Judge, 1913-01-25 · page 12 of 26
Judge — January 25, 1913 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon satirizes complacency about progress. A traveler remarks that the country "doesn't seem to advance much," while a native counters that merely having a road where none existed constitutes improvement. The joke critiques low expectations—the native measures progress by minimal standards rather than genuine development. The surrounding pieces mock various social behaviors: moviegoers' emotional manipulation by films; actors' marital scandals treated as inevitable to fame; and the "busy father" who fills his day with trivial errands (placing bets, arranging smokes) rather than meaningful work, then exhausts himself rushing between tasks. These sketches satirize early 20th-century American culture—superficial entertainment consumption, celebrity gossip, and the performative busyness of middle-class masculinity masking actual idleness or moral emptiness.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE NATIVE SATISFIED. Traveler—‘' This country doesn't seem to advance much."’ Native—‘' Ob, I don't know, When I was a boy there warn’t no road through here at all.’’ Absent. OME along to the ‘‘movies."” Follow the crowd. We sob when it sobs, and, in turn, laugh aloud. Our hearts freely leap to the maid on the curtain, whose job is to weep when her feelin’s are hurtin’. We pity the chap who has landed in prison —would gladly exchange all our pleas- ures for his’n. But where is the fellow with pity to feel for the soul in the coop who is turning the reel? Popularity. Bumble—‘‘I see one of two actors who between them have had eight wives has again been sued for divorce.”* Rumble—One of the penalties of * great popularity.” Never Gets There. O ONE looks for achievement to a man who always has an excuse for failure. CAUTION. Farmer—" Say, boy, does that thing ever go’ sideways ?”” Poor, Tired Father ! FATHER's had a busy day— Hustled to the store at ten; Listened to some stories gay, Told by other busy men. Had to rattle for the smokes, With some members of the banch; Spent an hour relating jokes, And then hustled out to lunch, Hustled back at half-past two, Twice as busy as before; Then he had a lot to do, Telephoning for the score. Placed a bet or two, of cours: Signed a voucher for his pay Came home blowing like a horse— Father’s had a busy day. The man who borrows trouble is con- tinually in debt. comicbooks.com