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Paul Morton notes that things in New York are critical, and he urges President Roosevelt to send Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou to meet with leading financiers.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-03-23
Ray Stannard Baker will send President Roosevelt a proof of his new article on “Lawless Finance” in hopes that the President will help make the article stronger or fairer. Baker will bring out Roosevelt’s point for financial moderation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-01-28
V. Staples describes a mining venture in Nevada that her husband, E. F. Staples, started but had to abandon due to lack of funds. A small capitalist could invest in it and start up a “gigantic” enterprise. Staples requests a small interest and travel expenses to be involved.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-08-09
Carlos F. Morales, president of the Dominican Republic, requests that the U.S. State Department appoint “one skilled in financial matters” to revise fiscal administration.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-04-18
Uncle Sam works at the “Free Pie Kitchen” offering daily distribution of free pies labeled “Long Term Franchise, Graft Tariff, Land Grant, [and] Special Privilege” to crooked businessmen labeled “Public Service Corporation, ‘Infant Industry’, Trust, Public Land Thief, [and] Predatory Wealth” standing in a long line or already enjoying their “Free” pies. Caption: The pie line.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1908-04-08
Presidential hopeful John Albert Johnson, as a logger, struggles to break free a jam of logs labeled “Reactionary Democracy, Wall Street Interests, Plutocracy, High Finance, Ryanism, Conservatism, Safe & Sane Fake, [and] Stand Pat Democracy,” which are preventing him from presenting his political agenda at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. Caption: “If it weren’t for these cussed logs, I could get my drive down to Denver.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1908-06-24
Theodore Roosevelt appears as “Mikado Roosevelt” with a large cast of characters standing behind him: “Pish Tush Root,” “Landis,” “Pooh Bah Taft,” “Burroughs,” “Heney,” “Cortelyou,” “Steffens,” “La Follette,” “Folk,” “Garfield,” “Riis,” “Loeb,” and “Koko Bonaparte,” who is holding a large sword labeled “Department of Justice.” John D. Rockefeller labeled “Flim-Flam Business,” and Edward Henry Harriman labeled “Flim Flam Finance,” are kneeling on the stage awaiting execution. Caption: “My object all sublime / I shall achieve in time — / To let the punishment fit the crime — / The punishment fit the crime. — / And make each prisoner pent / Unwillingly represent / A source of infinite merriment, / Of infinite merriment.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1908-01-08
A man labeled “Stock Manipulation,” wearing top hat and tuxedo, rests one hand on a deck of “Marked Cards” and the other on a stack of gambling chips next to “Loaded Dice” and a wheel labeled “Brace Roulette.” The playing table is labeled “Wall Str[eet].” Behind him are money bags and papers labeled “Fiduciary Funds, Treasury Deposits, Other Peoples’ Money, Bank Loans, [and] Pools.” Standing in the foreground and looking up at the man is a diminutive man holding his “Savings” behind his back.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1908-04-08
Theodore Roosevelt wields an ax and is about to chop the head off a turkey labeled “Flim-Flam Finance” on the chopping block. The turkey’s feathers are labeled “Worthless Collateral, Wild Cat Bank, Fake Bonds, Worthless Securities, [and] Fake Stocks.” A diminutive man labeled “Small Investor” is standing in front of the chopping block, also holding an axe. Caption: For what he is about to receive, let us be truly thankful.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1907-11-13
A stone wall labeled “Rotten Finance” is constructed with stones showing the faces of many businessmen and financiers, including John D. Rockefeller, J. Pierpont Morgan, and Edward Henry Harriman. On the ground, in front of the wall, is a broken egg labeled “Confidence.” Caption: Humpty-Dumpty sat on a wall; / Humpty-Dumpty had a great fall. / All the Street’s horses and all the Street’s men / Can’t put Humpty back again.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1907-11-27
In a boardroom, the appearance of a ghost labeled “Spirit of Honesty” has frightened the men conducting business, labeled “Corporation Lawyer, Fake Promoter, Secret Rebater [hiding under the table], Lobbyist, Public Service Grafter, Public Exploiter, Hypocrite, Employed Perjurer, Speculating Trust Co, [and the] Yellow Dog Keeper.” Also shown are the “Yellow Dog” and several sheets of “Watered Stock.” Hanging on the wall is a sign that states “Dont Knock – Boost.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1907-11-27
The Democratic donkey labeled “Democratic Party” sits among papers that state “The Trusts are to Blame,” “Harriman is to Blame,” “Wall Street is to Blame,” “High Finance is to Blame,” “Roosevelt is to Blame / Roosevelt is Not to Blame,” “Overcapitalization is to Blame,” “The Rail-Roads are to Blame,” [and] “Crooked Business is to Blame.” Many are blamed, but no one will accept the responsibility for the panic of 1907.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1907-12-11