Judge, 1912-09-28 · page 12 of 24
Judge — September 28, 1912 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes labor and domestic anxieties of the early 20th century, likely during or after WWI. **"The Awakening of Suffrage"** (left cartoon): A Uncle Sam figure at an army recruiting office points to suffragettes, sarcastically suggesting women demanding voting rights should instead be conscripted as soldiers—mocking the suffrage movement as disruptive. **"Mr. Grouch on the Help Question"** (main text): A wealthy man complains endlessly about the "servant problem"—domestic help (typically young women and immigrants) who demand better wages and working conditions, refuse degrading work, or leave employment. His bitter monologue reveals class anxiety: servants now want "one hour's work with ten hours' pay" and refuse to be exploited. The satire cuts both ways—mocking his entitled complaints while reflecting real anxieties about changing labor relations. **Minor cartoons**: "Moon Dreams" and "The Punster" are unrelated humor pieces. The page captures early 1900s tension between traditional hierarchies and emerging demands for workers' rights and women's equality.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
RECRUITING OFFICE U.S.ARNY u THE AWAKENING OF SUFFRAGE, Mr. Grouch on the Help Question. 'O-NIGHT I reached home, hungry, tired, to find our old black cook was fired. Instead of something good to eat, my wife had badly burned the meat, the coffee had a taste like wood, and not a thing was fit for food. I nib- bled on a crust of bread and wondered why I ever wed, for, honest, since that fateful day we've turned four thousand cooks away. Were I to tell the many kinds of girls who’ve come to us as “finds,” I'd be kept busy for a year and tell you things you shouldn’t hear. The last one left because her wishes would force my wife to washing dishes. The one before—a comely Swede—brought four policemen in to feed. Another— bless her old black hide!—gave up her job by suicide, and since that time we've lost a host who claimed they saw old aunty’s ghost. Another wouldn't wield a broom, but warbled music in her room, until in very self-defense we simply had~to chase her hence. A Ger- man girl gave us great joy, till Teuton Karl—the grocer’s boy—deciding that he'd like to marry, one day eloped with Fraulein Carrie. One girl we brought from Delaware skipped off with all the silverware; a short one, built just four feet wide, took everything that wasn't tied. A girl who had a union card soaked everything she cooked in lard, until my outraged appetite caused me to chase her out one night. I've tried all types, from white to black, but, woe is me! alas, alack! it’s ill befitting any man to have to scrub a frying pan, to wash the windows, bake the bread, and scores of other things I dread. It seems that naught but quick divorce can save me working like a horse, because the servant class to-day wants one hour’s THE PUNSTER, “Do you think I'd look better if I wore corsets, dear ?"* “* Well, you ‘d look more staid.’ MOON DREAMS. work with ten hours’ pay. They don’t mind eating three square meals or tell- ing you just what appeals to their es- thetic taste; and yet, if you should mention work, I bet they would not take the time to tarry, but gather up what they could carry—they'd fold their tents and fade away to Mrs. Brown or Smith or Day. One thing is sure: if ever time should send bad luck to me and mine, I won't despair and sulk and pout; I'll give up business and work out, for by this way, I have a hunch, I'd make enough to feed the bunch. Independ- ence, money, time, by ‘‘living out,’’ would all be mine, Mort Bye. To Examine His Bait. Daniel and Harvey, two old, expert fishermen, were ‘‘still’’ fishing for trout in deep water, sitting with their backs together, when Daniel accidentally fell out of the boat and wentdown. Harvey looked back and missed his companion, who at that moment appeared on the surface, pipe still in his mouth, shaking his whiskers profusely. Harvey—‘‘Gosh, Dan! ye! Where ye been?” Dan—*‘Oh, I jes’ went down fur ter see if me bait wus all right.’’ I jest missed It is all very well to be up and doing, but be careful what you are up to and who is being done. comicbooks.com