Keep off the grass
Subject(s): Corruption, Picnicking, Picnics, Police, Police--Legal status, laws, etc., Trusts, Industrial, Wealth, Working class
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A police officer labeled “Graft Tariff” prevents a working class family from having a picnic on the grass while a group of men labeled “Beef Trust, Coal Trust, Steel Trust, Lumber Trust, [and] Clothing Trust,” with two servants, one labeled “A.P.T.L.,” are having a picnic on the lawn labeled “Prosperity.”
Comments and Context
This cartoon by Udo J. Keppler was published just as the Wall Street Panic of 1907 was threatening to turn into a crash or depression, yet seemed to ignore the burning issue of the day. Of course the generic “us versus them” cliche might have been pertinent once again, except for the fact and the public perception that big business was as much a potential victim as a real perpetrator of events.
It must assumed that the frenzy was so panicky indeed, and the facts so complicated, that Puck and its cartoonists were obliged to retreat and hide behind banalities until the dust settled.
The servant behind the trusts, labeled APTL represents the American Protective Tariff League, what today would be called a lobby who labored on behalf of high tariffs. It published a journal — mostly theoretical, full statistics, and a resources for industrialists and politicians in debates — called the American Economist — during most of its run, 1887-1930.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1907-10-23
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:
Keep off the grass. [October 23, 1907]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285905. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956. Keep off the grass. [23 Oct. 1907]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. April 2, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285905.
APA:
Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956., [1907, October 23]. Keep off the grass.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o285905.
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. April 2, 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.
