Their master’s voice answers them

President Roosevelt listens to a gramophone labeled “voice of the common people” project the words, “Justice. We want fair play. We demand a sample of the famous ‘Square Deal.'”

comments and context

Comments and Context

This cartoon was clipped and pasted into the White House scrapbook in mid-1907. Political cartoons were singled out and placed in the books presumably for the president to keep tabs on the editorial opinions of the nation, which of his policies resonated with the public, perhaps what initiatives were being called for, etc.

Occasionally there were cartoons that likely were as confusing to the president and his staff as to modern students and researchers. The newspaper was the Woman’s National Daily, and the cartoonist is not remembered beyond his signature, N. Eingen.

The presumed idea is that President Roosevelt relied on artificial justification for his policies, what a later generation would call “Astroturf” instead of grass-roots support. Given that the publisher of the Woman’s National Daily, Edward Gardner Lewis of St. Louis, had disputes with the Post Office and Treasury Departments, both with George B. Cortelyou as Secretary, it can be assumed that the man over Roosevelt’s shoulder, with wiry hair combed back, and thick glasses, is Cortelyou.

One matter of clarity is the acknowledgement under the cryptic signature, that the loose premise of the drawings is the then famous advertising drawing for Victor Talking Machines, which was a dog intently listening “to his master’s voice.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04

Creator(s)

Eingen, N.

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