Judge — June 1935 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This cartoon depicts a tiny town dwarfed by an enormous public building in an empty landscape. The caption references "Ickes," likely **Harold L. Ickes**, Secretary of the Interior under Franklin D. Roosevelt, who oversaw New Deal public works projects. The satire mocks government spending on infrastructure in small towns—constructing a building vastly out of proportion to the community's current size, betting on future growth that may never materialize. The cartoon critiques the optimism (or wastefulness) of New Deal planners who funded ambitious projects in rural America, assuming population growth would justify the investment. The joke is that the modest town will supposedly "grow up to" match the enormous structure—though the visual absurdity suggests this is unlikely.