Judge, 1913-06-21 · page 10 of 24
Judge — June 21, 1913 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1918 page satirizes **domestic spending and marital budget conflicts** during wartime austerity. The centerpiece is a humorous "open letter" from "Wilkins Micawber McGillicuddy" (a comically absurd name) who rebuts an earlier Judge cartoon showing a husband's "merry-go-round" of domestic expenses. McGillicuddy provides an affidavit—complete with a notarized "diagram" and comic seal—satirizing how wives actually spend household money on luxuries: cigars, treating friends, plays, theaters, and other indulgences rather than practical needs. The joke targets **married women's extravagant wartime spending** despite calls for conservation. The elaborate legal framework (fake notary, impossible expiration date "February 30th") amplifies the absurdity. The letter ridicules both wives' lavish habits and husbands' complaint-prone passivity. Other brief items on the page include a "Practice" joke about a health commissioner killing flies (wartime pest control humor) and mild romantic/summer resort gags.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Some Examples of Carelessness JROPPING an acquaintance. Cracking a joke. Breaking the current of one’s thoughts. Treading on other people’s toes. Tripping upstairs. Tearing along. Letting fall a hint. Allowing a secret to escape. Letting a suggestion slip out. Losing a chance. Failing to catch a sentence, Missing the point. Falling over ourselves, Stumbling over an apology. Running against a stone wall. Kicking up a dust. Slopping over. Making a blot on the record. Forgetting old friends. Getting caught in the tide of adversity. Gee, B. Morewwoed. An Open Letter Guyascutus Lodge, Maine, June 12th, 1918. My dear Mr. Editor—In a recent issue of Jupce I find this admirable little sketch, by Mr. Petersen: BUBBY'S MERRY~GO-ROUND Admirably drawn; but, in the interests of truth, is not the accompanying diagram a leetle bit closer to the facts of life as we are trying to live it in these extravagant days? It occurs to me that, in the unlikely event of your publish- ing this Ietter, some of your readers will quietly scoff and say, “Oh, that’s merely the rave of some woman who finds that the cap fits!" To meet this criticism, I inclose herewith an affi- davit, duly sworn to before a notary public, that I am, and have been since my twenty-first birthday, a man and a hubby. Very truly yours, Wilkins Micawber McGillicuddy. HER FUTURE Fond father—1 wonder if she'll be president some day? A Marine View PPROPRIATE colors for an artist to use in painting a storm at sea would be for the waves rose and the winds blew. Open Season for Cupid ‘THE summer girl is planning now Her subtle summer arts, And Cupid’s working overtime At sharpening his darts. And by and by, at each resort, According to her plan, There'll be a Johnnie slain each day, Mistaken for a man. Practice “How did you develop such a won- derful batting eye?’’ asked the major- league magnate admiringly. “Acting as health commissioner of chi Piwattomie, Kan.,"' replied the recruit modestly. ‘I got so that I couldswat a fly every t “How did he raise the wind?” “Well, he had a fine air to start with, so he just blustered a bit and blew about his prospects.”’ 0 MR. MCGILLICUDDY’S DIAGRAM (arripavit) Binks County, State of Maine. Wilkins Micawber McGillicuddy, a resident and taxpayer of Binks County, personally known to me, solemnly swears that, to the best of his knowledge and belief, he is a male human being, and has been so since birth; and deponent further swears that, since the thirteenth day of November, 1901, he has been what is unpopularly known in some quarters as a husband, hav ing upon that date entered into the holy bonds of padlock with Marietta Maginnis Hopkins, of Slathersville, Pennsylvania, to all of which I, the undersigned notary public in said Binks County, State of Maine, do add my own sworn testimony as to the truth of the deposition as above of the said Wilkins Micawber McGillicuddy. (Signed) Witness my hand and seal this Hiram Johnson Pikestaff, twelfth day of June, 1913, Notary Public. My commission expires February 30th, 1941. (sEaL] comicbooks.com