Railroad king Harriman visits the White House

Edward Henry Harriman visits President Roosevelt in the White House as depicted in nine scenes. In the first scene, Harriman is dressed in a top hat and marches toward the White House saying, “I’ll show this Roosevelt that there are no flies on yours truly.” In the second, President Roosevelt grabs Harriman by the collar, “Welcome!” In the third scene, Roosevelt throws him on the ground saying, “This is the anti-mollycoddle tackle!” In the fourth scene, Roosevelt jumps on him and says, “A little roughness is a good thing.” In the fifth scene, Roosevelt grabs Harriman by his legs and says, “This is Jui Jitsu.” In the sixth scene, Roosevelt wears boxing gloves and states, “Take your corner. This is to a finish.” In the seventh scene, Roosevelt punches Harriman in the face: “That is the interstate wallop.” In the eighth scene, Roosevelt picks Harriman up, “Dee-lighted to have met you, Harriman.” In the ninth scene, Harriman has been thrown out, and Roosevelt stands watching, “Call again!”

comments and context

Comments and Context

Cartoonists never tired of depicting Theodore Roosevelt in various aspects of physicality and athletic activity; largely because neither did the peripatetic president himself. When a personal or political conflict provided a context, readers were treated to visual fun. Cartoonist William Norman Ritchie of the Boston Post took advantage of these ingredients when he prepared a feast of speculation about a meeting, just announced, between the Roosevelt and J. Pierpont Morgan, who was representing railroad trust magnates.

The one-day conference at the White House was intended to air the grievances of railroad corporations and related industries over recent executive and legislative reforms. William Henry Harriman, of the Union Pacific and other lines, had a relationship with the president that was not markedly worse than most of his fellow trust magnates — which is to say wary at best — but he was more vocal than most about perceived offenses.

After the meeting Harriman was less satisfied; he was convinced of the president’s hostility to rail leaders’ prerogatives, and so angered that he soon released — or allowed to be leaked — letters from the 1904 presidential campaign alleging that Roosevelt made promises dependent upon campaign contributions, for instance pledging to appoint Senator Chauncey Depew, a virtual mouthpiece of railroad interests, with an ambassadorial appointment.

Roosevelt responded in a manner just short of the cartoonist’s fantasy. He denied the charges, bitterly denounced Harriman (publicly branding him an “undesirable citizen”) and never meeting or speaking to the monopolist again.

The physical confrontation pictured by Norman might have been informed, or was otherwise a coincidence, by the fact that the owlish Harriman was actually a devotee of jiu-jistsu. The ancient Japanese wrestling sport was largely introduced to the United States by Harriman after he visited Japan in 1905. He arranged for visiting troupes to tour the United States, and Roosevelt became interested in the techniques. Panel Five of the cartoon refers to the men’s common interest.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-12

Creator(s)

Ritchie, William Norman, 1865?-1947 or 1948

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