Judge, 1911-04-29 · page 7 of 26
Judge — April 29, 1911 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the cramped, uncomfortable conditions of railroad sleeping cars (berths) in the late 19th/early 20th century. The cartoon "Daniel in the Lions' Den" pairs biblical imagery with the complaint: a small man faces enormous lions labeled "THE OTHER GIRL," "THE OTHER FELLOW," "HIS FOLD," and "HER FOAM"—representing the crowded, intimate indignities of shared sleeping quarters. Harvey Peake's poem parodies Longfellow's "A Psalm of Life," mocking railroad advertising claims about "sublime comforts." The humor targets the gap between marketing promises and reality: upper berths sold out, cramped spaces forcing awkward physical proximity, inadequate bedding, and sleeping arrangements so terrible passengers joke they'd prefer sitting up. This reflects genuine public frustration with railroad travel conditions before modern comfort standards.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ELL me not in mournful numbers That all upper berths are sold, That I must pay for my slumbers Dollars fi n lower hold. Find an upper! I'm in earnest! e Tam indue: r from five, two thou returnest, Since the upper's been reduced. THE DANIEL IN THE LIONS’ DEN, By HARVEY PEAKE Berths are short, ditto the sheeting, And my heart, though stout and brave, Shrinks at that compulsive meeting 'Twixt knees and the place I shave! In the berth’s cramped field of action, until midnight; h much dissatisfaction, PSALM OF BERTHS. Sleeping-car ads. all remind us That their comforts are sublime; We, departing, leave behind us One word—"' Li ! i Let us then be up and creeping From our torturing retreat, _ Vowing that our future sleeping Will be done upon the seat! comicbooks.com