Judge, 1913-03-22 · page 8 of 26
Judge — March 22, 1913 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes **wealthy American prospectors and stock schemers** of the early 1900s who courted European investors. The main cartoon depicts a con artist ("Bingo/Jason") pitching a mining stock scheme to a gullible audience in London, claiming a mule's kick discovered a fortune. The satire targets: 1. **American get-rich-quick schemes**: The absurd backstory (finding gold via mule-kick) mocks implausible prospector tales used to bilk investors. 2. **Stock manipulation**: The con offers "forty-nine per cent. of the mine at par" then "ninety-nine per cent."—exposing how scammers inflated valuations and percentages to defraud buyers. 3. **The "Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb" cartoon** below suggests such schemes appeal to those who cannot "hear" or "speak" sense. Judge magazine regularly lampooned American financial fraud and the credulity of international investors who fell for these schemes during the mining boom era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
! aA val il i i a il far i gu | ue ns il i AN “AT “And who art thou,"’ demanded the Caliph of the stranger, “and what is thy errand in Baghdad?” The Wazir, who spoke seventeen languages and more dia- lects than the denizens of Gotham, interpreting these questions, gave the answers thereto thus: “Oh, Illustrious Geezer, I am known as Bingo, and my front name is Jason, in honor of the ancient who had to do with the Golden Fleece; and, verily, I have a strange tale to tell.”” eMAN MCT ASYLUM FOR THE QEAL av OUMB FORETHOUGHT “ "Sh Blay soft, poys ; LLC I AT Wihullu.il HOME” I t'ink dis is a bospital."* CHS Tee t. Cande~ IN LONDON Whereupon Kara Kahn, the Wazir, listening to the words of the stranger as they fell, repeated them thus to the Caliph: “I hail, oh, Mighty Noise, from a vilayet called Ahrah- zonah, in the land called the United States. One day, being strapped, I accepted a grubstake, and with my mule set forth in search of gold. I suffered much, and, being nearly to the end of my ration, was about to give up in despair. The mule stepped upon and crushed into the dirt my last can of beans, and I was thereby wrought to great anger, insomuch that I handed the animal a swift boot in a place where akick would do the most good. Veri- ly, a miracle then came to pass. The mule, resenting my kick, thrust his hoof at me. It went wide, as I was spry, struck an overhanging rock, and disclosed a lead that assayed four thousand plunks to the ton. I had found a mountain of gold.’’ “And these scrolls?’ quoth the Caliph. “Certificates of stock, oh, Most Puissant Gink, representing the Mulekick Mine, which is capitalized at twenty million sequins. I came hither, knowing thy great gifts of mind, hoping to sell thee forty-nine per cent. of the mine at par. I will part with the whole of it at ninety- nine per cent., and if thou buyest it thou shalt find more wealth in it than Aladdin ever lamped."’ -y comicbooks.com