Your TR Source
Nicholas Murray Butler replies to President Roosevelt about Roosevelt’s difficulties in working out tariffs with Congress. Butler offers Roosevelt some advice on how to get Roosevelt’s tariff plans through without making the act seem like Roosevelt’s personal agenda.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-12-12
Nicholas Murray Butler writes to President Roosevelt about recent newspaper clippings. He jokes with Roosevelt about Henry Loomis Nelson. Butler sends clippings so Roosevelt can use them as “evidence” of support for his views. Butler agrees with Roosevelt that adjusting the tariff is the best way forward.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-12-05
Alice Lee congratulates President Roosevelt on his victory, “a real triumph for the ‘pioneer spirit,'” and a clear vote of confidence from Massachusetts in particular. Lee believes great things will happen during Roosevelt’s second term, including Panama being built, the Philippines growing, and China opening its doors. She wishes John R. Proctor could have lived to see it.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-11-10
Nicholas Murray Butler congratulates President Roosevelt on winning “one of the most astounding triumphs in modern politics.” Butler believes that Roosevelt owes his victory both to his own character and to the dirty campaign his opponents ran. Roosevelt’s statement regarding his decision to run for a third term was a wise decision, and removes an area which Roosevelt could have been criticized for. Butler reminds Roosevelt of a suggestion that he and William Emlen Roosevelt made last summer to establish the gold standard even more firmly, and wishes for him to take action on this, believing that the Democratic party would follow suit on the issue.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-11-09
Lyman Abbott plans to interpret the results of the election for the readers of the Outlook, but if the results are what he expects and President Roosevelt is reelected, he does not think the interpretation will be difficult. Abbott believes the Republican party should initiate revision of the tariff. He would be pleased to visit the White House along with his son, Ernest Hamlin Abbott, any time it is convenient for Roosevelt. Abbott would like Roosevelt to talk with Ernest because he thinks Ernest understands the feeling in the South on the question of race, and believes that they need to recognize this if there is to be any progress made on the issue.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-11-08
Three men struggle under tariff burdens–“on the salaried man,” “on labor,” and “on farmer”–as the “one cent newspaper publisher” refuses to pick up the “tariff on wood pulp.”
This unsigned cartoon by W. A. Rogers, who recently had switched affiliations from Harper’s Weekly magazine to the daily New York Herald, drew this cartoon during a period of intense debate about United States tariff rates and import duties. It might appear to depict a family quarrel about arcane tax and trade matters, but it was a very contentious issue at the time.
President Roosevelt gestures at “Dr. Roosevelt’s peerless, political panaceas” with “satisfaction guaranteed or your vote refunded.” There are jars for “labor unions,” “the trusts,” “the farmers,” “tariff revisionists,” “railroads,” “the newspapers,” and “employers.”
C. R. Macauley’s cartoon of President Roosevelt as a snake-oil salesman peddling rostrums — pandering to various constituencies — was standard fare for any cartoonist in any campaign, regarding any politician of any party. Roosevelt frankly admitted to cultivating support from many corners and even engaging in political give-and-take — with “due regard for opportunism” yet never sacrificing righteousness (as he said in a 1914 court case in which he was sued for libel by a machine politician).
President Roosevelt addresses William Randolph Hearst as William Jennings Bryan looks at their marbles game, which includes marbles labeled “tariff revision,” “regulation of R.R.,” “popular election of Sen.,” “popular election of judges,” “ship subsidy,” and “public ownership.”
It is wholly inadequate to identify William Randolph Hearst by first invoking the motion picture Citizen Kane, yet for many people since his death in 1951, that character provides the touchstone, and it is a gross caricature. Hearst’s father George was a prospector who made a fortune from silver claims and other mineral and land opportunities in the West. He rose to attain a vast fortune and secured a seat in the United States Senate. When his son, “Willie,” was expelled from Harvard, George gifted him with the San Francisco Examiner, hoping that a newspaper career would keep him busy, and maybe out of mischief.
President Roosevelt holds a paper that reads, “The tariff cannot, with wisdom, be dealt with in the year preceding a presidential election.” A “standpatter” rejoices while a “tariff revisionist” says, “By heck!”
Clifford Kennedy Berryman’s cartoon (whose caption was clipped off by the custodian of the White House’s cartoon scrapbook) was a spot-on illustration of the situation regarding President Roosevelt and the nation’s trade barriers, its tariffs and import duties. It likewise correctly summarized the reaction of the high-protection and low-tariff and free-trade advocates.
President Roosevelt and Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon shy away from scary toys, as William Loeb watches from behind an iron fence. Frightened also are Senator Philander C. Knox, and Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks. William Jennings Bryan holds a “tariff revision” snake and a children’s toy labeled, “death to trusts.”
For a cartoon in the reliably Republican Washington Herald, Joseph Cunningham’s cartoon critically but realistically depicts Republican leaders as frightened little boys as the neighborhood bully scares them with a toy snake and a phony spider.
Senator Joseph Benson Foraker holds a paint palette labeled “tariff tint” as he looks on a painting of President Roosevelt playing the violin and Secretary of War William H. Taft dancing. The painting received “1st prize – Salon 08.” On the ground are tubes of paint: “railroad rate red” and “Brownsville black.”
Joseph Harry Cunningham’s cartoon about the early rivalries for the 1908 Republican presidential nomination delicately portrays the tension between two Ohioans, Secretary of War William H. Taft and Senator Joseph Benson Foraker. It was rare that two formidable candidates arose from the same state in any election cycle, yet the confrontations were many, and the state’s leading Republicans generally split along southern (Taft was from Cincinnati) and northern lines, each man with longtime associations and commitments.
Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon says, “Tariff revision or an extra session!” in one cartoon. The next includes a teddy bear and President Roosevelt reading a paper that says, “Mr. President: Anything you say goes! California.” Another cartoon depicts a government clerk holding a bag that says, “50% salary increase” while Uncle Sam says, “And more if necessary.” The next cartoon depicts William Jennings Bryan saying to William Randolph Hearst, “After you, my dear Willie!” with a sign that reads, “To presidency.” Another one shows South Carolina senator Benjamin R. Tillman depicted with a pitchfork walking toward the White House with a dove of peace. Finally, the last cartoon depicts Senator Joseph Benson Foraker with a sign that says, “Reenlistment” in front of a group of soldiers labeled, “25th Infantry” — the black regiment at the center of the Brownsville Incident.
When cartoonist Clifford Kennedy Berryman switched, shortly prior to this drawing’s publication, from the Evening Star from the Washington Post, his drawing style improved: a better ability to capture celebrities’ likenesses to place atop little bodies. This cartoon fell back on the erstwhile cartoonists’ annual chestnut — a reliable theme to use once a year, the Valentine cards for politicians — either dream-fantasies or the unlikeliest of scenarios.
President Roosevelt ploughs through a variety of drifts: “tariff revision drift,” “swollen fortune drift,” “railroad drift,” “Standard Oil drift,” “Senate drift,” “Jap. drift,” and “canal drift.” In the background the Republican elephant cries, “Help!” stuck underneath a drift.
“Drift” was a word that made its way into President Roosevelt’s speeches and articles, reflecting his concern that events might slip out of control in areas of public life where he had influence. Whether it was reform to forestall revolution, or urgent conservation measures to prevent the spoil of natural beauty and resources, or similar palliatives, Roosevelt always seemed concerned with anticipating possible over-reactions to challenges and problems in society.
President Roosevelt, mounted on a horse, jumps over a fence with poles labeled “Square Deal,” “Equal Rights,” “Corporation Control,” and “Tariff Reform” as Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks watches in the background.
Cartoonist Jack H. Smith of the Washington Herald frequently copied from photographs, and even from the cartoons of others, as he does here. The image of a confident President Roosevelt on horseback clearing a hurdle was too good to neglect, and too inviting not to copy, if not quite as well as other cartoonists.
President Roosevelt holds a bow with an arrow labeled “Tariff Revision” and two other arrows in his mouth, “Income Tax” and “Inheritance Tax.” Just beyond him is a man labeled “Trusts” with a large apple labeled “The Tariff” on his head. The man has the arrows, “Anti-rebate,” “Anti-trust” “Railroad Rate Law,” and “Pure Food” in his chest, and he is saying, “The most unkindest cut of all!” Caption: “See if you can hit the apple, Mr. Roosevelt.”
Both President Roosevelt and Secretary of State Elihu Root went public with ideas about economic and governmental reforms that shocked many people in the Republican Party and on Wall Street. Chief among these were theoretical considerations of a national income tax and a national inheritance tax. These concepts previously had been relegated, and rejected, by many Americans as Populist or even Socialist dogma.
President Roosevelt holds a “Roosevelt Speller revised edition” and crosses off the second “f” in “the tariff” on the chalkboard. Andrew Carnegie says, “That wasn’t on my list!” while Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon tries to pull Roosevelt back. Secretary of the Treasury Leslie M. Shaw says, “The unkindest cut of all.” Pennsylvania Representative John Dalzell lies flat on the floor while a “steel trust” and Rhode Island Senator Nelson W. Aldrich cover their faces.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-01
President Roosevelt rides on an elephant and leads a Saint Patrick’s Day parade featuring the “G.O.P. band,” which includes Secretary of War William H. Taft, Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon, Pennsylvania Senator Philander C. Knox, Secretary of State Elihu Root, Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks, and Secretary of the Treasury Leslie M. Shaw. The parade has a banner with a three-leaf clover that has words in each leaf: “anti-rail-road rebate,” “Philippine tariff moderation,” and “Panama Canal—no grafting.” Roosevelt holds a “Spanish-American War” sword.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-03
President Roosevelt and South Carolina Senator Benjamin R. Tillman go fishing in a “senatorial pool.” At the bottom of the pool is “the railroad rate bill” turtle, a “Philippine tariff bill” alligator, a “statehood bill” frog, and a “Santo Domingo” fish. On the ledge are two crayfish by a “bait amendments” can.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-01-25
President Roosevelt leaves the White House with a gun and a “Senatorial game bag.” He encounters a number of animal traps: “railway rate trap,” “Panama trap,” “federal ins. trap,” “Santo Domingo trap,” “Venezuela trap,” “German tariff trap,” “state interference trap,” and “campaign expenses trap.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-01-03
President Roosevelt points a gun at a “statehood bill” animal while a “Panama” alligator, a “R.R. rates” walrus, a “Philippine tariff” water buffalo, and a “Morocco” leopard look on.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-01-21