Cartoon

President Roosevelt holds a “cable to W.H. Taft (special)” and speaks to Ohio Representative Theodore E. Burton who holds a crutch–“Roosevelt’s support”–and has his right arm in his sleeve–“Cleveland Electric Railway Help.” His head is bandaged and labeled, “Taft’s endorsement” as he says, “I-I-did the best I could under the circumstances.” In the background, William Loeb says, “I’m to blame.” There are a number of telegrams to the right of Roosevelt’s chair: “Johnson’s plurality: 8000–,” “Johnson wins,” and “Good-bye, Con Con.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

This rather complicated cartoon by Joseph Harry Cunningham well represents a situation in Ohio state politics with national implications, in 1907. The implications of the political situation addressed by the drawing were more important than average House races, which is at the center of the cartoon.

Republican Representative Theodore E. Burton had lost his campaign to become mayor of Cleveland, an upset except that his opponent was the popular and almost legendary “Reform Mayor” Tom Loftin Johnson. The three-term incumbent was a follower of Henry George’s radical “single-tax” theories, and fought many battles for municipal ownership of utilities, especially street-car lines. (A particular wrangle was over Johnson’s creation of the Cleveland Electric Railway Company.) Lower fares boosted his popularity with working and middle classes. Burton’s losing campaign sacrificed a Republican House seat, and revealed flaws in the putative invincibility of the state’s Republican establishment.

Burton was allied with Ohio’s William H. Taft, who sought the 1908 presidential nomination; the president’s reputation and concomitant prestige was on the line in the mayoral election (Roosevelt endorsed Burton and supported Taft). Additionally, and not incidentally, other aspects of the cartoon were important at the time: Roosevelt had delegated some political duties to his private secretary William Loeb; and as the cartoon suggests, Loeb was not always adept at the needed skills. Letters to Charles Phelps Taft — a Cincinnati newspaper publishers and William H. Taft’s brother — are in the wastebasket and suggest (as was the case) that Roosevelt frequently disagreed with the former, who managed the presidential quest of Taft.

These and other complicated internal matters explain Cunningham’s cartoon, but the drawing’s message was top-heavy with details, and poorly presented; and the explanations do not lead to easy understanding.

Burton, losing the election, was promptly elected to the United States Senate (by the Ohio legislature, as the system then operated) in the middle of a long career in politics. He served two separate terms as a United States senator, and three separate stints as a member of the House of Representatives. He died in office, as a senator, the very day before the 1929 stock market crash.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-07

Creator(s)

Cunningham, Joseph Harry, 1865-1946

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