What So Proudly We Hailed

In light of the lack of effective options to deal with Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, I offer a remembrance of a diplomatic success story 100 years ago.

The U.S., Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan reached agreement in February, 1922 on the Five-Power Treaty to limit naval build-up. A parallel Nine-Power Agreement (the additional powers being Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands and China) guaranteed that each would respect China's territorial integrity. Furthermore, the U.S., Great Britain, France and Japan agreed that in the event of a crisis in the Far East, they would consult with each other before taking any other action.

"A Record Catch" by J.N. "Ding" Darling in Colliers, Feb. 18, 1922

As any student of history knows, those agreements wouldn't last forever; but they remained successful for over a decade. Whatever else the Harding administration is remembered for, this set of treaties are still considered its crowning achievement.

"Ding" Darling's cartoon depicts President Warren Harding and Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes more than satisfied with their catch. "Japanese War Talk Peril" is only partly subdued, apparently.

"Naval Strength" by Clifford Berryman in Evening Star, Washington DC, Feb. 17, 1922

Americans concerned about runaway armament spending lauded the agreements, which were more favorable to the Anglo powers than to Japan. As we noted a few weeks ago, thanks to U.S. eavesdropping on diplomatic cables between Washington's guest diplomats and their home countries, Hughes's negotiators knew what they could get the Japanese to accept.

"Rückkehr von der Abrüstungs-Bescherung in Washington" by Hans-Maria Lindloff in Kladderadatsch, Berlin, February 26, 1922

Skepticism out of Germany of the treaty was only to be expected, but it was not all cheers and congratulations in the U.S., either. Isolationists in the Senate, particularly William Borah (R-ID) and Hiram Johnson (R-CA), promised to be a tough sell.

"Every Where That Mary Went" by John Cassel in New York World, Feb. 25, 1922

Yet even among the men drawing cartoons for rabid isolationist Randolph Hearst, there wasn't much said against the specifics of the treaty. The arguments rested for the most part on a distrust of foreign entanglements.

"Reforming the Sharks" by Harry Murphy for Star Publishing Co., Feb. 22, 1922

To them, U.S. diplomats were not the bountiful fishermen of "Ding" Darling's cartoon, but gullible naïfs wading into treacherous seas, whether they answered to the idealistic Woodrow Wilson or the normalcy-minded Warren Harding.

"Taking Candy from a Child" by Harry Murphy for Star Publishing Co., March 2, 1922

For sheer silliness, no Hearst cartoonist surpassed Frederick Opper. For months, his "Sammy and His Pals" series portrayed England, France and Japan as wantonly imposing their will on the Hughes negotiating team. His Uncle Sam was aware that he was being duped, but seemingly powerless to do much of anything about it.

"Sammy and His Pals" by Frederick Opper for Star Publishing Co., ca. March 2, 1922

 

Hearst's national chain of newspapers made him the Fox News of his day; if Murphy and Winsor McCay were his Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, then I suppose Opper was Hearst's Greg Gutfeld.

"Sammy and His Pals" by Frederick Opper for Star Publishing Co., ca. March 4, 1922

 

As William Morris's cartoon alluded to at the end of last week's post, there was talk in 1922 of changing the national anthem — or, to put it more accurately, to establish an official one in the first place. Many Americans considered "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" to be the national anthem, but there were a number of rival tunes, including "Hail, Columbia" and "America, the Beautiful." "The Star-Spangled Banner" wouldn't be officially declared our national anthem until March 3, 1931.

One would think, given the anti-British editorial policy Randolph Hearst expressed through his stable of cartoonists, that Star Publishing Company would have been happy to see "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," since it was set to the tune of "God Save the King," kicked off the piano rack. Perhaps that's why Opper's revision, even though it doesn't scan to the same tune, expresses Uncle Sam's feelings exactly.