Judge, 1901-06-15 · page 16 of 16
Judge — June 15, 1901 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two separate satirical cartoons targeting working-class domestic life and gender relations circa early 1900s. **Top cartoon ("A Tempting Impulse"):** Uncle Joe Plugg eyes a "Woman's Exchange" storefront, joking he'd like to trade his wife Mandy for one with more "get up" (energy/ambition) and less "allfired humly" (humble/dowdy appearance). The satire mocks men's fleeting marital discontent and the notion of women as interchangeable commodities. **Bottom cartoon ("Wanted to Understand It Right"):** A doctor prescribes a chicken for a sick husband's nourishment. Mrs. Johnson—glancing at her eldest son—asks if it *must* be a purchased chicken, implying she could steal one instead. The joke satirizes poverty and working-class mothers' desperation, their willingness to commit petty theft to afford medicine. Both cartoons use ethnic/dialect humor (rendered speech patterns) typical of Judge's era, depicting working-class characters as comical and morally flexible.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A TEMPTING IMPULSE. Unctr Jor PLucc—" Woman's Exchange, eh? If it won't be so blamed wicked, I'd almost fee! like exchangin’ Mandy fer a woman with more ‘get up’ to her an’ not so allfired humly. : ‘Sackett Wiheins iho 8 Pig Ca Rew York WANTED TO UNDERSTAND IT RIGHT. Doctor—" Yes, Mrs. Johnson, your husband must have nourishment—buy a chicken and make some bi Mas. Jonnson (glancing at her eldest son)—"'Scuse me, Doctah, but am it absolutely necessary dat de "hicken should be a bought chicken?”