Sounding the alarm bell

William Jennings Bryan dressed as a farmer holds a “list of missing issues”: “Grindstone (Swollen Fortunes), Cider Press (Railroads), Yoke (Trust Regulation), Dinner Bell (Plutocratic Domination).” As he hears a dinner bell with a tag that reads, “I’m a victim of a plutocratic conspiracy,” Bryan says, “That sounds like my old bell.” In the background is the White House.

comments and context

Comments and Context

Cartoonist Kirk L. Russell, endeavoring to have his work look like that of Clifford Kennedy Berryman, whose role he assumed on the Washington Post, was perceptive in this cartoon. The theme it depicted was one of gradual development, not an overnight event, and had two aspects, captured by Russell.

Throughout 1906 and 1907 President Roosevelt had grown progressively more radical in his policy prescriptions. In part that reflected his political views; and in part it was a conscious strategy on Roosevelt’s part to forestall, by cooption, a radical turn in American politics. Therefore the cartoon has the rope of the alarm bell pulled from the White House; it is posted on Roosevelt’s iconic Big Stick; and the complaints in the alarum are reminiscent of the Populist William Jennings Bryan — that forces of plutocracy, big railroads, trusts, etc., were arrayed against him.

The hapless Bryan, meanwhile (including publicly, at the time of this cartoon) noted with a mixture of irony and frustration that the President was stealing his thunder. (In fact, Roosevelt floated ideas, like federal income and inheritance taxes, before Bryan made them major proposals of his own.) Bryan is pictured holding a list of chores — “missing issues,” at least as far as the Democrats’ sole possession.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-09

Creator(s)

Russell, Kirk L., 1873-1934

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