Waiting for a chance

President Roosevelt, George F. Edmunds, and Secretary of State Elihu Root all hold boards behind their backs labeled “Ship Subsidy.” Meanwhile, a man labeled “Congress” walks toward them holding a book that reads, “O, long may it wave” and “My country ’tis of thee.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

The federal government’s attitude toward the building of large ships — for military as well as maritime trade use — was a thorny subject at the time of Jack H. Smith’s cartoon.

On the surface, so to speak, it could been a simple matter to address. The United States, buoyed by naval triumphs in the wear with Spain, had a new group of territories around the world to manage. Also, the economic policies of Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt; unprecedented immigration; industrial expansion; and newfound status as the world’s leading economy and a net exporting nation, emphasized the rather urgent need for expanded naval and merchant fleets.

Normally these needs would be met by American industry, and the logical interests, whether trusts or individual corporations, were eager to build ships: coal and iron mining; steel manufacturing; etc. Various East Coast ports wished to become major sites of maritime importance.

Oddly, the immense number of factors and competing interests, fairly crippled progress in these areas. A shipbuilding agenda was actually too large and ambitious for any one trust, or a combination, to undertake. Transportation of raw materials, or “battleship steel” products, meant major investments. The competition between port cities up and down the East Coast — and the politicians who represented them all — seemed intractable.

In the face of all this, the federal government and Congress found themselves in a rare state of paralysis when the concerned industries sought to cut their Gordian Knot by demanding subsidies. When giveaways, or legitimate support, was not forthcoming, some Americans, like J. P. Morgan, bought steel mills and shipbuilding factories in England and sought subsidies from the Crown. (It was these machinations that led Morgan to become an owner of the White Star Lines Titanic that famously sank in 1912).

While the contentious issues were still at sea, so to speak, the Washington Herald‘s cartoonist Smith depicted one of the many episodes along the way of the shipbuilding issue, specifically subsidies that Congress might approve. In his cartoon, the figure representing Congress seems naive, and President Roosevelt with his Secretary of State Elihu Root ready with slapsticks. The inclusion of the bearded figure is interesting.

George F. Edmunds had been a long-serving senator from Vermont, prominent in the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson; and a prominent reformer. Roosevelt’s first national recognition was when not yet 30 years old, at the Republican National Convention in 1884, he feverishly advocated for the nomination of Edmunds.

By 1907 Edmunds had retired from the United States Senate, and even moved from Vermont. In Philadelphia he had become a spokesman — a later generation would call him a lobbyist — for shipbuilding interests in Philadelphia.

The exigencies of international trade, plus President Roosevelt’s relentless drive for an expanded navy, helped solve the subsidy portion of the naval shortage in a somewhat evolutionary fashion. When the United States entered World War I, it was after President Woodrow Wilson had let the expansion programs go fallow.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-20

Creator(s)

Smith, Jack H., -1935

Language

English

Period

U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)

Page Count

1

Production Method

Printed

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