The president wants it strictly understood that he hasn’t stopped

As President Roosevelt holds a “dishonest” brand on a stick labeled “special message to Congress,” he chases a man holding “dishonest wealth,” “illegal discrimination,” “watered stocks,” “stock gambling,” and “dishonest corporation methods.” The man says, “The public and the courts be ‘d–d.'” In the background, “Congress” says, “Oh I’m so afraid somebody will be hurt!”

comments and context

Comments and Context

It can be supposed that cartoonist Jay N. “Ding” Darling composed the wording this cartoon’s title to answer the question some citizens had about whether the Theodore Roosevelt the reformer would have pulled in his claws because of the financial crisis engendered by the recent Wall Street Panic.

As the cartoon indicates, President Roosevelt did not “stop” his advocacy of new governmental oversight, reform, and regulation. His special, but not sole, targets were trusts, railroads, banks, and corporations in a lengthy and major policy paper delivered to Congress on February 1, 1908.

In many ways it foreshadowed his own New Nationalism speech of 1910, the Progressive Party platform of 1912, and reforms of the subsequent Taft and Wilson Administrations. There were specific calls for legislation, but as Ding indicated by the whining figure in the background, Congress was a reluctant partner in many of Roosevelt’s initiatives. Hence Roosevelt addressed Congress directly, and initially did not work through public speeches or newspaper interviews on these proposals.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-01

Creator(s)

Darling, Jay N. (Jay Norwood), 1876-1962

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