorial eyes) that President Roosevelt’s nominee for Secretary of the Treasury, George B. Cortelyou, would follow, completely unbroken, the policies of his predecessor Leslie M. Shaw. In politics, anything can change; and at least in Wall Street’s view Roosevelt was wildly unpredictable. However, Shaw’s stewardship of the economy oversaw unprecedented prosperity, so there seemed little reason to rock the boat.

The economic health of the nation was aided by a period of good weather and crops; its position, following the Spanish-American War, as the leading diplomatic and trading power among nations; industrial growth that was fed by a workforce swelled by record immigration; its new territorial possessions across half the globe; and a spurt of industrial, technological, and scientific advances. All — Roosevelt would note with relief — while not having to tinker with the high tariff.

The tariff, and economic matters in general, Roosevelt privately admitted, were not his strong points, so someone like Shaw was a welcome lieutenant. The president was attuned enough to evolve to a position favoring lower tariff schedules and even reciprocity — heresy to some Republicans — and came to believe that the new possessions, especially Cuba and the Philippines, should have virtual free-trade (or “fair trade”) treaties with the United States.

Shaw’s policies had been somewhat unorthodox — he favored an elastic currency and a closer relationship between banks and the United States Treasury, among other things — all under the umbrella of easy money. His goal was to give the federal government the ability to intervene in the economy in times of challenges or crises.

As fortune would have it, a few months after this cartoon a major panic hit Wall Street. It was a panic, not a depression, and the salvation was partly due to the Shaw/Cortelyou policies in place, and the intervention of banks led by J. P. Morgan, who exacted some anti-anti-trust assurances from the government. His solution, in other words, depended on the government “allowing” consolidations of railroad and coal concerns. Four years later this became an issue in the Republican primary season, when reactionaries suggested that Roosevelt was duped.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1907-04-17

Creator(s)

Glackens, L. M. (Louis M.), 1866-1933

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

Cartoon

Rights

These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.

Citation