Saturday globe (Utica, N.Y. : 1885-1924)

President Roosevelt, with “the big stick” and “my policies” bag, shakes hands with William Jennings Bryan, who holds “big stick no. 2” and “my policies” bag.

comments and context

Comments and Context

W. A. Carson of the Utica Globe, in a cartoon that originally appeared in color on the paper’s Saturday edition front page, replayed a theme that frequently was struck by commentators and cartoonists in 1908. Observers noted, perhaps more than the actual situation warranted, that the ideological opponents Theodore Roosevelt and William Jennings Bryan had moved, at least in their policies, closer to each other through the years.

President Roosevelt holds a vicious-looking dog labeled “federal law” as men labeled “corporation,” “business,” “combination,” “wealth,” and “enterprise” run away or hide. Caption: President Roosevelt — “Don’t be afraid, gentlemen; he will hurt only the crooks.”

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Comments and Context

The second term of Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency represents a period of reform that was unprecedented in American history, and arguably matched by not exceeded by the flurry of executive and legislative activity of the New Deal (1934-1938) and Great Society (1964-1965) in subsequent decades.

William H. Taft attempts to push a rock labeled “Ohio” with Senators Charles Dick and Joseph Benson Foraker sitting on top of it through the White House gates as he sweats profusely. President Roosevelt looks on with a bomb labeled “popular policies” in his right hand. Caption: The president– “Don’t work so hard, Bill! We can blow it up with this stuff in my hand.”

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Comments and Context

Republicans dominated Ohio politics for decades after the Civil War. In fact, the state, like Virginia, traditionally supplied many presidents and prominent, powerful politicians; in 1920 the two major party presidential candidates were Ohio newspaper editors, Harding and Cox. The Republican Party at one point was so powerful, with numerous talented leaders, that its factions were as persuasive and contentious as were Democrats and Republicans in other states.

President Roosevelt, dressed as Diogenes, shines a lantern toward New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes passing by him on the road. In the background is a barrel labeled “The White House.”

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Comments and Context

In this cartoon, which was originally printed in color, cartoonist W. A. Carson comments on the possible presidential candidacy of the recently-elected New York Governor, Charles Evans Hughes. The cartoon of course depicts Hughes in a complimentary fashion (Carson’s paper was located in Utica, New York) and aims to say more about Hughes than President Roosevelt.

President Roosevelt tours Asia with tracts in his hand and his bag labeled, “T. Roosevelt U. S. A.” and a “big stick” under his arm. He is followed by men holding hymnals as foreigners run away. Minarets and Mount Fuji can be seen in the distance. Caption: “Is this to be President Roosevelt’s future? To tour the Orient with the big stick and blaze the way for American missionaries.”

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Comments and Context

The background of this cartoon has to do with more than President Roosevelt’s declaration, made on election night of 1904, that he would not seek a consecutive term after the one to which he had just been elected, but his agreement to be a regular post-presidency contributor to The Outlook, a weekly Christian magazine of opinion and news, was generally known.

President Roosevelt drives Uncle Sam and a patriotic lady in a car. A “red tape” rooster and “old fogyism” pig run away. An old man labeled “United States Senate” tries to wave him down. Caption: The decrepit Senate shouts a warning in behalf of the coddled pets of its establishment.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-27

President Roosevelt holds a rifle behind his back and reaches out to shake a bear’s hand. Caption: Meanwhile, other animals he has known are having a brief respite.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-04-22

President Roosevelt is the only individual in sight as he stands on a dirt road with the United States Capitol building in the background. Caption: The overshadowing personality of Roosevelt keeps every other aspirant for public favor from the zone of vision.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-18

An “independent voter” pats President Roosevelt on the shoulder as Alton B. Parker looks on. In the background is an elephant, a donkey, and a barn with a sign that reads, “Wanted: a manager for this farm—four years—10 salary—independent voter.” Caption: Independent voter selects a manager for Uncle Sam’s farm for the next four years.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-11-12

Saturday Globe, Vol. XXI, No. 19, Rochester Edition, September 21, 1901, pages 1-8 (unnumbered):

Page 1: – Colorized portrait photograph of William with black bunting on one side and a woman draped in an American flag with her face covered by a handkerchief; black and white portrait photographs of Dr. Charles Edward Locke, Ansley Wilcox, Bishop Edward G. Andrews, Rev. C. E. Manchester – “At Rest” – Flowery piece about McKinley’s death – “Funeral Scenes in Buffalo” – Detailed account of the funeral in Buffalo – “Speeding to Washington” – Scenes along the train ride from Buffalo to Washington, D.C. (cont. on page 5)

Page 2: – Black and white photograph captioned: The East Room of the White House; portrait photographs of John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson and Chester A. Arthur; drawings of Paul Czolgosz and Mrs. Paul Czolgosz [Leon Czolgosz’s father and stepmother]; drawing of Roosevelt “Hurrying Through the Wilderness” – “Roosevelt’s Chances” – Comparing Roosevelt to the other vice presidents that became president due to death

Page 3: – Drawing captioned: The Most Execrable of All Humanity [of Czolgosz sitting on a bed in his jail cell]; black and white portrait photographs of national leaders – “Two Favorite Hymns” – Story about “Nearer, My God to Thee” and “Lead Kindly Light” with lyrics printed – “Grief-Laden Tributes” – Text of statements about McKinley’s death by national leaders

President Roosevelt pulls back a curtain to display a statue of Columbia, holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. Behind her is a battleship armed for war, and next to her is a cannon. Caption: President Roosevelt’s ideal of Columbia, now that she is a world power.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-03-07

President Roosevelt directs the Republican elephant towards a bundle of bills passed to control the trusts. Caption: Mr. Roosevelt Authoritatively Points the Republican Party to Its Plain Duty.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-11-20

President Roosevelt sits in the White House attic with a variety of items: ears of corn with the label of “presidential tips to farmers,” a picture of Edward Henry Harriman with “my dear Harriman” crossed out and replaced with “undesirable citizen,” “the big stick,” several books, including “How to choose a successor,” a crib “for larger families,” and a coffin of a “nature faker.” Roosevelt holds a book entitled, “Science of Pseudology.” Caption: Mr. Roosevelt–“I wonder how much of this stuff Bill wants me to leave behind.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

The brilliant but largely forgotten body of cartoons that W. A. Carson drew for the front pages of the Utica Saturday Globe — centered, below the masthead and dateline, always in bright colors — often were accompanied by perfectly superfluous printed explanations. Carson’s work was so direct and documentary that written guides were useless; and the work of the anonymous editor was invariably vapid and redundant.

Uncle Sam holds a switch behind his back as William Jennings Bryan, President Roosevelt, Oklahoma Governor Charles Nathaniel Haskell, and John Worth Kern, who all have bloody faces, point at William Randolph Hearst, who has a bloody hand. Caption: “He began it, teacher.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

One of the hidden gems of the era’s political cartoons (1890s-1920s), and an unjustly obscure artist-commentator today, is W. A. Carson of the Utica Globe. The newspaper itself was a pioneer enterprise in American journalism, and is no less — and less unjustly — neglected today.

President Roosevelt and William Jennings Bryan use a big stick and knife—each labeled “publicity of contributions” respectively—to kill the “corporations” goose. Herman Ridder and George Rumsey Sheldon each hold money bags. The United States Capitol building is in the background.

Comments and Context

The remarkable cartoons of W. A. Carson — detailed, informed, always in bright colors — were major attraction of the Utica, New York, weekly Saturday Globe. Invariably on the front page, above the fold, and centered under the paper’s masthead, his cartoons were more incisive than editorial cartoons reflecting current events, yet hewed to an independent stance. The Globe was a regional paper that desired to serve readers of all persuasions.

In this cartoon, in fact, it is well-nigh impossible to gauge the cartoonist’s personal point of view. After a period in American politics, though Muckrakers’ exposures and congressional hearings, and especially heated during the previous four years, both political parties committed themselves to electoral reform.

President Roosevelt holds “the strenuous life” big stick as he looks at a Republican elephant lying on the ground. Similarly, Alton B. Parker holds “The Constitution” and looks at a tired donkey. Caption: Roosevelt and Parker—”Wonder how I can get some life into the pesky animal?”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-08