Your TR Source
James Roscoe Day, chancellor of Syracuse University, stands with his arm around President Roosevelt. The caption states that Roosevelt has decided to accept a nomination for a third term from the Republican National Convention.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1908-06-10
Theodore Roosevelt sits on a bench, resting a mallet labeled “My Policies” on his right knee. A large jar labeled “Republican Convention,” which he has just corked, lies on the bench next to him. On shelves behind him are bottles that he has corked: on the bottom shelf Alton B. “Parker Esopus Pickle,” Cipriano “Castro” which has popped its cork, and “Portsmouth Peace”; on the middle shelf George B. “Cortelyou,” James Roscoe “Day,” Charles Evans “Hughes,” Joseph Gurney “Cannon,” Robert M. “La Follette,” “Chan”[…], Philander C. “Knox,” and [unlabeled] Charles W. Fairbanks; and on the top shelf “Bowen,” Chester I. “Long,” “Bellam[y] Storer,” Edward Henry “Harriman,” “J. London,” [and] “Seton Thompson” (i.e. Ernest Thompson Seton).
“A perfectly corking time!” — very close to another joyful expostulation of the time, “BULLY!” This cartoon appeared just as the Republican presidential nominating convention gave its prize to William H. Taft, just as President Roosevelt had wished and hoped and manipulated for almost two years. His work to anoint a successor was often behind the scenes but also, as befit Roosevelt, could be quite open and public too.
Roosevelt, after seven and a half years, had mixed feelings about leaving the office at age 50, younger than many presidents were when they assumed the office. “No man,” he admitted and frankly asserted, “more thoroughly enjoyed being president as much as I did.” Yet the always-restless Roosevelt had immediate plans to explore “Darkest Africa” as few white men ever had done; and there beckoned uncountable activities including those he mastered before the presidency — historian, author, speaker, and so forth. Yet he would miss, and knew he would miss, being at the center of power, and influencing events as White House denizen.
Moses, holding the Ten Commandments, is confronted by an angry mob of capitalists, businessmen, and politicians, some shaking their fists at him. Caption: Chorus of “Conservatives” – Dangerous, socialistic, un-American doctrines!
This powerful indictment of endemic corruption at the upper levels of American society was drawn by Udo J, Keppler, whose father Joseph (founder and chief cartoonist of Puck) had addressed the same issues with classic drawing like They Can’t Stand the Light, showing United States Senators shrinking from spotlights in the dark. But his son’s cartoon — of this evergreen subject — encompassed more than political corruption.
Theodore Roosevelt stands at an open window, greeting a group of men singing Christmas carols. The carolers are John D. Rockefeller, Joseph Benson Foraker, Henry H. Rogers, Edward Henry Harriman, David J. Brewer, and James Roscoe Day.
Cartoonist L. M. Glacken’s Christmas Day cover drawing in Puck featured a frequent theme of the day — a frequent practice, now largely moribund, of carolers singing hymns and Christmas songs house to house. The “Outs,” they sometimes were called, especially when not invited indoors for warmth and refreshments.
A group of men make a surprise nighttime visit to Theodore Roosevelt, wearing pajamas, at Oyster Bay. Edward Henry Harriman carries a basket of lemons, James Roscoe Day carries a basket of “More Lemons,” Bellamy Storer carries a cake labeled “From Dear Maria” (his wife Maria Longworth Storer), Benjamin R. Tillman carries a watermelon, Chester I. Long carries a platter of “Welsh Rabbit” (possibly a reference to Herbert Welsh), and Joseph W. Bailey carries a bunch of bananas. Joseph Benson Foraker stands in the background, tipping his hat to Roosevelt.
This cartoon by Udo J. Keppler is an excellent summary for historians — and prescient commentary at the time — that despite President Roosevelt’s popularity throughout the United States, in 1907 he had a handful of nagging problems, a host of political opponents, and many looming challenges.