Busy William

Secretary of War William H. Taft holds crying baby “Cuba” while rocking on a rocking chair and says, “I wish this kid would quiet down—I want to get back to that dear Ohio!!” To the left of the rocking chair is a bottle of “political dope” and a book entitled, “How to Soothe Cuba, Vol. I.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

Little is known about the elusive cartoonist N. Eingen. In this cartoon in the Woman’s National Daily of St.Louis and University City, Missouri, he displayed more sympathy than usually accorded any member of the Roosevelt Administration.

Secretary of War of War William H. Taft was assigned the responsibility for matters in America’s new possessions, and, for a time, over the Canal Zone. In Cuba and the Philippines Taft even held administrative governing posts. It was grueling work, in addition to his stateside duties, especially in the face of economic ambitions and independence movements in Cuba and the Philippines.

The Woman’s National Daily, an early women’s rights and pro-suffrage paper, routinely was opposed to Roosevelt (perhaps because his cabinet secretary George B. Cortelyou had pursued it for several legal offenses), so the cartoonist’s sympathy towards Taft’s challenges was a rare thing.

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