Some people just can’t take a hint

St. Valentine–President Roosevelt–shoots “message” arrows at “Congress,” who is seated beside a beautiful lady, “Roosevelt Policies.” Congress has countless arrows in him, but he has not budged.

comments and context

Comments and Context

During his half-century as a major political cartoonist — almost neatly 1900-1950 — Jay N. “Ding” Darling had no rival in presenting complicated issues (and advocacies) with clarity, and provoking smiles at the same time. “Native humor” was a term that was applied as often as “native drawing style” — individualistic and idiosyncratic — was to his artwork. Cogent explanations and persuasiveness were hallmarks of his work.

As President Roosevelt’s administration drew to its expiration, disputes with Congress had only persisted and even intensified despite the imminence of a new president and his team.

The most contentious of many fractious episodes at this time arose from a seemingly innocuous request by the president that the role and size of the Secret Service be expanded. He foresaw an agency that would be what in fact became the FBI, and not under Secret Service aegis. But a legislative disagreement escalated — or descended — into wars of words, accusations, insults, obloquy, censure, and revelations of Congressional corruption.

The immediate inspiration for Ding’s cartoon — beyond the calendar’s recognition of Valentine’s Day — was the abundance of Messages. Ding could have labelled Cupid Roosevelt’s arrows as Speeches, Charges, Statements, or Articles; but he chose Messages for a specific reason. The Secret Service animadversion had its original in frank calumny expressed by Roosevelt in his Annual Message of December 1908, and responded to in kind.

As Congress erupted in anger and engaged in speeches, motions, and threats against the White House, it was proposed that all messages from Roosevelt — for in those times presidents communicated with Congress by written messages, even to the State of the Union message, so called — be rejected and left “unread.”

This decision was never adopted, but subsequently every message sent by the president’s office, including routine appointments and standard diplomatic notices, created a flurry among congressmen.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-14

Creator(s)

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

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