Judge, 1912-09-14 · page 15 of 24
Judge — September 14, 1912 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the newly enfranchised woman voter in early 20th-century America (California granted women's suffrage in 1911). The main article, "Chatter" by Lillian St. John Collins, mocks women's supposed need to educate themselves for citizenship through reading about "Political Candidates," "Timely Advertisers," and legislation. The author describes the overwhelming mail she received after registering to vote—merchants and vendors bombarding her with advertisements for "suffrage furniture," teeth, and other goods. The humor targets both the commercialization of women's voting rights and the implication that women voters were unprepared consumers easily manipulated by advertisers. The cartoon showing a woman on what appears to be a war machine labeled "War" alongside text "She Will Spike War's Gun" suggests satirical commentary on suffragists' claims about women's political power. The page mocks the idea that voting women would immediately transform society or stop wars, while simultaneously ridiculing the avalanche of commercial exploitation following enfranchisement.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
.T H E Chatter. By LILLIAN ST. JOHN COLLINS S I HAVE said in Jupce, there is an immense amount of reading necessary for women who aspire to the degree of Full Citizenship. I tried the course of reading, myself, for a week—but, then, I wasn’t over- anxious to be a full citizen, anyway, so I'm afraid that wasn’t quite a fair test. I think I could have passed on the ‘Political Candidate’? course; it was on ‘Timely Advertisers’’ that I flunked. You see, California women were en- franchised just prior to an important They bumped up, full tilt, into the solar plexus of a live ‘The jolt was something fierce! I noticed right away that my mail was increasing every day. I finally had to put a basket under the box to accom- modate the overflow. During that first week (when I was qualifying for my degree), [ would get up in the early dusk of chilly quiet reading before the rest of the fam- ily w dle ¢ over election, right issue. mornings for an hour's re astir; then I up-ended the can- 4 sat far into the night, poring the of I discarded news- papers with my morning coffee and sub- stituted legendary political candidates, qualifications the ‘full text’’ of proposed legislation; I But [ must hurry on with my stor: Then along came the mely Litera- "before I had anywhere near fin- ished with the ‘' Political Candidates." And right on top of the ‘* Political C didates’’ and ‘*Timely Literature’ the “Timely Advertisers, ’’ pell-mell. ch morning I was besought by ob- ‘ame are thorou with its fora few seconds only. A handsome colored reproduction of t on heavy paper, 11 x 14 inches, sent for 10 cents, THE C. E. CONOVER CO., Mfrs. A woman's personal satisfact everything ughly hygienic M OD E RN my “‘election-day suit.’’ Department stores, in beautifully engraved text, cordially invited me to ‘‘register here’’ and buy my suffrage furniture from them. By still other up-to-the-ininute venders of wares I was informed that a perfectly good set of teeth could be had for six dollars, while the smaller sum of five would procure me the refusal of a solid-gold crown in first-class condition SHE WILL SPIKE WAR'S GUN. --each sum, or both, to be extracted without pain. But I wasn’t out for a throne, so I had no use for a crown, gold or other- wise; and if I should ever get into a political mix-up, | know better than to use teeth—finger nails for me, every time! But one morning the long-suffering worm turned. My mail was rather light WwW oM AN that day—just one letter, to be exact. I drew a long breath of relief and reached for a hairpin. With a single deft movement I pried out the com- munication. It was a circular letter from a cigar shop, politely but very firmly urging me to ‘shop here.’’ Right then and there I renounced the vanity of a political de- gree and resigned myself to wear a sim- ple period after my name, even if it was old-fashioned. The men folks of my clan have gently urged upon me that I need not assume all the duties of full citizenship at once; they have hinted that I might jockey with some of the unimportant issues; they have even definitely promised me immunity from certain habits which heretofore have been supposed to belong to citizenship. But I don’t know. I'm still wondering: “*Shall I have to smoke?"’ The Real Reactionary. The suffragettes now well may gloat— Of that there is no doubt. If you believe they'll have no vote, Smoke up—your pipe is out! The Strongest Argument. He—What, in your opinion, is the strongest argument in favor of woman suffrage ?"’ Clever suffragist—'*The mental caliber of the women who oppose it.’” One of Three. A man usually thinks of his wife as private property belonging to one of three classes: a kitchen utensil, a par- lor ornament or a talking machine. “The Crowning Attribute of Lovely Woman is Cleanliness” nin looking chart about her is exquisitely clean. Naiad Dress and healthful to the most delicate skin ; are absolutely free from rubber, 1 sagreeable odor: can be easily and quickly S At stores or sample pair on receipt of Every pair guaranteed, 101 Franklin Street ming and dainty is doubled when she knows Shields i LIZED by immersing in boiling water They are preferred by well-gowned women of refined taste is beautiful Coles Phillips Drawing No advertising. New York comicbooks.com