Conservation of natural resources

In a fox hunting scene, a man labeled “Special Privilege” rides on a horse labeled “Congress” through “The People’s Field” labeled “Trade, Individualism, Enterprise, [and] Opportunity.” He is following several dogs labeled “Land Trust, Oil Trust, Coal, Metal Trust, Lumber Trust, [and] Franchise Grabber” in pursuit of a fox labeled “Natural Resource.”

Comments and Context

The telling aspect of this cartoon by Udo J. Keppler is that a bloated hunter, “Special Privilege” is in pursuit of the fox labeled “Natural Resources,” and that he rides a horse representing Congress.

As cartoon symbols tell a story, or its details, those are the relevant elements of this cartoon, a situation in American with which few people disagreed. The identity of the hounds and the labels of the grass being trampled, are side-issues, or other issues.

A fat man labeled “Monopoly” feasts on a large piece of meat labeled “Alaska Natural Resources” while a beggar labeled “American Homesteader” lies at his feet asking only for the morsels that fall from the table. Caption: “Fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1910-11-16

A female spirit labeled “Public Spirit” warns two men cutting logs, of the consequences of deforestation.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-01-09

In a dark, bleak mountainous landscape is a tunnel labeled “Private Monopoly.” Carved into the mountainside is “All Hope Abandon Conservationists Who Enter Here.” Two mountains have faces and are labeled “Water Power” and “Timber Interests.” A man is standing in the foreground holding a rolled-up paper labeled “Forest Preservation.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1910-01-19

A tall male figure labeled “U.S. Public Land Grant” looks like a Trojan horse from which corrupt figures labeled “Land Grafter, Timber Grafter, Mineral Grafter, Corrupt Official, [and] Power Monopolist” emerge clutching a “Fraudulent Title” or a “Transferred Claim” seeking “Mineral Rights, Timber Rights, [and] Waterpower Rights” and other claims to public lands.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1909-11-24

Ray H. Mattison responds to Superintendent Hanks’s request for advice on the content of the address to be given at the dedication ceremony for Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park. Park Historian Mattison includes a number of Roosevelt quotations on a variety of topics and his opinion on the focus of the address.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1949-05-21

Superintendent Hanks writes to Abner B. Larson of the Mandan Production Credit Association regarding the upcoming dedication ceremony for Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park. Hanks notes that the park wishes to invite people working on behalf of the conservation of natural resources at local, state, and federal levels and would appreciate Larson suggesting names of people to invite.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1949-03-29

A man labeled “Warden,” armed with “Warrants,” carries measuring devices and a sheet of paper that states “Fish, Game, Forestry and Food Laws.” He stands next to a young tree, a calf, and a pond with fish and a lobster. On the right are two young, poorly dressed, and underfed children passing through a doorway into a building labeled “Entrance to Factory.” Inside are other children working with machinery. Caption: The government protects young fish, young oysters, young terrapin, young lobsters, young beef, and young trees. Is it not about time the same solicitude was shown for young human beings? They are more important than trout, or lobsters, or even forests.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1913-02-05

Theodore Roosevelt, with a big stick attached to his belt, attempts to rouse Uncle Sam to the cause of conservation of natural resources.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site

Creation Date

1905-1915

This postcard includes a facsimile of the hotel’s register page for one day during the National Conservation Congress, which includes the signatures of William H. Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, and Gifford Pinchot.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site

Creation Date

1910

A group of men identified as “Land Grafter, Politician, Special Privilege, Timber Grafter, Mineral Grafter, Public Utilities, Corporation Lawyer, [and] Tariff Grafter” sit around a table getting Uncle Sam drunk on “Stand Pat Dope” mixed with a drink from a large punch bowl labeled “Our Natural Resources.” They are smoking “Vanity Perfectos” and two men, “Land Grafter” and “Timber Grafter,” are working together to pick Uncle Sam’s watch from his pocket. In the lower left corner, Joseph Gurney Cannon and Nelson W. Aldrich are pouring the “Stand Pat Dope” into his drink. Caption: “For he’s a jolly good fellow!”

Comments and Context

Almost week after week, in the pages of his magazine Puck, Udo J. Keppler proved himself as one of the great political cartoonists of his time. As Puck was aging and gradually losing circulation, his influence waned, yet that neither diminished the brilliance or force of his cartoons, nor the value of his work to future researchers.

The value of political cartoon is often weighed by what it “says” but does not picture — the difficult construction of subtexts and implied statements — as much as what is obvious, and made more obvious with labels, captions, and tags.

A gigantic man labeled “National Resource Grafter” sits in a wilderness setting, passing sheets of paper to a group of men labeled “Land Office Official, Kept Judge, Congressman, Politician, [and] Senator” who are reading their “Oath of Office” on the papers given them which states “Franchises, Special Privileges, Land Patents, Mineral Rights, Tax Exemption, [and] Timber Grants.” In an insert, Benedict Arnold passes papers labeled “Plans of American Fortifications” to a British military officer. Caption: He betrayed his country then; they betray their country now.

Comments and Context

It is interesting that in mid-Summer of a presidential campaign season, as the nominating conventions are meeting and public interest in partisanship would be intense, that Puck directs many of its cartoons to general issues and not to partisan attacks or defenses — that is, party politics. J. S. Pughe’s cartoon, for instance, focused on the increasing tendency toward — or increasingly exposed — corruption in the government’s land-use policies.

This was nothing new; as Abraham Lincoln’s “national policy” of land grants and generous support of growth and expansion of farms, roads, rail lines, and shipping — “internal improvements” — opened the door to speculators and cheaters, so did conservation set-asides tempt “grafters” to make illicit money by manipulating the system.

Theodore Roosevelt thanks Reverend Newton for his letters and support. Roosevelt expresses his agreement with Newton about the mineral lands and says he will forward his letter regarding the issue to George Washington Kirchwey.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1912-08-02

The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead reports that locals are irate over a Department of Interior proposal to designate additional areas of Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park as wilderness. Interested parties in the community worry that enlargement of the wilderness area, particularly in the North Unit, will discourage the development of tourist attractions.The proposed change would raise the number of wilderness acres to well over 75% of the territory in the North Unit.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1972-11-01

Throngs of people listening to President Roosevelt

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1905

List of dates related to Theodore Roosevelt and his work in conservation.

Collection

Dickinson State University

Creation Date

1958

Information on Theodore Roosevelt’s conservation efforts.

Collection

Dickinson State University

Creation Date

1958

Text of Secretary of the Interior Seaton’s speech at the Theodore Roosevelt Centennial Symposium.

Collection

Dickinson State University

Creation Date

1958-09-16

Theodore Roosevelt’s time in the Badlands of North Dakota influenced his life and his views on conservation.

Collection

Dickinson State University

Creation Date

Unknown

A compilation of Senate documents on the life and career of Theodore Roosevelt.

Collection

Dickinson State University

Creation Date

1958