April 14, 1906: TR and the Man With the Muck-Rake

April 14, 1906: President Theodore Roosevelt gives a speech at the dedication of the House of Representatives office building that will later be named for Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon of Illinois, a fellow Republican, albeit of a rather different outlook.

TR -- he didn't mind the use of his initials, but he hated being called "Teddy" -- invokes John Bnnyan's 1678 novel Pilgrim's Progress:

You may recall the description of the Man with the Muck-rake, the man who could look no way but downward with the muck-rake in his hands; who was offered a celestial crown for his muck-rake, but who would neither look up nor regard the crown he was offered, but continued to rake to himself the filth of the floor.

While cautioning about possible pitfalls of keeping one's attention ever trained downward, "on the muck," Roosevelt emphasized the social benefit of investigative muckraking reporting, saying:

There are, in the body politic, economic and social, many and grave evils, and there is urgent necessity for the sternest war upon them. There should be relentless exposure of, and attack upon, every evil man, whether politician or business man; every evil practice, whether in politics, in business, or in social life.

I hail as a benefactor every writer or speaker, every man who, on the platform, or in book, magazine, or newspaper, with merciless severity, makes such attack, provided always that he in his turn remembers that the attack is of use only if it is absolutely truthful.

And so, the name "muckrakers" was applied to reform-minded journalists, writers, and photographers, who claimed to expose corruption and wrongdoing in established institutions, often through sensationalist publications, in the Progressive Era in America, roughly from TR's inauguration into the Presidency in 1901 until the U.S. entry into World War I in 1917.

Such journalists included Lincoln Steffens, whose 1904 book The Shame of the Cities exposed municipal corruption; Ida Tarbell, whose 1904 book The History of Standard Oil led to the breakup of that company's monopoly; Upton Sinclair, whose 1906 novel The Jungle exposed the working conditions in meat-packing plants, and led to both labor reform and the establishment of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); and Ray Stannard Baker, whose 1907 book Adventures in Contentment exposed rural poverty.

Lincoln Steffens

Steffens, who later claimed his book made him "the first muckraker," Tarbell and Baker each had their books serialized in McClure's magazine, run by S.S. McClure, before they were published in book form. In 1907, dissatisfied with with the "muckraker" label, they left McClure's, and founded The American Magazine. That publication continued until 1956, while McClure's only lasted until 1929.

Steffens died in 1936, Tarbell in 1944, McClure in 1949, Baker in 1946, and Sinclair in 1968.

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April 14, 1906 was a Saturday. This was also the day A Trip Down Market Street was filmed in San Francisco. I have a separate entry for that event, just 4 days before the city was devastated by an earthquake and fires. And Faisal, King of Saudi Arabia from 1964 to 1975, was born on this day.

It was the Opening Day of the American League season in baseball, but only 2 games were played:

* The New York Highlanders beat the Boston Americans, 2-1 in 12 innings at Hilltop Park in Upper Manhattan. Jack Chesbro outpitched Cy Young, with both men going the distance. It was one of the best, and earliest, pitching duels in this long and hard rivalry: In 2 years, the Americans would become the Red Sox; in 5 more, the Highlanders would become the Yankees.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 4-3 at American League Park in Washington.

There were 3 games played in the National League, which had opened earlier:

* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1 in 11 innings at National League Park (later rename Baker Bowl) in Philadelphia.

* The Boston Beaneaters beat the Brooklyn Superbas, 1-0 at Washington Park in Brooklyn. Vivan "Vive" Lindaman pitched a 4-hit shutout. The Superbas became the Dodgers in 1911. By the next season, the Boston team was named the Braves.

* And the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs, 1-0 at The Palace of the Fans in Cincinnati. Jake Weimer pitched a 7-hit shutout.

And in English soccer, Woolwich Arsenal, later to become Arsenal Football Club, the North London team I would support, beat Manchester-area team Bury, 4-0 at the Manor Ground in Plumstead, South-East London.