The hanging garden of "Dabble-land"  

• 1934 
• Scobey, Herndon S. 
• Drawing 
• Historical item 

6870291

Drawings / paintings

The hanging garden of "Dabble-land"

38 x 28 cm

1934

Original editorial cartoon, pen and ink on card, about 1934, shows the ‘AAA’ fencing in land with agricultural produce which is being supported by a pole which is about to ‘crack’ and disappear into ‘oblivion’ under the strain of ‘danger of illegality’. This refers to the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933. This was part of president Roosevelt’s New Deal program designed to deal with the collapse in agricultural produce prices that accompanied the Great Depression. Overproduction meant that many farmers could not earn enough to cover the costs of producing crops and rearing livestock. The idea of the AAA was to boost agricultural prices by reducing surpluses. The Government bought livestock for slaughter and paid farmers subsidies not to plant part of their land. This was controversial because people all over the country were going hungry. The AAA is viewed critically here as dabbling, i.e. having no fixed plan or purpose, and was indeed declared unconstitutional in 1936 by the Supreme Court on the basis that regulation of agriculture was deemed a power of individual states, so the federal government could not force states to adopt the Act due to lack of jurisdiction. Card size 38 x 28 cm (15 x 11 inch), image size 28 x 24 cm, not signed, caption in pencil in lower border. Cartoonist’s name in pencil on verso. In very good condition.