Harriman, Edward Henry, 1848-1909

J. Pierpont Morgan labeled “Flim-Flam Journalism,” John D. Rockefeller labeled “Flim-Flam Business,” and Edward Henry Harriman labeled “Flim-Flam Politics” gather around a table watching a toy of Theodore Roosevelt sitting on an egg-shaped base labeled “Personal Popularity” rocking back and forth.

Comments and Context

The Wobble, a child’s toy of amusement and not skill, was patented in 1906 and was popular when this cartoon was drawn. They were made of tin or wood or paper mache (especially its clone, the Roly Poly) and children were frustrated or amused when the figures proved impossible to fall.

Trust magnates were frustrated too with a Theodore Roosevelt wobble toy when all their best attacks against the president were fruitless. The efforts of Roosevelt’s opponents like J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Edward Henry Harriman were often conducted through surrogates. This presumably is the reason why the moguls are not identified in the cartoon by their famous empires — banking, oil, and railroads, respectively.

Edward Henry Harriman, in the Scottish Highlands, stands with arms and sword raised next to a diamond-shaped rock labeled “Flim-Flam Finance” balancing on a pointed base. Harriman is confronting Theodore Roosevelt and his band of Scotsmen, William H. Taft, Charles J. Bonaparte, Frank B. Kellogg, James Rudolph Garfield, and Milton Dwight Purdy. Caption: Fitzjames Harriman (to Teddy Dhu) — Come one, come all! This rock shall fly from its firm base as soon as I!

Comments and Context

At one time in the United States, the works of Sir Walter Scott were extremely popular; his books ubiquitous in homes and libraries. Many Scots today are virtually reverential about Scott’s stirring, dramatic, and nationalistic poetry.

One of Scott’s most famous epic poems was Lady Of the Lake (1810), about ancient Highland conflicts in the form of six cantos, each representing a separate day, and falling into three concurrent plots — romantic, conflict, and stirring nationalism. The American freed slave Frederick Douglass took his last name from one of the characters.

Theodore Roosevelt, as an old washer-woman, scrubs a young boy labeled “Flim-Flam Finance” with soapy water from a pot labeled “Honesty Soap.” Three faces are visible in the puddles forming on the ground: Edward Henry Harriman, John D. Rockefeller, and possibly Henry Huttleston Rogers, a key Standard Oil figure. Caption: (Regards to Pears’ Soap).

Comments and Context

Cartoonist Udo J. Keppler borrowed from a popular Pear’s Soap advertisement, as cartoonists frequently did of the popular soap’s clever campaigns through the years — and portrayed the exact situation of the federal government and the major trusts and corporations, at least as President Roosevelt saw it. Muckraking journalists and much of the public saw things this way, too.

Roosevelt’s “trust busting” was actually milder than prescriptions of some writers and radical politicians. Basically, when there wrongs in high finance and big business — and there were many, as exposed almost weekly in these days by crusading newspapers, magazines, and books — Roosevelt advocated a general policy of having the government as a monitor, a referee, and except in rare cases a regulator. Obvious examples of blatant restraint of trade, in his view, would require devolutions. What today is called “transparency,” then “publicity,” was his prescription for saving American capitalism.

In the Garden of Eden, God or an angel labeled “The Trusts” points toward an apple tree labeled “The Tariff.” Theodore Roosevelt, as Adam, is crouched behind a fig bush to hide his nakedness, and Eve is standing among palms, her body hidden mostly by long hair labeled “Republican Party.” The figures and faces of various trust magnates and trust-friendly legislators are in bushes and trees throughout the cartoon. Caption: “Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it.” Genesis 2:3

Comments and Context

Through the decades, Puck‘s cartoons more than occasionally used Biblical scenes, Shakespearean motifs, and famous operatic moments as the basis of political cartoons. This drawing by Udo J. Keppler is more tortured than most, not due to theology but its political ambiguity. Oddly, Puck and its rival Judge virtually always excoriated the trusts (Puck especially) but occasionally praised them for “administrative efficiency” or “increased employment.” Local and temporary factors — even advertising revenue — might have played roles.

In this cartoon, the God-figure displays holy wrath as He defends the Republicans’ sacred High Tariffs. And that “Tree of Knowledge” is depicted quite clearly as thriving, healthy, and productive, with plenteous fruit. Further ambiguity is seen in the Garden; President Roosevelt wears a countenance (and little else) that is difficult to fathom; Eve is similarly drawn.

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.

Comments and Context

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.

That group of unwelcome night visitors are represented fully, and, significantly none of them really represent Congressional opponents of the opposite party, at least concerning pending legislation.

A spider labeled “Interstate Commerce Commission” has caught in its web labeled “The Law” a large fly labeled “Harriman.”

Comments and Context

As the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) recently had been empowered with teeth — or, in Udo J. Keppler’s cartoon analogy, pincers and a fuller ability to weave webs — it really was unknown whether the railroad trusts or government regulators would prevail in the early showdowns.

Of all American trust magnates, few were more powerful than Edward Henry Harriman, whose empire included the Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, and Illinois Central railroads, and Wells Fargo Express, among other companies. At his death in 1909, his wealth was estimated at $200-million.

Theodore Roosevelt stands on a hill in the background, as two large bears labeled “Interstate Commerce Commission” and “Federal Courts” break up a crowd of Wall Street capitalists and stock market manipulators, causing them to scatter in all directions. The men include Charles S. Mellen, William K. Vanderbilt, Henry Huttleston Rogers, J. Pierpont Morgan, James J. Hill, George Jay Gould, John D. Rockefeller, James McCrea, William H. Newman, Edward Henry Harriman, and Joseph Benson Foraker.

Comments and Context

Cartoonist Udo J. Keppler, and Puck magazine, editorially, stretched theology, or at least the province of Biblical allusions, in this cartoon “Elisha Roosevelt.” The brief passage from II Kings 2:23-24 recounts the story of Israelite prophet Elisha, having succeeded Elijah and seeing him bodily taken into the clouds, is unsure of his ability to be God’s anointed prophet.

Even more skeptical are a ragtag group of scoffers (sometimes misidentified as “children,” but Keppler called them “bad boys” with gray hair) who mock Elisha. As they really are mocking God, whose sovereign choice was Elisha, the Lord sent two ravenous bears to scatter the skeptics.

Theodore Roosevelt, as a hayseed from “Oyster Bay,” is being greeted by Edward H. Harriman, as J. Pierpont Morgan and James J. Hill look on from around a doorway in the background. Caption: “Well, if this ain’t Uncle Ted Roosevelt! How’s all the folks at dear old Oyster Bay?”

Comments and Context

If not for the caption (“They take him for…”) and the winking expression and false beard of the out-of-town hayseed “Uncle Ted” Roosevelt, one might think Udo J. Keppler’s cartoon suggested that President Roosevelt was naive and susceptible in the hands of the nation’s most powerful magnates Edward H. Harriman, James J. Hill, and J. P. Morgan.

The events behind the smiles and almost silly depictions in this cartoon were far fiercer. The Interstate Commerce Commission was contemplating the dissolution of Harriman’s Union Pacific Railroad (partly on the basis of its substantial stake in the Southern Pacific line). Harriman and Morgan went to Washington to protest, not before the ICC but to the president himself. Afterwards there were two versions of what was said, promised, and alleged in the meeting. Among the fallout was Roosevelt publicly calling Harriman an “undesirable citizen,” and Harriman promising never to contribute to Republican campaign in the future. Hill is pictured in the cartoon as a Northern Pacific railroad magnate, friendly rival of Harriman.

A four-headed, eight-armed monster, formed out of the upper torsos of James J. Hill, Edward Henry Harriman, J. Pierpont Morgan, and George Jay Gould, juggles New York State and municipal services and federal influence in Congress, while stepping on a red liberty cap. Three diminutive figures stand in the left foreground: the center figure represents Theodore Roosevelt, the one on the left is labeled “You,” and the one on the right is labeled “Me.” Caption: Messrs. Hill, Harriman, Morgan and Gould, sole managers and proprietors.

Comments and Context

Udo J. Keppler’s center-spread drawing in Puck is a rare example of the magazine presenting a political cartoon not on a specific issue or policy debate. As a generic observation of the “current situation,” it speaks to history as an iconic representation of the truth, and not merely a cartoonist’s truth.

The one hyperbolic element (or exaggeration in reverse) is the diminutive size of President Roosevelt in the lower left. The quartet of business titans did indeed represent measures of control over American life, politics, and the economy — along with a few other names like Rockefeller, Schiff, Belmont, and insurance executives — but Theodore Roosevelt made sure that the American people and its government asserted its own independence and dominance, at least as an arbiter in business practices.

A man labeled “Corporate Corruption” and a baby boy labeled “Rail Road Scandal” lie sick in bed. Another young child labeled “Life Insurance Scandal” is trying to climb into the bed. Hanging on the wall above the bed is a portrait labeled “E.H.H.” A man departing the room carries a doctor’s bag labeled “Interstate Commerce Com. M.D.” On a table in the foreground is a bank for “Other People’s Pennies” and a bottle of “Legislation Drops.”

Comments and Context

The point of Udo J. Keppler’s cover cartoon can be summed up as observing that the insurgent-Muckraking era’s reforms, especially those enacted in bloody battles of 1906, would not enforce themselves.

Railroad legislation and regulations, mostly in the areas of combinations in restraint of trade and rebates, required diligence and imagination to enact. The public spectacles, diving deep into many and tangled insurance scandals, likewise resulted in legislation and regulations, but were a tangled web.

President Roosevelt writes his son Kermit to discuss barriers to electing Secretary of War William H. Taft to the presidency. He cites the defection in the black vote, big business, the labor’s unhappiness with the Republican Party, the unemployed, and the fact Taft is an Unitarian. Roosevelt also talks of Kermit’s start at college, their trip to Africa, and his first month back at the White House.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1908-10-20

President Roosevelt understands why Joseph Bucklin Bishop could not bring General Hubbard and gives Bishop permission to show Hubbard the letter regarding Secretary of the Treasury Leslie M. Shaw’s position. Roosevelt is concerned about Edward Henry Harriman having supported New York City Mayor-Elect George McClellan.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1903-11-05

President Roosevelt encloses a letter from James Sullivan Clarkson and hopes that Joseph Bucklin Bishop can speak with him. He also discusses a letter received and answered in his absence, during his visit to Yellowstone National Park. The Utah Federation of Labor had asked that the President not travel on the Union Pacific Railroad during his western trip, appealing to Roosevelt’s “sense of justice” on behalf of employees of the railroad. As Roosevelt was out of communication, William Loeb responded by noting that travel arrangements had long been made, and to accede to the request would disappointment many thousands of people. Copies of the correspondence have been sent to Edward Henry Harriman.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1903-10-02

President Roosevelt writes to his son Kermit about the weather, jumping the horses with Captain Lee and Mrs. Wadsworth, and Pete the bulldog killing squirrels. Roosevelt says he has been busy since Congress closed with the trouble on Wall Street and with Edward Harriman. Roosevelt is also working on four or five speeches.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1907-04-07

Article discusses the Roosevelt-Harriman controversy in which Theodore Roosevelt was said to ask for campaign funds from certain donors while running for his second term as president. With quotes from George B. Cortelyou and George Rumsey Sheldon, it concludes there was no impropriety on behalf of Roosevelt.

Collection

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

Creation Date

1911-12-24

Joseph Hellen requests that William Loeb communicate with Edward Henry Harriman when he arrives at the New Willard.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-06-15

J. S. Sherman collects $1 donations for the Republican Party at a fund raising event in a theater. Theodore Roosevelt and Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon can be seen in the audience. “Behind the scenes” are J. Pierpont Morgan, Henry Huttleston Rogers, and Edward Henry Harriman pouring coins from large money bags into “The Dough Barrel.” Caption: But the real work of financing the campaign will, as usual, be done behind the scenes.

Comments and Context

J. S. Sherman was a long-serving member of the House of Representatives from New York — twenty years total with a four-year hiatus in the middle of the stretch — first elected in 1886. Despite his long service, he never held a position of power or significant committee assignment higher than Indian Affairs. Nevertheless, the affable “Sunny Jim” asserted behind-the-scenes influence and he was adept at conciliation and compromise.

Though he was a compromiser, Sherman was a consistent and firm conservative, never an ally of the growing group of Republican insurgents who supported President Roosevelt.

Thomas Fortune Ryan, J. Pierpont Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Edward Henry Harriman appear as sheikhs listening to a diminutive Grover Cleveland, labeled “Insurance Arbiter,” standing at a desk, shaking a stick at them. Caption: What shall we do with our ex-president? – Anything but this.

Comments and Context

During the major news focus on the 1905 investigations into the insurance industry by the Armstrong Committee (soon known as the Hughes investigations), and the resulting imbroglios of scandals, resignations, and pledges of reforms, there were calls for outside, independent watchdogs over the industry.

During the investigations, and subsequently, the name of former president Grover Cleveland was floated. He had been retired from elective politics for nearly a decade, and was widely esteemed as a paragon of integrity — even bearing the nickname of “ugly honest.” President Roosevelt, a Republican had proposed the Democrat Cleveland to serve on a panel to address problems arising from the Anthracite Coal Strike in 1902.

President Theodore Roosevelt stands on a reviewing stand, holding hat in raised right hand as a large group of capitalists, industrialists, and financiers wearing the tattered clothing of tramps, march past the stand. Some carry placards with such statements as: “Irrigate the Trusts,” “No place to go but the Waldorf,” “We want the earth,” “Free quick lunches,” “Pity the poor banker,” “Dividends or we perish.” At the front of the group, J. P. Morgan carries a wooden bucket labeled “The full water pail.” Caption: “Aggregated wealth largely represented among Parker’s Supporters”–New York Tribune.

Comments and Context

It might be said now, as it was in 1904, that the Republican Party is the home of the wealthy class, industrialists, and plutocrats. And then as now, cartoonists have fed that stereotype. Also then as now, major figures of Wall Street have supported the Democratic Party in great numbers, whether from agreement on social and political issues or frank self-interest.

Some of the moguls in hobo garb in S. D. Ehrhart’s irony-filled drawing were known to be prominent Democrat donors and supporters, for instance Edward H. Harriman, Jacob Schiff, Nathan Strauss, Jacob Schiff, and Charles Schwab. J. P. Morgan, too, contributed to both parties.

The wreck of an airship labeled “High Finance” appears at the leading edge of storm clouds labeled “Investigation [and] Merger Decision Law.” The crash has ruined the blades that lifted or propelled the airship, labeled “Over Capitalization, Manipulation, Ship Building Trust, Steel Trust, [and] Northern Securities,” and has brought down six men (“Morgan, Schwab, M’Cook, Harriman, Schiff, [and] Hill”) with the wreckage and two men (“Dresser [and] Nixon”) in a swamp labeled “Ship Trust Receivership.” A lightning bolt labeled “Publicity” flashes from the clouds.

Comments and Context

There is a specific context of this cartoon.

In general, trusts were having a hard time of it in the United States economy. Magazine and newspaper articles exposing monopolies, corruption, faulty manufacturing, and dangerous ingredients in food and drugs were proliferating, written by “Muckrakers.” Labor unrest and unionization were growing. J. P. Morgan seemingly was on a mission to consolidate businesses in “vertical combinations,” but his steel and shipbuilding operations were met by challenges. He and other trust magnates were caught “watering stocks” — raising capital by inflating values and shares. President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration was making trust-busting a signature crusade.