railroads – Vulgar Army

On October 28, 1891, the Weekly Missoulian caricaturized Hammond as the “Missoula Octopus, that is undertaking to reach its slimy arms over the county and strangle the life out of it.” The following year, Hammond purchased the newspaper. For more information: http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ohq/10a9.4/gordon.html Once again, the “octo” part of octopus is optional. Arms labelled: South Missoula Land Co, Delinquent […]

John T. McCrutcheon “Mr. La Follette’s Strongest Card”, Chicago Daily Tribune on December 29, 1911 La Follette served as Governor of Wisconsin (1901-1906) and senator (1906-1925), and championed railroad reforms. (Also, I have seen photos, that is an accurate representation of his wonderful hair.)

The cephalopod – terrestrial devil fish – a monster of centralization (?) (1873) This is the earliest cartoon (1873) in my collection of the octopus as a metaphor for an industry. The presence of the cave, and the timing1 would suggest an Victor Hugo influence. It also precedes the ‘burst’ of octopus cartoons in the1880s […]

Corporate Greed (1882) Cartoon published 27th June 1882 shows a large bulbous octopus sitting on top of a pile of crates and bales. The caption apparently reads: “Corporate greed octopus gobbles up freight for Great Railroad while unemployed handlers look on”1. Octopus head reads: “Corporate Greed. All for ourselves, nothing for the public”. The tentacles […]