He’ll not quit his job

Uncle Sam, wearing boots (one that says “Army” and the other that says “Navy”), marches forward with a shovel and a pail toward “Panama.” Beside him is an elephant holding a shovel. President Roosevelt is in the distance away from Panama waving a white paper.

comments and context

Comments and Context

In the last week of February 1907 President Roosevelt held White Houses conferences with Theodore P. Shonts, Chairman of the Isthmian Canal Commission (ICC) and Secretary of War William H. Taft over progress on the Panama Canal’s construction. After some challenges and delays, many caused by the necessity to choose between precise routes, health matters, and festering personnel problems, pathways of both geographical and organization natures were in place.

So it seemed, too, with personnel. Shonts was Chairman of the Commission; Taft had vetted many decisions for the president but would soon leave active participation; Joseph Bucklin Bishop, later Roosevelt’s biographer, was the ICC’s able secretary, soon to succeed Shonts; and Chief Engineer John F. Stevens sorted out problems and successfully advocated bold decisions concerning medical policies, origin countries of work crews, and much in between.

Stevens unexpectedly resigned soon after this cartoon was published; however much of his program was in place. Additionally, as a railroad expert — he had been recommended by James J. Hill of the Great Northern Railway — the duties close to his ken were addressed, as were major medical questions, and “all” that remained was digging the canal. He had successfully convinced Shonts and Roosevelt of the superiority of a lock system rather than the French approach of a sea-level waterway.

Cartoonist Jack H. Smith outfitted Uncle Sam with Army and Navy boots because, as work began in earnest, Shonts’s operating board, and therefore representative workers, were obliged to have representatives from each service branch. Additionally, Roosevelt had been persuaded that a military man — Colonel George W. Goethals, his nominee — would be more appropriate to carry on the engineering work. Stevens was a civilian.

The cartoon ran in the most Republican paper in Washington, the Herald, so Smith dutifully pictured the Republican elephant as an enthusiastic member of the team.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-01

Creator(s)

Smith, Jack H., -1935

Language

English

Period

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

Repository

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

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