“Socialism” octopus by Louis Wain, circa 1902. Many thanks to Jack Graham for providing a rather unusual political cartoon.

The Seattle star. (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, November 06, 1905, Night Edition

Arm Labels:  Electric Power, Suburban Freight Trains, Electric Light, Politics, Real Estate, Street Car Lines, Wood Yards, Renton Coal Mines

Octopus: Puget Sound National Bank

A CALL TO ARMS

Like a Mighty Octopus, Sucking Life-Blood From the City

Are the people of Seattle under the influence of opiates or are they hopelessly and literally dead?
Is it possible they do not know or do not care whether their most sacred rights and interests are treacherously sold or given outright to greedy and unscrupulous corporations, or reserved for them and their posterity?
At the meeting of the council this very Monday night, a franchise privilege worth millions of dollars will certainly be tossed over to the Seattle
Electric company, unless the people wake up and present themselves at the council chamber with a protest that cannot be misunderstood.
It is proposed to deliberately give away to the Seattle Electric company, whose owners live in Boston, and have not a vestige of interest in Seattle, except the money which they can extract from the people and carry away with them—-
It is proposed to hand over to this company, which calmly ignores the petitions and pleadings of the people of this city for more car lines and better service, the only possible outlet over which a competing or even a city car line can in the future be built from the business section to the north end of the city.
This privilege is worth millions.
It effectually and forever gives the death blow, to the possibility of a municipal car service.
Can you trust your city council to protect the interests of the people against the dark lantern methods of this foreign corporation?
Could the people of Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis or Philadelphia trust their councils?
There is but one way to save the city from the treacherous game of give-away that is being played between the council and the electric octopus, and that is to appear in person at the council chamber and enter a protest against this business of selling out you and your posterity which these juggling aldermen can comprehend.
THIS CRIME OF SELLING OUT THE RIGHTS OF POSTERITY IS THE MOST PERFIDIOUS THAT MEN CAN PERPETRATE. THE ORDINARY ROBBER MEETS YOU ON THE HIGHWAY AND TELLS YOU TO STAND AND DELIVER. HE DOES NOT MORTGAGE YOUR FUTURE LABOR OR THAT OF YOUR CHILDREN. BUT THE FRANCHISE GRABBER STRETCHES HIS FELONIOUS FINGERS FAR INTO THE FUTURE AND STEALS THE INHERITANCE OF THE CHILD WHOSE FATHER IS YET UNBORN.
There are 100,000 people living north of Pike street. Are the rights and interests of such a vast community to be thrown away forever?
Is the sole means of access to this great and growing district to be handed over to Mr. Furth and his foreign backers in response to some silent and hypnotic influence which he seems able to exert?

DROP YOUR BUSINESS FOR AN HOUR AND TURN OUT FOR YOURSELVES THIS MONDAY NIGHT FOR POSTERITY AND FOR THE CITY’S WELFARE.

Claude Marquet, ‘Fighting the Octopus’, Worker (Sydney), 12 November 1904. Reprinted p6.32 in ‘All the world over’, Dyrenfurth, Nick; Quartly, Marian, Drawing the Line 2009 1:1, 6.1-6.47

Octopus represents American Tobacco trusts with hat called ‘Greed’. It grasps a North American ‘Factory Hand’, ‘Consumer’, and ‘Retailer’ and South American ‘Planter’, and is reaching towards Australia. Sword held by Australian (farmer?) is labelled ‘Nationalisation’

 “The End of the Circus Season” by  William Allen Rogers published November 3, 1900, in Harper’s Weekly p.1050

Democratic nominee William Jennings Bryan is pictured as a clown dejected by his impending defeat. He rides the exhausted Democratic Donkey through a driving rain storm, while carrying the symbols of his failed issues—free silver (bunco dollar), imperialism (tyrant), and antitrust (octopus). The scene evokes the literary analogy of Don Quixote, who tilted at imaginary windmills, and the body of water is probably meant to be the Salt River, a metaphor for political defeat.

Source of image and quote: Harp Week (Accessed 27th Aug 2010)

“The Great Oil Trust Master In The Act Of Telling Ministers The Virtues Of His Methods, While The Octopus Listens in Glee”; The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) May 22, 1904, p.31

The introduction to the newspaper article:

Spurred into action by repeated attacks in the public prints, the Standard Oil Trust at last has come out of the shadows and invaded the field of literature, evidently proposing to try the effect of a little publicity all its own.

This, at least, is the conclusion which must be drawn from the study of a new phenomenon in the publishing world. About a year ago a book by Gilbert Holland Montague, bearing the title “The Rise and Progress of the Standard Oil Company,” made an appearance. It was published by Harper & Brothers, and that house, with unique generosity, has undertaken to give the little volume a wide circulation.

This is presumably a follow up to ‘The Serio-Comic War Map For The Year 1877’^1.

John Bull and his Friends
A Serio-Comic Map of Europe
by Fred W Rose
Author of “Angling in Troubled Waters”²
1900

The “Refererence” section on the map reads³:

REFERENCE

Great Britain - John Bull has been attacked by two wild cats. He is however able to rely on the stores of ammunition behind him, as well as his own pluck and great resources. The letter at his feet from his friend Uncle Sam, would be more encouraging were it not for the postscript. The Nationalist section in Ireland takes this opportunity to vent her abuse upon him, but is restrained by the loyalty of the people.

France too, is scolding and threatening to scratch with one hand, while with the other she is beckoning on Germany to help her. Although the Dreyfus affair is thrust into the back-ground she is much occupied with her new doll’s house. She has somehow managed to break all the toys on her girdle and her heart is sore, for she attributes these disasters to John Bull.

Holland and Belgium are also calling him unpleasant names.

Spain, weary with her recent struggles, remembers that John was in no way inclined to help her, and looks up hoping to see him attacked by some of her neighbours.

Portugal is pleased to think he holds the Key of the situation.

Norway and Sweden though still struggling to get free from their mutual leash, turn their attention to John’s difficulties, while Denmark is kindly sending him a present of provisions.

Germany (in spite of the growth of his territories in the present century) still feels cramped, with all the goods he has to dispose of. He is so occupied with his new boats that he scarcely finds time to add a grumble of bitter scolding of his neighbours.

Austria and Hungary will be content with dreadful threats

Switzerland’s satisfaction that her Red Cross has done good service, is marred by the news of John’s victories, which she is reading.

Italy alone holds out the hand of encouragement to his old friend.

In Corsica the shade of her great departed son is wondering why people don’t act, as he would have done, instead of growling and cursing.

Sardinia, Sicily, Servia, Bulgaria, and Roumania only wish to be left alone.

Turkey, resting comfortably on his late foe Greece, is smiling at the thought that these troubles do not hurt him and perhaps he is not sorry that John will not come to much harm.

Russia, in spite of the Tzar’s noble effort to impress her with his own peaceful image, is but an Octopus still. Far and wide her tentacles are reaching. Poland and Finland aleady know the painful process of absorption⁴. China feels the power of her suckers, and two of her tentacles are invidiously creeping towards Persia and Afghanistan, while another is feeling for any point of vantage where Turkey may be once more attacked.

Below is a reworked Russian version of that same map:

‘Europe and the world’s largest monarchy before its overthrow’⁵ (or ‘before the fall’), circa 1917⁶. Remixed propaganda, early 1900s style.

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Hat Tip:

And many thanks to Jason Adams of Indie Squid Kid for spotting the reworked one. I didn’t realise there was more than one Rose Serio-Comic map involving an octopus!

Image Sources:

• Serio-Comic Map: BiblioOdyssey (June 2009): ‘An Incomplete Evolution of the Cartoon Political Map’
• Russian version photographed by: Babs71 (via BibliOdyssey)

Footnotes:

1. There are at least two verisons of this map: the one previously on Vulgar Army and a full-coloured variant Rare Maps.
2. Refers to another map published in 1899 that lacks octopuses.
3. BiblioOdyssey (June 2009): ‘An Incomplete Evolution of the Cartoon Political Map’
4. ‘painful process of absorption’ is odd phrase: a vampire octopus? (And a note to self: Victor?)
5. Translation by P-E Fronning from BibliOdyssey (July 2008) ‘Grab Bag’ (Accessed 15th Feb 2010)
6. ibid