Lest we forget!

Uncle Sam and President Roosevelt look at a variety of graves: Frank Steunenberg, Arthur L. Collins, and others. In the background is a skeleton that says, “murder,” “ruin”; and explosions at Vindicator Mine, Independence Depot, and Bunker Hill Mill. There is a handwritten note under “Lest we forget!”: “…[t]hat I was with you as newspaper correspondent in Victor when you were mobbed there by this same outfit. Harold Baxter E.M. Consulting Engineer for Davis [,] Goldfield.” Caption: Uncle Sam–“Must we have murder and destruction before we need troops?”

Comments and Context

The long, sensational trial of “Big Bill” Haywood and other radical labor organizers in Idaho, for acts ranging from wildcat strikes to deadly violence to the assassination of the state’s governor, ended in late 1907. But agitation and violence in Western mines did not end.

There was labor violence at the Goldfield mines in Nevada, where agitators had turned their attention, and where official feared an escalation in the fashion of bloodshed in Colorado mines, or in the notorious cases in Idaho. These factors and factors inspired the cartoon plea in the local Goldfield Chronicle, a newspaper that, like many Western mining towns, lasted but a few years.

The argument in Alfred H. Dutton’s cartoon, and indeed Uncle Sam himself, represented Governor John Sparks, who publicly called upon President Roosevelt to activate federal troops stationed in Goldfield and quell the disturbances.

“Honest John” Sparks — there is still debate about whether the nickname was an encomium or sarcastic — was a Southerner who moved West, working a failed mining ventures, but cattle ranching that made, and lost, him fortunes. He was noted for cross-breeding Herrefords and Texas longhorns at a time when private herds could range free on public lands. A Democrat with free-silver beliefs, he was elected governor twice and died in office in 1908. The city of Sparks, Nevada, was named for him.

As labor violence grew in late 1907, Sparks urgently appealed to Roosevelt to activate federal troops stationed in Goldfield. Seemingly, a logical and facile response, yet Roosevelt resisted several times in several forums, finally sending a stern telegram to Sparks on December 28.

In the message, Roosevelt heatedly wrote that his position had been clear: that federal troops could only be deployed in such situations upon the request of legislatures, not governors; that he had suggested that Sparks call the legislature into session but he had failed to do so; and he issued a deadline of five days for Sparks to issue such an authorization. In the absence of such convening of the legislature, Roosevelt wired, he would remove rather than activate the troops at Goldfield.

Dutton clearly takes the governor’s part in this drama, without depicting him. The figure of Uncle Sam, for instance, frames the situation as the entire nation making the appeal, instead of explaining the governor’s responsibility. Gravestones and distant explosions provide incendiary graphic elements.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-21

Creator(s)

Dutton, Alfred H. (Alfred Hutchinson), 1872-1925

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