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President Roosevelt flies down the road driving an automobile with William H. Taft in the backseat. To the left side of the car the Republican elephant tries to keep up. There is a sign, “the presidential Glen Echo,” in the foreground and the White House and the Washington Monument in the background. Senator Joseph Benson Foraker holds up a watch and cries, “In the name of the speed limit, slack up.” Caption: Town Marshal Foraker: “Stop! in the name of the law.”
Comments and Context
Contemporary news stories, and even local geography, inform this cartoon by Jack Smith of the staunchly Republican journal, the Washington Herald.
By this point in the run-up to the 1908 presidential nominating contest and convention, it was well known that President Roosevelt would adhere to his pledge not to succeed himself, and that his clear preference was Secretary of War William H. Taft. This situation was so well known that it mightily offended a rival presidential aspirant, Senator Joseph Benson Foraker — a situation exacerbated by several important factors including the senator’s intra-party feuds with fellow Republicans; his recent and ugly squabbles with Roosevelt; the president’s withholding of patronage normally due senators’ purview; and the fact that Taft was from Ohio, Foraker’s home state. Therefore he was depicted as a traffic cop trying to impede or decelerate the progress of Taft.
The roadside sign referred to a local Washington institution, Glen Echo Park. Located in the Maryland suburb of that name, the park had been a mainstay of the Chautauqua circuit since it was built in 1891, the site of speeches, conferences, lectures, and camp meetings. At the time of this cartoon it had experienced financial troubles and was being converted to a family amusement park.
The White House was not a logical analog to an amusement park; but neither was Jack H. Smith a peerless political cartoonist.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1907-05-17
Creator(s)
Language
English
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
Repository
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Page Count
1
Production Method
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
The presidential Glen Echo. [May 17, 1907]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301534. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Smith, Jack H., -1935. The presidential Glen Echo. [17 May. 1907]. Image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 5, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301534.
APA:
Smith, Jack H., -1935., [1907, May 17]. The presidential Glen Echo.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o301534.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 5, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
APA:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
