What will happen March 4

In the first vignette, President-elect William H. Taft walks into the “White House” and waves good bye to President Roosevelt who carries his big stick. In the second, Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks walks away from the “Capitol” holding a jar of “buttermilk” and “to Indiana.” In the third, New York Senator Thomas Collier Platt sits at an “Express Co.” desk and writes “memoirs.” In the fourth, Colorado Senator Henry Moore Teller walks out of the Senate saying, “I’ve been there 30 years.” Caption: Senator Teller will take a rest. In the fifth, Secretary of State Elihu Root sits down in a chair labeled “New York Senatorship” and says, “I guess I’ll take it easy now!” In the sixth, Philander C. Knox climbs into a “State Dept” chair. In the seventh, Ohio Senator Joseph Benson Foraker holds a “lawyer” piece of wood and walks “to Cincinnati.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

A month before the change of administrations in Washington portended at least one change in St. Louis too: The Republic’s cartoonist Edward Joseph McBride drew a cartoon about national affairs that was not typically partisan or bitter.

The Democratic cartoonist, drawing for the staunchly Democratic Republic, had been one of the most strident of the recent presidential campaign’s political cartoonist; presumably President Roosevelt saw them all, as virtually every day’s jab was clipped and pasted in the White House scrapbook of such items.

“What Will Happen March 4” is an editorial cartoon, not a political cartoon — depicting the changing of the guard, with no criticism. Figures retiring, figures assuming new positions. Researchers might note that Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks lugs a can of buttermilk because he was noted teetotaler; and one of the cartoon’s predictions did not happen: Philander C. Knox was confirmed as Secretary of State; he had served in the Roosevelt administration and was a senator, he had been ambitious enough to aspire to the presidency in 1908, and the Secretary of State was traditionally regarded as the cabinet’s “premier” — heir-apparent to the presidency — but Knox was to serve four years in near anonymity.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-01

Creator(s)

McBride, Edward Joseph, 1889-

Language

English

Period

U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)

Repository

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

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