One out, five in

William Loeb holds “Speech No. 1 Canton” in his left hand and a barrel in his right hand labeled “six speeches for western delivery.” Several men look on, including “Wall Street,” J. Pierpont Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Edward Henry Harriman. Morgan says, “Oh, for a look in.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

President Roosevelt’s private secretary William Loeb advanced from taking dictation and handling White House correspondence to managing logistics and sometimes, at the end of Roosevelt’s term, interacting with officials and politicians

Planning the president’s lengthy trip in the autumn of 1907 was particularly thorny for Loeb. A hunting trip in the canebrakes of Louisiana would be a mid-trip respite, but speeches before and after, through many states of the Midwest and South, were vital to arrange. The Summer of 1907 experienced troubling financial signs (and the Wall Street Panic of 1907 in fact occurred upon Roosevelt’s return to Washington); a sudden accommodation for the funeral of President William McKinley’s widow in Ohio presented itself; and the public — especially titans of finance looking for indications of any policy declarations by the president — was eager for any news.

William Loeb’s son William entered the newspaper field and became owner of a chain of New England newspapers including the Connecticut Herald and the famed Manchester (New Hampshire) Union-Leader, “Maker of Presidents” in quadrennial primaries.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-30

Creator(s)

Berryman, Clifford Kennedy, 1869-1949

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