Special privilege
Subject(s): Children, Monopolies, Mothers, Nursery rhymes, Patronage, Political, Pressure groups--Political activity, Shoes, Tariff, Trusts, Industrial
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An old woman labeled “Monopoly Tariff” sits next to an old shoe labeled “Special Privilege,” around which a number of children are playing. The children all represent a “Trust” and are labeled “Tool, Steel, Copper, Lumber, Sugar, Rubber, Beef, Coal, Tobacco, Clothing, Watch, Leather, Paper, [and] Linen.” Caption: There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, / Whose progeny here are presented by Pughe. / She petted and pampered and coddled the brats, / And guarded her brood from the bad Democrats.
Comments and Context
Puck‘s turn on the traditional nursery rhyme could have been published a quarter-century earlier — and was, in variant forms — so standard were the realities and criticisms, with allowance for satirical hyperbole, through the years. In 1908 the trusts surely were in retreat, or at least defensive mode, thanks to awakened public attitudes, revelations by muckraking journalists, and the effect of governmental lawsuits, regulations, and legislation.
If this cartoon contains differences from traditional attacks, many of the “progeny” are overfed brats, hardly innocent children; and readers are given a clue about the pronunciation of the cartooning Welshman’s name. Most of the children are generic, but J. S. Pughe did not resist making the “clothing trust” kid look like a Jewish tailor.
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1908-03-25
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:
Special privilege. [March 25, 1908]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o286071. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909. Special privilege. [25 Mar. 1908]. Image.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. February 26, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o286071.
APA:
Pughe, J. S. (John S.), 1870-1909., [1908, March 25]. Special privilege.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o286071.
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. February 26, 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.
