Simply to this cross I cling

John D. Rockefeller clings to a cross-shaped statue labeled “Clerical Apologist for Standard Oil” standing on a rock labeled “Hypocrisy” in rough seas labeled “Sea of Public Censure.” The statue is illuminated by rays labeled “Standard Oil Cash” beaming through dark clouds.

comments and context

Comments and Context

There are two related subtexts to this powerful cartoon by Udo J. Keppler; or, rather one subtle theme that was at the time manifested by two public figures.

Puck magazine compensated for its dearth of commentary during the first month of the 1907 Wall Street Panic with acidic cartoons like this. It appears to criticize the established church as much as trust magnates, and the viewpoint seemed justified.

Rightly or wrongly, the single figure of J. P. Morgan was responsible more than anyone else including the United States president for averting a major financial crash or depression (versus a panic) in 1907. He cajoled, cudgeled, persuaded, and threatened individuals and groups of bankers, investors, and corporate leaders; he recognized that some institutions could fail, some must not fail, and that time was of the essence.

Morgan pulled people together; he demanded investments or targeted bailouts, he demanded bond purchases, and he often required responses, behind locked office doors, within hours. When shortfalls occurred he dragged people in again to animate his plans. In the end he succeeded, but he only requited the assurance of the Administration that the structure of the salvage-and-salvation package would not be undone by anti-trust actions from the Justice Department. Washington assented.

At one point Morgan included two action provisions that were either cynical or wise, in any case brilliant. He formed committees to persuade the clergymen of America to urge calm and to exercise trust in the ability of business to manage the crisis. In a similar move, his representatives “sold” the initiatives to the press of the country.

Such was Morgan’s point of view. Not unrelated, and the reason that Keppler drew John D. Rockefeller and not Morgan or others in his cartoon, is that Standard Oil as a trust and Rockefeller as an individual had just survived severe public exposure and censure. Revelations in magazine articles and books; multiple trials wherein Rockefeller was exposed as a liar and thief; even running and hiding from the law at one time. Rockefeller, one of the richest men in America, was a pariah.

Perhaps coincidentally at this time Rockefeller and his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr., stepped up their religious philanthropy. Donations to at least two major New York City cathedrals (one of which is so grand it is still under constructions a century later); endowments of seminaries; support of individual clergy and foundations; all were public expressions of Rockefeller’s pious side, previously barely discerned.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1907-11-06

Creator(s)

Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956

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