Sindbad the sailor and the old man of the sea
Subject(s): Political corruption, Postal service, Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919, Scandals, Sindbad the Sailor (Legendary character), White House (Washington, D.C.)
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President Roosevelt walks toward the White House while struggling under the weight of an old man on his shoulders. The old man wears a “P. O. scandal” satchel and drinks from a “graft” canteen.
Comments and Context
Cartoonist Stewart in his characterization of President Theodore Roosevelt’s persistent burden, the Post Office scandal of 1903, chose the legend of Sinbad’s fifth voyage of seven recounted in the ancient Arabian collection of tales One Thousand Nights and a Night.
In the legend, Sinbad told of the time he was shipwrecked (a common origin of all the tales) and saddled with a long-legged fiend, the “Old man Of the Sea,” who required that Sinbad carry him hither and yon. By trickery, also a common device, Sinbad kills the Old man and returns to the sea himself.
Stewart could have chosen any metaphor — for instance, the albatross that plagued the Ancient Mariner — but the Arabian Nights (alternate title to One Thousand Nights) was popular at the time, in massive volumes translated by Sir Richard Burton.
The point of the cartoon was that the colorful and deep-rooted Post Office scandals bid fair to threaten the Administration’s reelection campaign a year hence. Roosevelt was not implicated in the scandals, but he was in charge of routing out the corruption, which he effectively did with bipartisan support (partly because the various scandals had bipartisan fingerprints over them).
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1903-07-09
Creator(s)
Stewart, Donald Farquharson, 1880-1945
Language
English
Period
U.S. President – 1st Term (September 1901-February 1905)
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:
Sindbad the sailor and the old man of the sea. [July 9, 1903]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o302193. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Stewart, Donald Farquharson, 1880-1945. Sindbad the sailor and the old man of the sea. [9 Jul. 1903]. Image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. February 13, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o302193.
APA:
Stewart, Donald Farquharson, 1880-1945., [1903, July 9]. Sindbad the sailor and the old man of the sea.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o302193.
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.
