1952 Manuscript Political Cartoon Map of Florida and Dept. of Agriculture Spending

A manuscript George White 1952 political cartoon map of Florida lampooning government spending on agriculture.

A Closer Look

A giant and in a star-spangled sleeve (Uncle Sam?) with a cuff labeled Washington spreads its fingers across Florida. Budget line items appear across the center of the state and announce which program is being funded at what cost. All these programs fall under one agency: the Production and Marketing Administration (PMA). The PMA funded sugar production, school lunches, supported tobacco crops, and paid direct subsidies to farmers through the Agricultural Conservation Program in 1951. Tampa Tribune staff writer Clyde Shaffer reported on all this government spending after successfully piercing what they called the 'iron curtain of bureaucracy'. This article was the first in a series detailing how this government money was spent and where it came from in an effort to highlight how the U.S. government was financially supporting the agriculture industry throughout Florida.

Publication History and Census

This cartoon was drawn by George White and printed on the front page of The Tampa Tribune on December 16, 1952, as part of an article titled, 'A Report to the People - Florida's Farms Under U.S. Thumb'. Since the presently offered item is the original art for this cartoon, this piece represents a unique item from Tampa's history of investigative journalism.