Today’s topic, extracted from the August 1912 issue of Cartoons Magazine, is the eternal evil of American politics — Campaign Funding. (Or, as Republicans would have it, Corporations = People, and, Money = Speech. Though if you’re going to reduce it to a mathematical equation, then pure math would reveal that those with the most money, get the most speech — which would make one millionaire’s opinion, worth more than the opinions of close to a million ordinary folk.)

Above, top, by Harry J. Westerman, we see all three parties on Beggar’s Row, waiting to panhandle a big $$$ Wall Street/Corporate Monopoly type, for contributions. On the bottom right above, Ralph Everett Wilder shows the three parties all claiming not to answer to Wall Street — and starving for cash. They don’t want to be seen taking Wall Street money, as Wall Street is shown being interrogated by a Senate Investigation on the corrupting influence of their money. The Wall Street type, unaccountable for his contributions, is happily proclaiming, “Oh yes, I contributed a couple thousand — or perhaps it was a couple million — I forget just how much.” Finally above, bottom left, Clubb of the Rochester Herald, depicts (both parties) nomination battles as having eaten up Party Funds, leaving nothing for the Fall Campaign.

Click on the above & below pictures, to view the cartoons in detail, and read their captions.

Beneath, bottom left, artist Gaar Williams depicts T.R.‘s Million $ Campaign “Moonshine Stump”, which his Campaign Committee conspiratorially whispers “Nobuddy knows how jugs git filled an’ nobuddy knows how they git empty.”

The other cartoons beneath, by W.A. Rogers, J.E. Murphy, and Camillus Kessler, also focus on questions of where Teddy Roosevelt and the Bull Moose Party are getting their money, with some pointing towards the monopolistic trust that built harvesting machines.

Doug Wheeler

ElectionComics James E. Murphy John Scott Clubb