The headsman
A large man wearing a red outfit, labeled “The Senate,” holds an axe above his head. He is about to chop a legislative bill, shown as rolled-up papers, labeled “Progressive Legislation.” Other bills, some labeled “Tariff Revision, R.R. Rate Bill, State Hood, [and] Pure Food Bill,” await their turns on the chopping block.
Comments and Context
The United States Senate as Grand Executioner is how Puck its cartoonist J. S. Pughe held the Upper House, and in the context of “progressive legislation,” the cover drawing is dispositive.
