Is there no way to stop the clamor?

Uncle Sam covers his ears and says “Shut up!” as two birds depicting President Roosevelt and Edward Henry Harriman squawk at one another. Roosevelt says, “Liar, liar, liar!” while Harriman says, “You’re another!”

Comments and Context

The vituperative controversy between President Roosevelt and railroad baron Edward Henry Harriman grew more bitter as 1907 progressed, in spite of other issues, including the Wall Street Panic. Harriman had generally supported the Republican Party — although, like many trust magnates, he played both sides of the political street — but by 1906 had grown angry with the Republican President Roosevelt. The immediate cause was dissatisfaction with a myriad of reforms backed by Roosevelt — and by much of the public and press, and a growing band of insurgents in Congress.

Harriman’s public criticisms of the president grew more strident, and Roosevelt characteristically responded in kind. After a summit meeting in the White House in March 1907, at which J. P. Morgan represented the railroad leaders, Harriman leaked a letter from the 1904 campaign that purportedly showed that Roosevelt solicited campaign funds from Harriman; the latter supposedly conditioned the donation on an overseas diplomatic appointment for New York Senator Chauncey M. Depew; supposedly, Roosevelt reneged.

Roosevelt immediately responded, as perhaps only he could. He wrote his version of this incident to several well-placed people, released his own correspondence from the time in question; and called Harriman “an undesirable citizen.”

The president wrote, “I want to say that in 1904 Mr. Harriman was the real candidate of Mr. Odell [a former Roosevelt ally in New York] and the state organization in New York for Senator. The idea was to get Mr. Depew out of the way and railroad [an intentional pun?] Mr. Harriman into the place. I discovered what was going on, and would not lend myself to the Rockefeller interests and the state machine.”

Depew remained a senator (never going to Paris, the supposed posting in the scheme); Roosevelt and Harriman never met again; Harriman turned a Democratic loyalist. His son later served in the Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman administrations. He served a term as Democrat governor of New York State, and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 1952 and 1956. He was succeeded by Republican Nelson Rockefeller — ironically, the son of Harriman’s ally, also excoriated by Theodore Roosevelt, John D. Rockefeller.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-04

Creator(s)

Porter

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