Judge, 1903-04-04 · page 10 of 16
Judge — April 4, 1903 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several satirical sketches mocking contemporary American society: **"An After Effect"** ridicules shopping culture and its effects. A minister, dragged by daughters into stores for Saturday shopping, becomes so distracted by commercial displays that Sunday morning he accidentally announces a hymn as "marked down from five dollars"—confusing church ritual with retail language. The satire targets both commercial consumerism's invasive influence and the shallow materialism of the era. **"The Last Resort"** jokes darkly about insomnia treatments: a doctor prescribes dressing as a policeman, implying that fear of arrest would prevent sleep—absurdist humor about failed medical remedies. **"Looking Forward"** satirizes a child's innocent plan to harm a dog on July 4th, likely critiquing casual cruelty and poor parenting. **"Out West"** contains a Guide/Tourist exchange mocking Western stereotypes: that locals become alcoholics simply from breathing the air. These sketches represent Judge's satirical approach—using exaggeration and wordplay to critique consumer culture, medical ineffectiveness, and regional American stereotypes.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AN AFTER EFFECT. HE. good old minister had been inveigled into the shopping district on Saturday by his two daughters. They assured him that the trip through the stores would liven him up, brighten his mind, give him new impressions, and gener- ally have a beneficial effect upon him, They had other reasons for making him go with them, as he afterward discovered. However, those reasons need not be mentioned here. Sunday morning he walked to the church, his mind revolving the varied scenes he had witnessed the day before. He pondered over the vanity of man- kind and womankind ; he marveled at the complexity and completeness of the great business systems of to-day ; he meditated upon the amount of money that was spent upon frivolous things when it might be elevating the heathen. These thoughts stayed with him as he mounted the steps to the pulpit, and even when he was announcing the opening hymn a vision of the interior of a store came between his eyes and the book. ‘Let us now sing,” he said, “number four hundred and cighty-nine, marked down from five dollars.” A BIG ONE. Oh, here I've been a-fishing ‘Since early morn, by Jo! And not a pesky nibble I've captured, don't you know. But hold! I am mistaken, And right in this here brook I now have got a big one ‘Securely on the hook. ‘THE LAST RESORT. | 66] AM sorry that none of my prescriptions | has relieved your insomnia,” said the eminent practitioner, “ because that makes it necessary for us to try a heroic remedy, but it ) is one that has never been known to fail.” © What is it, doctor ?” asked the sleepless one eagerly. | “Dress yourself up in a policeman’s uni- form.” WOM MY, yf t, Ws Y) S A SUGGESTION. LOOKING FORWARD. . ‘ - F ON some resolution strong Lapy— eee your cor 's name, little boy ? I You now would have your nature bent, What are you going to do with him?" Refrain from making that old joke yh, jes’ wait till de fort’ uv July an’ see w'ot we'll do wid him. Hey, fellers?"* About umbrellas keeping Lent. Tourist—" The air here ts fairly intoxicating.” Guiwe—"' Yes, indeed. Folks that lives here right along often acquires the liquor habit from just breathing {t."" comicbooks.com