[California]. [Sinclair, Upton]

To Man or Woman Who Holds a Job Now... [caption title]

[N.p., but California: 1934]. Broadside, approximately 11 x 5 inches. Previously folded. Minor wear and soiling. Very good. Item #2262

Scarce campaign literature in support of Frank Merriam but primarily against Upton Sinclair in the 1934 California gubernatorial election. Sinclair had formerly run for Congress as a Socialist, but won the Democratic nomination for this race, and although it was his most successful showing amongst his attempts to gain political office, he was still handily beaten by Merriam the Republican. Sinclair's platform during the race, End Poverty in California (EPIC), drew harsh criticism from conservatives as a Communist confiscation of private wealth, and grew more unpopular as migrants fleeing the Dust Bowl poured into California.

The present broadside assails Sinclair's proposals for industry and agriculture in California, asserting that he will tax large farms and businesses out of existence, thereby losing the jobs of his putative working-class voters, and attacking his plan to provide jobs through state-run collective farms and factories. "Mr. Sinclair is not an industrial manager. He has never managed anything but a fountain pen and a typewriter.... Do you want to trade the ACTUAL job you hold now for one of Mr. Sinclair's DREAM jobs? Do you want to vote YOURSELF OUT OF A JOB? For Mr. Sinclair promises to smash the industries and businesses that now provide YOUR JOB. His program is to make MORE JOBLESS." We locate only one copy, at Berkeley.

Price: $375.00