His share of relief 

• 1937 
• McClelland, Leland 
• Drawing 
• Historical item 

6632075

Drawings / paintings

His share of relief

35 x 30 cm

1937

Original editorial cartoon in pen/brush and ink on card for the Columbus Ohio Citizen, 1937, shows the ‘taxpayer’, the ‘state’, the ‘county’ and ‘city’ all trying to extract dollars from each other’s back pockets and get a share of the funds set aside for relief. In response to the Great Depression of the 1930s and as part of the New Deal the Roosevelt administration introduced many different schemes to help the unemployed, some of which provided work relief and unemployment relief. The problem with these schemes was that there was little in the way of an administrative infrastructure to implement them. Key questions were whether the relief setup should be local or national, city, county or state, and how to avoid maladministration and waste and the inevitable corruption and patronage that were still widespread in the country. These issues were of topical interest again in 1937 as the economy fell back into depression and unemployment started to rise again. Mounted for an overall size of 51 x 43 cm (20 x 17 inch), image size 35 x 30 cm, signed lower right. Artist’s name typed in upper border and caption in lower border, and caption and date in pencil on verso. In very good condition.