More trouble with Washington gas
Subject(s): Furnaces, Gas, Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919, Speeches, addresses, etc., United States. Congress
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“Congress” plugs his nose with a clothespin as he reads “Roosevelt’s message to Congress–To gas, gas, gas, gas.” Meanwhile, the gas furnace has President Roosevelt’s spectacles and large grin on it.
Comments and Context
A six thousand word presidential message, responding to a short three-part Congressional resolution, might have seemed like “gas” to Congress, and to Democratic cartoonist James Calvert Smith, but a brief riposte could hardly have been expected. Predictably, the president’s response to Congress’s criticism was punctilious. The genesis of the back-and-forth was a request to expand the Secret Service, and Congress’s refusal to consider it.
Calvert (as he came to sign his work) might have characterized the president’s message as “gas,” and Congress indeed held its nose, virtually, but Roosevelt’s message was a sarcastic (overly polite) refutation of the resolution… with added charges against specific individuals, far beyond his insinuations in the Annual Message that had sparked this round of vituperation.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1909-01-08
Creator(s)
Smith, James Calvert, 1878-1962
Language
English
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
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:
More trouble with Washington gas. [January 8, 1909]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o302020. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Smith, James Calvert, 1878-1962. More trouble with Washington gas. [8 Jan. 1909]. Image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. February 13, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o302020.
APA:
Smith, James Calvert, 1878-1962., [1909, January 8]. More trouble with Washington gas.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o302020.
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. February 13, 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.
