Lifesaving

A series of nine vignettes shows men putting themselves at risk in one way or another. One man gets up in the middle of the night to attend to a screaming infant, another tests breakfast cereals, a third dares to enter the kitchen to reprimand the cook, others survive the street railroads, one suffers the attack of mosquitoes, while others endure rude opera attendees, rural life, and a tour guide. At center, each “hero” receives a pension from Andrew Carnegie who is wearing a traditional Scottish kilt.

comments and context

Comments and Context

Cartoonist Ehrhart drew these center-spread vignettes as news commentary on the announcement 1904 by Andrew Carnegie of the creation of the Carnegie Hero Fund with an initial endowment of $5-million.

President Roosevelt fires a cannon to send a lifeline to a ship in distress on rough seas with dark clouds labeled “Prejudice” forming overhead. The rope spells out the word “Tolerance.” A rainbow shines on the left with the word “Liberty.” In the lower right corner is a quotation from “The President’s Reference to Immigrants.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

President Roosevelt’s “reference” to immigrants, and a welcoming, reasonable, national policy, was contained in a note to Secretary of State John Hay, not identified by depicted in this bold cartoon.

President Roosevelt puts a rescue boat labeled “National Honor” to sea, carrying lifesaving equipment and an oar labeled “Reciprocity.” Out to sea a ship labeled “Cuba” flounders, or perhaps founders. Roosevelt looks back toward shore at the “Republican Congressional Station” where several men wearing foul-weather clothing await the wreck of the ship and the flotsam to wash ashore.

comments and context

Comments and Context

A portion of Congressional inaction over the disparate choices to deal with Cuba’s situation subsequent to the Spanish-American War was indeed the variety of proposals and therefore conflicting ways to proceed. In the United States Senate, the Teller Amendment was a compact proposal of seven provisions leading to Cuban independence. American financial interests, particularly the Sugar Trust, applied pressure, especially to Republican Party, their traditional ally. The Cuban political elements and societal infrastructure — more sophisticated than in other acquired territories — asserted itself. President Roosevelt, characteristically, fashioned compromises and set a course, to Puck‘s approval at least for the fact that he acted. The Teller Amendment largely was adopted, Guantanamo was leased, and America assumed a somewhat paternalist position for a time.

President Roosevelt congratulates Hugh F. Doherty on his United States Life-Saving Service medal.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-01-15

President Roosevelt was pleased to testify on Captain Gorman’s heroic behavior during Roosevelt’s tenure as Police Commissioner.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-01-16

A ship has lost its course and wrecked at the sight of the “Flying Dutchman” labeled “Speeches” with the face of James G. Blaine as the ship’s figurehead and using the “Bloody Shirt” as sails. Men cling to the wreck of the ship. Some are in the sea, and many are on the rocks. Some are identified as “Cornell, Wadsworth, Daggett, Catlin, Carr, O’Brien [who is clinging to “Davenport’s Bar’l”], Evarts, “Jake Hess,” Miller, T. Platt, Davenport, Sherman, Edmunds, [and] Jonah B. Foraker.” Among those unidentified are Whitelaw Reid holding a bottle labeled “Tribune Editorial Solace,” Joseph Pulitzer as a bird labeled “N.Y. World,” and John Logan.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-11-11

Many young women try to find space on a raft labeled “Living Wages” in a stormy sea labeled “Sea of Want” that is infested with sharks labeled “Prostitution” and “Disease.” A ship labeled “The Home” sails away in the background beneath storm clouds labeled “Misfortune.” Caption: While there are more applicants than jobs the working-girls’ grim struggle will continue.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1913-04-09

An ocean liner, probably the Titanic, sinks amid icebergs with many passengers jumping into the sea for lack of enough lifeboats, as a few lifeboats loaded with passengers row clear of the ship. Caption: The Grim Spectre — Why all this hue and cry about lifeboats? Have you not your veranda and Parisian cafes, palm-garden, squash-court, gymnasium, swimming-pool, Turkish baths, and a la carte restaurant?

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1912-05-08

A ship founders at sea during a storm, with many passengers on deck, but the sailors, bowing to pressure from “anti-vivisectionists,” are rescuing the dogs first. Caption: “Women and children first” would cease to be shipwreck etiquette if the anti-vivisectionists had their way.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1911-04-05

A handsome young man rescues a beautiful young woman from drowning. Caption: Her Rescuer (soothingly) — You’re safe. I’ve got you, but I was just in the nick of time. / The Actress (weakly) — Yes; I thought it was positively my last disappearance.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1911-08-30