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President Roosevelt thanks Stephen W. Roach for sending him a biography of his father, John Roach, who Roosevelt praises as being instrumental to beginning the building up of the American navy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-02-27
At left, on the sidewalk outside a gambling room labeled “Monopoly Club Shades,” James G. Blaine and Benjamin F. Butler corner a “Workingman” and try to steer him into the gaming room. On the right, sitting around a table with playing cards, are Russell Sage, William Walter Phelps, George M. Robeson, Jay Gould, and John Roach, and standing is Cyrus W. Field. On a shelf is a bust of William H. Vanderbilt beneath a sign that states “The Public Be D–” and notices that state “No Straight Flushes in this House” and “This is a Bluff Game – No Limit.” On either side of the bust are boxes of “Brag Chips” and “Bluster Cards.” Caption: Hungry Ben – “How are you, Mr. Workingman? What! – don’t you remember me? Why, I’m your old friend! Say – just you let me put you onto a nice little scheme-” Workingman “No, sirree! I’ve been there before.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-08-20
Republican revelers in the foreground make music as they pass a reform ark being constructed in the background. Depicted are John Sherman playing pipes labeled “Southern Outrages,” John Logan playing cymbals labeled “Pensions,” Whitelaw Reid playing pan pipes labeled “Monopoly,” James Blaine playing a lyre, George Robeson riding on a donkey labeled “Surplus,” with George Hoar, John Roach, Joseph Keifer, and Roscoe Conkling among them. Among the crowd that follows are Ulysses S. Grant, Jay Gould, and possibly Rutherford B. Hayes, also a man playing a tambourine labeled “Bossism” and another carrying a standard labeled “Spoils,” and one with a sign labeled “River & Harbor Frauds.” In the background, John Carlisle stands at the head of those building the ark. Also shown are Henry Watterson with hammer and chisel, William Morrison holding up “Morrison’s Tariff Reform Plan,” and Abram Hewitt holding “Hewitt’s Free Trade Plank.” The ribs of the ship are labeled “Tariff Reform, Raw Materials Free, Lower Iron Tax, Lower Tax on Woolens, [and] Works of Art Free.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-03-05
Illustration, reminiscent of Thomas Nast’s cartoon of the same title published in Harper’s Weekly, October 7, 1871, hence “That trick is very stale”, shows a group of monopolists and Blaine supporters scattering on the street in response to the cry “Stop thief!” Joseph Keifer carries a sign that states “Beware of Cleveland the Monopolist” and Cyrus Field waves a sheet that states “Down with Cleveland the Monopolist.” Among the pursuers and those being pursued are William W. Phelps, Benjamin F. Butler carrying a bag of “Monopolist Fees”, Robert Ingersoll, Keifer, George M. Robeson, Whitelaw Reid throwing “Dust” in the eyes of workingmen, Alonzo Cornell, Field, James G. Blaine carrying a bag of “$ from Monopolists” and “R.R. Stocks,” Russell Sage, John Roach, and Jay Gould, as well as a dog with the face of John Kelly(?), and with a teapot labeled “Alliance with Monopolists” tied to its tail; all are determined to look like pursuers, instead of the object of the pursuit. Carl Schurz, dressed as a policeman, is standing on the sidewalk at far right. Two laborers are standing on the left, next to a sign that announces “Friend of the Workingman Meeting at Monopoly Hall To Night – J. Gould, C. Field, R. Sage, Robeson.” Caption: Level-Headed Workingman – “Too thin! That trick is very stale. I guess we know a monopolist when we see him!”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-08-06
James Gillespie Blaine stands on the “Republican Race Track” in an arena, apparently frozen in position as his tattooed ghost races past him. A sign in the center of the track states “Presidential Race Against Time – Blaine to Beat His Own Record.” In the background is a tent with banner labeled “J. Blaine” and decked with floral wreaths that state “With Compliments J. Gould” and “With Compliments from C. Field,” and one shaped like a horseshoe from “R. Sage.” Whitelaw Reid stands outside the tent, holding a bucket and a sponge labeled “Tribune” and William Walter Phelps peaks through the flaps with a concerned look on his face. Among those in the grandstand on the left are A. M. Clapp, George M. Robeson, Alonzo B. Cornell, John Roach, and Thomas Jefferson Brady. Caption: Chorus of Friends “Go in, Jim! – brace up! Can’t you do any better than that?”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-07-30
Secretary of the Navy William C. Whitney hands a boat labeled “Dolphin” to James G. Blaine who shies away, refusing to accept it. In the background, John Roach, a contractor, who built the ship “Dolphin,” is crying because the Cleveland administration has voided his contract. Caption: Secretary Whitney – “Here, Mr. Blaine, this was evidently built in the expectation of your election. We have no use for it.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1885-05-20
William C. Whitney, Secretary of the Navy, insists that John Roach, a contractor, accompany him on a test cruise before the Navy can sign off on the contract and accept delivery of the ship “Dolphin.” Roach, holding a piece of paper that states “Bill for Constructing the Dispatch Boat ‘Dolphin’ –J. Roach,” steps back in fear and does not accept Whitney’s offer. Caption: Secretary Whitney – “I can’t accept your ship until we have tried her again. Step on board, sir. ” / J. R. – “Step on board! No, sir, never! My life is entirely too valuable to the nation. Cut down the bill, and call it square!”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1885-04-01
James Gillespie Blaine is the “plumed knight” wearing cabbage leaves on his head with two plumes labeled “Brag” and “Bluster,” and with a quill pen labeled “Gail Hamilton.” He holds a sword labeled “Guano Statesmanship” and a shield labeled “Monopoly Press,” and his legs are the bars of a horseshoe magnet labeled “Spoils System.” He sits on a pile of “Mulligan Letters” and “R. R. Bonds.” Attracted to the magnet are George M. Robeson labeled “Navy Swindles,” Whitelaw Reid, John A. Logan labeled “Hoodlum,” Col. John A. Joyce labeled “Ex-Convict,” Stephen W. Dorsey, William P. Kellogg labeled “Louisiana Frauds,” Joseph W. Keifer labeled “Speakership Corruption,” Cyrus W. Field labeled “‘L’ Road Swindle,” Jay Gould labeled “R. R. Wrecker,” Robert G. Ingersoll labeled “Star Route Plunder,” John Roach labeled “Navy Jobs,” Alonzo B. Cornell labeled “Blind Pool,” Thomas Collier Platt labeled “Me Too!!”, Schuyler Colfax labeled “Credit Mobilier,” Thomas J. Brady labeled “Star Router,” Powell Clayton labeled “Arkansas Frauds,” Russell Sage labeled “Wall Street Stock Gambler,” and Roscoe Conkling.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-06-25
At a dinner party is presidential candidate James Gillespie Blaine, who is trying to cover himself with pages of the New York Tribune, and by his side, vice-presidential candidate John A. Logan. Seated around a table set with “Pension Pie, Monopoly Stew, [and] Star Route Shortcake” are James W. Husted, Chancey M. Depew, Powell Clayton, Joseph Medill, Stephen W. Dorsey, Thomas J. Brady, a man identified as “Elkins,” William H. Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, Cyrus W. Field, Whitelaw Reid on his feet, John Roach, and Robert G. Ingersoll fleeing with a bone labeled “Star Route Spoils.” Blaine wears an “Anti-Sunstroke Cabbage Leaf” on his head, to which is attached a quill pen labeled “Gail Hamilton.” Projected onto a wall at the far end of the room are the words “Republican Revolt,” which has frightened everyone in the room.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-06-18
Print shows Jay Gould, William H. Vanderbilt, Cyrus W. Field, Russell Sage, and John Roach riding in a carriage past a crowd of laborers labeled “Knights of Labor” and “Pittsburg Free Strikers” who are watching a man labeled “Workingman” trying to climb a “Greased” pole carrying a child on his back and with a woman and child hanging from his belt. The pole is greased with “Monopoly Grease,” at the top are “Higher Wages, Bread, Tobacco, Wine, [and] Ham.” The view from the pole shows factories in the middle distance and the “Roach Monopolist Ship Builder” facility in the background.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1882-06-21
A street on a winter’s day is crowded with horse-drawn sleighs, some of which are attempting to get ahead of the others. On the left, a sleigh labeled “J. Gould” carrying Gould, Whitelaw Reid, and Roscoe Conkling has caused another sleigh labeled “Villard” and “Northern Pacific R. R.” to overturn, spilling Henry Villard, and nearly hitting George H. “Pendleton” holding on to the arm of a young girl labeled “Civil Service Reform.” Behind them is a troika labeled “Standard Oil Co.” that is driven by Sereno “Payne.” Racing ahead at the center is a sleigh labeled “The P– be d–” and “Vanderbilt” driven by William H. Vanderbilt. On the right is a large “Labor Sleigh” loaded with blue-collar workers and drawn by a single, scrawny horse struggling to keep pace. To the far right are two sleighs. One labeled “Roach Contract Cutter” is driven by John Roach and the other labeled “Field” is driven by Cyrus Field. Bringing up the rear is a sleigh labeled “Huntington” driven by Collis P. Huntington and flying a banner that states, “It costs money to fix things.” A man with a bag labeled “Laborer Iron” has fallen in the street and is about to be run over by Roach and the Labor Sleigh.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-02-06
Grover Cleveland, as Hercules carrying a large club labeled “Honest Legislation,” encounters a group of troublemakers along the “Administration Road” to “Success” seen in the distant background. Among the problems to be dealt with are a “Rotten Navy” represented by a two-headed hydra labeled “Robeson” and “Roach” holding a club labeled “Lobby,” an old man labeled “Mormonism” with many wives dangling from his belt, Jay Gould labeled “Land Grabber” holding a club labeled “Monopoly” and carrying a sack with papers labeled “R. R. Land Grab, U. Pacific Land Grab, [and] Land Grab,” a stereotypical Jewish man wearing a top hat labeled “Bankrupt” and holding papers labeled “List of Preferred Creditors,” a vulture labeled “High Tariff” and “Over-Production” sitting next to the prostrate body of a man whose hat, labeled “Labor,” has fallen on a nearby rock, and two men, one labeled “Cuba” holding a paper that states “Please Help a Poor Man with a Treaty” and the other labeled “Mexico” holding a paper that states “Please Help Poor Mexico with a Treaty,” a snake labeled “Silver Swindle” among the rocks, and a man in the background labeled “To the Victor Belong the Spoils” holding a club.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1885-02-18
Several members of Congress stand around a large Christmas tree labeled “Tax Surplus” decorated with money bags labeled “Surplus.” The legislators carry bags in which to place the bags of surplus they pluck from the tree. Among those identified are Charles W. Jones holding a bag labeled “Naval,” William E. Chandler holding a bag labeled “Subsidies for a Merchant Steam Marine,” William Mahone holding a bag labeled “Public Buildings and Grounds,” John A. Logan holding a bag labeled “Appropriations” and reaching for a sack on the tree, Joseph W. Keifer lifting George M. Robeson holding a bag labeled “Partners in the New Naval Scheme,” John Roach holding a bag labeled “New Navy Scheme,” Henry L. Dawes holding a bag labeled “River & Harbor Bill,” Francis M. Cockrell holding a bag labeled “Improvement of Mississippi River,” Eugene Hale holding a bag labeled “River & Harbor Bill,” John J. Ingalls holding a bag labeled “More Pensions,” Benjamin F. Jonas holding a bag labeled “Improvement of Mississippi River,” and Elbridge G. Lapham who is speaking to two well-dressed women, one holding a bag labeled “Lobby.” Lapham is also depicted in the angel at the top of the tree holding a banner labeled “Help Yourself.” Uncle Sam dances with three men in the foreground and, on the right, a lone “Taxpayer” stands outside in the snow.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1883-12-19
In an opium den labeled “Bloody Shirt Joint – Blaine and Reid Managers,” James G. Blaine passes out pipes labeled “Tribune Editorials, Blaine’s Augusta Speech, Blaine Speeches, [and] Speeches” to fellow Republicans labeled “Chandler, J. Roach, Evarts, Cornell, Logan, Hoar, Foraker, J. Sherman, Brady, Dorsey, [and] Reid,” Unidentified is Elihu Root and the man dreaming of becoming the “Secy. of Navy.” They have resorted to opium as the panacea for their political woes and while in their drug-induced stupor they dream of Blaine’s ascendancy to the presidential throne and of themselves becoming members of Blaine’s cabinet.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1885-09-23
James Gillespie Blaine is pictured as Apollo playing a lyre labeled “N. Y. Tribune” fashioned from the body of Whitelaw Reid, before a gathering of the gods on Olympus. Among those present are Cyrus W. Field as Mercury, George M. Robeson as Neptune, Charles A. Dana as Minerva, Jay Gould as Zeus, Thomas Collier Platt, Robert Green Ingersoll, and Rutherford B. Hayes as angels, Chauncey Depew, W. H. Vanderbilt as Pluto, Russell Sage, William W. Phelps, John Roach as Vulcan, Stephen B. Elkins as Dionysus, Joseph Warren Keifer as Hercules, John Alexander Logan as Mars, Benjamin F. Butler as Venus, Stephen Wallace Dorsey and Thomas Jefferson Brady as putti, and John Kelly as an owl.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-10-08
A woman labeled “Republican Party” sleeps in the background, while members of her court, some dressed as women, also sleep in the foreground. Depicted are Whitelaw Reid, Murat Halstead, Russell Sage, John Roach, Jay Gould, Benjamin F. Butler, James G. Blaine, William H. Vanderbilt, John Logan, Cyrus W. Field, two dogs labeled “Phila. Press” and “Chicago Tribune,” Chester A. Arthur, Rutherford B. Hayes, William W. Phelps, John Sherman, Simon Cameron, George F. Hoar, Alonzo B. Cornell, Stephen W. Dorsey, Thomas J. Brady, William M. Evarts, George M. Robeson, William E. Chandler, and Joseph W. Keifer. Caption: She bungled with the civil-service reform distaff, and she and all her court were condemned to sleep for __ years.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1885-08-26
Several congressmen and senators are dressed as women nursing symbols of American industry. Sherman and Blaine feed “American Swine” as it sits on a rocking horse. William D. Kelley, known as “Pig-Iron Kelley,” hugs a tin-man labeled “Iron” with a locomotive for a head and clutching a pig labeled “Pigdron” [sic]. Thomas Ochiltree kisses “American Beef,” Warner Miller hugs “Wood Pulp,” John P. Jones comforts “Silver Mining,” Charles W. Jones combs “Cotton,” and George M. Robeson and John Roach pass “Ship Building” off to “John Bull” hiding in the bushes. Uncle Sam sits with Liberty in the upper left.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1883-06-27
Graetz, F. (Friedrich), approximately 1840-approximately 1913
Print shows the Republican and monopolist allies raising a flag that states “Down with the Workingman and Up with the Tariff” in an artillery battery where they are aiming a cannon toward “Fort Labor” which is flying the flag of the “Workingmans Party”. In the allies camp are Roscoe Conkling, Jay Gould, Alonzo B. Cornell, William D. Kelley, William H. Vanderbilt, Ulysses S. Grant, John Sherman, George F. Hoar, John Roach, “Hastings”, and Whitelaw Reid.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1883-08-08
Print shows a jousting tournament between an oversized knight riding horse-shaped armor labeled “Monopoly” over a locomotive, with a long plume labeled “Arrogance,” and carrying a shield labeled “Corruption of the Legislature” and a lance labeled “Subsidized Press,” and a barefoot man labeled “Labor” riding an emaciated horse labeled “Poverty,”, and carrying a sledgehammer labeled “Strike.” On the left is seating “Reserved for Capitalists” where Cyrus W. Field, William H. Vanderbilt, John Roach, Jay Gould, and Russell Sage are sitting. On the right, behind the labor section, are telegraph lines flying monopoly banners that are labeled “Wall St., W.U.T. Co., [and] N.Y.C. RR.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1883-08-01
Graetz, F. (Friedrich), approximately 1840-approximately 1913
A policeman from the “New Chicago Anti-Monopoly Party” holds a broken nightstick labeled “Popular Support.” He is standing on a sidewalk at “Vanderbilt’s Monopoly Car Yard,” confronting a gang of monopolists that includes, among others, Jay Gould, William H. Vanderbilt, Cyrus W. Field, John Roach, Russell Sage, and an “Anti-Monopoly Grocery Monopolist” Francis B. Thurber. Gang members hold handguns and rocks. Puck, holding a club labeled “Only Support,” stands with the policeman. A flag that states “No Thoroughfare for Small Business Men” hangs from a building. An injured or dead man, identified as a “Small Business Man,” is lying in the street.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1883-07-18