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McLean, John R. (John Roll), 1848-1916

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Barred out from the promised land

Barred out from the promised land

A group of Tammany “Ward” workers and men identified as “J. R. McLean, Grady, H. O. Thompson, Spinola, [Alexander V.] Davidson, H. McLaughlin, [and a] Chicago Boss,” along with Charles A. Dana and John Kelly stand on a mountain overlooking the United States Capitol. All are wearing top hats that emit rays of light (Kelly is stomping on his hat with his left foot) as if all are Moses. They are disappointed office seekers who feel they should have been rewarded by the Cleveland administration. A large broken tablet on the ground is labeled “Old Commandments – Thou shalt divide up the spoils.” Banners atop the Capitol, “Interior Depart[ment], Treasury U.S., [and the] White House,” state “A Government for the People not for Politicians, Reform Administration, Civil Service Reform, No Removals except for Cause.” This last banner is probably in reference to the recent removal of Capt. George B. Bacon in favor of George H. Sterling for government weigher at the New York Custom House, an action that was reversed pending investigation. Caption: Disappointed Democratic Moses – “Was it worth going through so much to get so little?”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-04-01

Creator(s)

Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896

The Administration sawmill

The Administration sawmill

President Cleveland stands next to a large “Reform Buzz-Saw” labeled “Pat. 1884 by G. Cleveland” at a sawmill, where three members of his cabinet “Manning, Whitney, [and] Bayard” are milling lumber labeled “For the Improvement of the Custom House” and “Props for the Navy.” A carpenter’s square labeled “Honesty” rests against some boards at Cleveland’s feet. A group of newspaper editors, congressmen, and a dog labeled “Blaine’s Pup” have entered on the left. Among them are “Dana, McLean, Vance, Eustis, Reid, Beck, Evarts, Sherman, Medill, [and] Edmunds.” They are standing just outside the “Secretarys Office” where Daniel S. Lamont is sitting. Through the open door is visible a wagon loaded with large logs labeled “Mormon Question, Silver Question, Tariff Ques, [and] Coast Defences.” Caption: Foreman Cleveland (kindly but firmly) “Boys, don’t monkey with the buzz-saw!”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1886-02-03

Creator(s)

Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894

The carol of the “waits”

The carol of the “waits”

A group of office seekers labeled “McLean, Pulitzer, Dorsheimer, Blackburn, McLaughlin, Hill, [and] Dana” sing Christmas carols outside the “White House” where President Cleveland is visible through a window. Their carol goes: “God rest you, merry gentlemen, / May nothing you dismay; / Remember us poor spoilsmen left / This blessed Christmas Day. / Since Christmas comes but once a year, / Oh, let us share your Christmas cheer, / And chuck one little office here / On Christmas Day in the A. M.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-12-23

Creator(s)

Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894

A “bogus” cremation for the benefit of the “life-long Democrats”

A “bogus” cremation for the benefit of the “life-long Democrats”

A group of men stand near the “Bourbon Crematory for Disbelievers in the Spoils System.” Some are identified by name, “Blackburn, D. B. Hill, McLaughlin, Thurman, Jones, Hedden, [and] Hendricks,” and some by association with quills behind their ears “Sun” Charles A. Dana, “Cincinnati Enquirer” John R. McLean, “World” Joseph Pulitzer, and “Star.” The newspaper editors are pushing a wrapped figure labeled “This is the Mugwump! And don’t you forget it!” into the crematorium. Hendricks stands on the right, next to an urn labeled “For Mugwump Ashes,” and the others observe from the left. Puck and the figure representing “The Independent Party” are watching from a window in the background. Caption: Uncremated Mugwump (from outside) – “If those old Bourbons take that dummy for me, they’ll be a little startled when they find out that I’m alive – and kicking!”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-11-18

Creator(s)

Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894

No welcome for the little stranger

No welcome for the little stranger

At center, Grover Cleveland holds an infant labeled “Civil Service Reform.” They are surrounded by a bunch of angry old men as orphans labeled “Hube Thompson, Eddie Hedden, Davy Hill, Hugh, Joe Blackburn, Charlie Dana, Eustis, Johnnie McLean, Pulitzer, A.P. Gorman, [and] Johnnie K,” and one as an old woman labeled “Hendricks.” On the left is the “Republican Home – No Civil Service Infants Wanted Here” and on the right is the “Democratic Home Restored in 1884.” Caption: Father Cleveland adopts the abandoned infant of the Republican Home, to the great disgust of the Jeffersonian household.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-10-21

Creator(s)

Zimmerman, Eugene, 1862-1935

A hard job with the hogs

A hard job with the hogs

President Cleveland, as a pig farmer, gets tangled in leashes attached to the hind legs of several hogs, each with a distinctive brand, labeled “Hugh McLaughlin, H. O. Thompson, Higgins, Beattie,” and one labeled “Tammany Hall” that looks like John Kelly. One hog labeled “Hedden” has broken free and is headed for the “Spoils Hog Pen” in the background. Standing on the left, observing, are Benjamin F. Butler, an unidentified man, Joseph C. S. Blackburn, and John R. McLean. Road signs state “Road to Spoils,” “National X Roads,” and “Cleveland Civil Service Reform Road.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-09-30

Creator(s)

Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896

The resistless march of reform – the “hostiles” must go!

The resistless march of reform – the “hostiles” must go!

A large group of politicians, newspaper editors, Tammany Hall bosses, and others are dressed as Native Americans. One carries a banner that shows a crude drawing of the Tammany tiger labeled “Flathead Tribe.” The group is on a long march in opposition to President Cleveland’s civil service reform agenda. In the upper left corner is the “Blainiac Reservation” and in the opposite corner is Cleveland and his cabinet laying tracks for the “Reform R. R.,” keeping ahead of the “Administration Construction Train.” In the foreground, Vice President Thomas A. Hendricks is leading the Democratic donkey labeled “Bourbonism,” carrying two baskets, one with “Old Ideas” and the other labeled “The Perennial Pappooses” holding Charles A. Dana and Benjamin F. Butler. Standing just to the right is John Kelly carrying Philip H. Dugro in a cradleboard.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-08-12

Creator(s)

Opper, Frederick Burr, 1857-1937

The administration’s hardest job

The administration’s hardest job

President Cleveland and his cabinet officers struggle to push and pull the Democratic donkey labeled “Bourbon Democracy” into a stable labeled “Reform Stables.” On the donkey’s hooves, acting as brakes, are the faces of John Kelly labeled “Spoils System,” Charles A. Dana labeled “Anti-Civil Service Reform,” “Mclaughlin”, [and] “J.R. M’Lean.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-07-22

Creator(s)

Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894