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A strenuous job on the Cuban ranch

A strenuous job on the Cuban ranch

President Roosevelt appears as a cowboy, on horseback, with Cuban President Tomás Estrada Palma, on foot, driving cattle labeled “High Protectionist, Senatorial Pledge Breaker, [and] Beet Sugar Senator” into the “Reciprocity Corral.”

Comments and Context

The specific context of this cartoon, and the reference to “reciprocity,” is the question of America’s policy regarding sugar, Cuba’s chief export commodity. There were expectations after the Spanish-American War among Cuba’s leaders and provisional government, Cuban sugar growers, the American sugar trust, American sugar-beet growers, and various senators representing conflicting interests. Those expectations and hopes were settled by the Platt Amendment and decisions of President Roosevelt that granted free trade of Cuban cane sugar (no or low import duties imposed by the United States — virtual reciprocity, not that Cuba needed beet sugar) offset by Cuban guarantees of other American commodities and foreign-trade concessions. Cuban President Tomás Palma, once an advocate of annexation, backed this compromise. It sometimes is difficult to remember that Puck was a Democratic journal when reviewing such noble depictions and caricatures as in this cartoon of Roosevelt. Alternatively, of course, history remembers the public’s approval and the popularity of Roosevelt at the time. Noted, also, another phrase of Roosevelt’s that entered the language: the cartoon’s caption “A Strenuous Job.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Letter from Billings County Deputy Register of Deeds to Albert T. Volwiler

Letter from Billings County Deputy Register of Deeds to Albert T. Volwiler

The Deputy Register of Deeds for Billings County, North Dakota, responds to Dr. Albert T. Volwiler’s request for information regarding land ownership by Theodore Roosevelt. The deputy states that Roosevelt “owned land under the old survey” and as a result, “we have no record of any holdings of his in this county.” He offers names of local individuals to contact who may know more.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1918-04-01

A study of the authenticity of the Maltese Cross cabin

A study of the authenticity of the Maltese Cross cabin

Historian Ray H. Mattison reports on his study of the authenticity of the Maltese Cross cabin. Mattison concludes that the cabin in question is the one occupied by Roosevelt when he first moved to Medora, North Dakota. Whether or not it was his home beyond 1885, it continued to be the base of Roosevelt’s cattle ranching operation. In addition to a thorough history of Roosevelt’s time in the Badlands Region and the efforts of others to preserve and/or showcase the Maltese Cross cabin, the report includes photos and sworn affidavits from Medora locals.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1950-05-24

Memorandum from Howard W. Baker to Allyn F. Hanks

Memorandum from Howard W. Baker to Allyn F. Hanks

Howard W. Baker summarizes the discussion he had with Ray H. Mattison concerning his report “Study of the Authenticity of the Maltese Cross Cabin.” Baker suggests breaking down the research program into several individual projects unless it is just one overall historical study. In that case, he suggests putting together several studies under one cover. Baker also suggests adding information to the report about the origin of the term “Maltese Cross” and why Theodore Roosevelt adopted it for his ranch. Baker would like the timbers used to build the cabin identified by a professional forester. He understands Russell Reid is already working towards this goal. Baker is also considering hiring an architect to do a measured drawing of the cabin to add to the report.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1950-03-29

Letter from Ruel P. Tolman to Nora E. Cordingley

Letter from Ruel P. Tolman to Nora E. Cordingley

Ruel P. Tolman informs Nora E. Cordingley that although the official catalog of the Lewis and Clark Exposition was examined, no mention of Richard La Barre Goodwin was found. Tolman includes an excerpt from the Lewis and Clark Journal, V.3, No. 5, May 1905 (page 5) that notes the arrival and reconstruction of the Roosevelt Cabin from North Dakota on the exposition grounds on April 20.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1946-02-28

Letter from Ray H. Mattison to Roy P. Johnson

Letter from Ray H. Mattison to Roy P. Johnson

Ray H. Mattison thanks Roy P. Johnson for his hard work gathering and sending him research materials regarding the authenticity of Theodore Roosevelt’s Maltese Cross cabin. The information Mattison has gathered from interviewing old timers backs the authenticity of the cabin thus far, although he still has more people to interview. Mattison believes Hermann Hagedorn is incorrect in saying that Roosevelt went to Red River country in Nebraska in 1882, because there is Red River in Nebraska. He notes a paragraph in Roosevelt’s 1920 autobiography in which the President talks about his first trip to Fargo, North Dakota in 1883, not 1882.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Creation Date

1949-07-23