Witches

John Mitchell and Samuel Gompers, representing the United Mine Workers and the American Federation of Labor, are witches stirring a “dangerous brew” of labor violence in a cauldron labeled “Unionism” over flames labeled “Anti-Injunction Bill.” Steam rising from the pot is filled with threatening human figures and the words “Boycott, Mob Violence, Intimidation, Dynamite-Persuasion, Riot, Lawlessness, Anarchy, Parkism, Graft, [and] Incendiary Press.”

Comments and Context

Samuel Gompers, founder and president of the American Federation of Labor (AFofL), and John Mitchell, president of the United Mine Workers of America (the union was a constituent member of the AFofL), are portrayed in this famous cartoon by Samuel Ehrhart in Puck as fomenting union strikes and labor violence.

The immediate context was the labor movement’s concerted effort to oppose methods used by employers and compliant courts to end strikes by issuing injunctions. In 1904 the AFofL planned a campaign to persuade the public and lobby the federal government; in 1906 there would be important meetings with President Roosevelt, cabinet members, senators, and representatives on the issue.

This vignette cartoon depicts changes to folklore, fairy tales, courtship, and punishment, that will result from the cycling craze. Vignettes include witches riding bicycles instead of brooms, Father Time riding a bicycle, Cupid running over victims with a bicycle instead of shooting arrows at them, fairies on bicycles, and a cyclist’s nightmare in Hell.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1897-07-21

An old hag sits on a large ticker tape machine, on Wall Street, spewing “Inside Information,” “False Financial News,” and rumors that ensnare large groups of investors. Caption: The witch of Wall Street.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1909-09-08