Judge, 1911-09-30 · page 7 of 23
Judge — September 30, 1911 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Reformer** satirizes idealistic reformers who fail at grand ambitions. A character named Bogus attempts to reform all mankind, then scales down to state level, then a county, finally succeeding only in reforming his own ways. The joke: genuine reform requires starting with oneself, not sweeping social change. **Flinders** mocks repeated failure and divorce culture. The repeated reference to "Ma's at Reno" (Nevada's divorce capital in this era) suggests a woman repeatedly returning to obtain divorces—the "post course" of the school of experience being remarriage failure. **Rabid Transit** criticizes overcrowded urban public transportation and aggressive transit workers. "Errant eyes with eagle eye" and "arrogant attaches" appear to reference overzealous conductors removing passengers from stalled trains. The **Memoranda** section offers cynical social commentary: politicians keep few promises, money matters more than law, and relatives are burdensome. All reflect early-20th-century urban frustrations and skepticism toward institutional reform.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Reformer. By JOHN K. LeBARON. HEN Bogus inclined to reform mankind, The world was his first big bluff; . But after a year it began to appear That a State would be field enough. So he labored away by night and by day, Without any reward or bounty; But a State, he found, covered too much ground, So he just tried Posey County. But his labor, 'twas plain, was prac- tically vain At last he wa: So he spent his his ways, And met with much better success. Flinders. HE. school of experience has many pupils—so many of its graduates return for a post course, When in doubt—-remain single. Of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these—Ma’s at Reno again! forced to confess; last days in reforming AMBIGUOUS. HOME-KEEPING HEARTS ARE HAPPIEST. «éDA, why does the eye have lashes?’’ “Because it has a pupil, my son."” “* Will it injure the grass if I walk on it?" “‘Injure it? Bless yer, no, mum. same as the roller—does it good.’ It's the “Rabid Transit.” Train after train the toil-worn thou- sands try, Hatefully hustled as they homeward hie, Engirt by errant eves with eagle eye. Seething in subterranean stockade, Unhappy urbans, urgent, unafraid, Battle before the bedlam barricade. Wary wage-earners wait without the wall, As arrogant attaches, athletes all, Yank yelling youngsters from the yawn- ing track, Shouting, ‘‘The system’s stalled again! Stand back !’" James Adams, Memoranda. FTER all, the upper crust is made out of the same dough as the lower. A politician is known by the promises he keeps. If you elect small statesmen, how can you expect them properly to consider the country at large? Eternal visitation is the price of rel- atives. Ignorance of the law excuses no one —you must have money or, at least, a good lawyer. comicbooks.com