Dublin Core
Title
Description
By 1943, "stateside" civilian life in the US had been transformed by WWII. The War Production Board had been granted authority to conserve strategic resources, prioritize essential industrial work, and redistribute labor to support the war effort. Created in 1942, it was generally successful in its goals but the massive scope of its mandates also led to mis-allocations and frustrations.
Congressman Robert Ramspeck (D-GA) was Chair of the House Civil Service Committee, and dedicated himself to locating inefficiences and wastes of taxpayer money. If it gained publicity, so much the better. "Civil Service Wonderland" was an occassional feature in Collier's that gathered stories of absurd government waste that are a staple of American life.
Stephen Ronay's satirical cartoon illustrates a real-life complaint by one civil servant: "I was just one of more than 100 employees in that office, some of them being paid $6,000 and $8,000 a year, all sitting idle, as I was. Yet the walls were covered with pep slogans" (26). Along with many other examples, Ramspeck concluded that a drastic overhaul of the civil service system was necessary.
Congressman Robert Ramspeck (D-GA) was Chair of the House Civil Service Committee, and dedicated himself to locating inefficiences and wastes of taxpayer money. If it gained publicity, so much the better. "Civil Service Wonderland" was an occassional feature in Collier's that gathered stories of absurd government waste that are a staple of American life.
Stephen Ronay's satirical cartoon illustrates a real-life complaint by one civil servant: "I was just one of more than 100 employees in that office, some of them being paid $6,000 and $8,000 a year, all sitting idle, as I was. Yet the walls were covered with pep slogans" (26). Along with many other examples, Ramspeck concluded that a drastic overhaul of the civil service system was necessary.
Creator
Ronay, Stephen R[obert] , 1900-1983
Publisher
Date
Contributor
Source
Format
Type
Still Image Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Magazine cartoon
Physical Dimensions
8.5 x 5.75 in.