Gridiron Club

52  Arlington Hotel Washington DC  1897  Gridiron Club.jpg

Creator

Arlington Hotel

Title

Gridiron Club

Coverage

Washington, D.C.

Date

January 30, 1897

Description

President-elect William McKinley spoke to the Gridiron Club dinner attendees by telephone from his home in Canton, Ohio. The topical menu is in the form of five playing cards that make a royal flush. The king card depicts William McKinley and his recent opponent William J. Bryant. McKinley holds a gold coin and a tariff bill; Bryant grasps a silver coin and wields a sword inscribed “free coinage.” The queen card shows ex-Queen Liliuokalani of Hawai’i and a Cuban señorita with a cigarette between her lips.