Judge, 1913-07-26 · page 12 of 24
Judge — July 26, 1913 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top cartoon critiques women's suffrage opposition by showing five identically-dressed men with the caption "IF THESE FOUR MEN ARE GOOD ENOUGH TO VOTE, WHY NOT THE WOMAN?" The satire is direct: if men are qualified voters despite appearing interchangeable and undistinguished, women possess equal capacity. The main story ridicules "New Woman" hypocrisy—two unmarried women who claim to reject matrimony as "a snare and delusion" and espouse serious pursuits like "settlement work" (Progressive Era social reform), yet immediately accept motor-car invitations from men who've proposed to them. The text exposes their contradictions: they dismiss men as "unnecessary animals" while eagerly seeking their company and entertainment. The small "Failing" cartoon at bottom satirizes changing marital dynamics, suggesting husbands' romantic gestures have diminished (crushing one cigar instead of two). **Context:** This reflects early-1900s anxieties about women's independence, changing social roles, and the seeming gap between feminist rhetoric and actual behavior—portrayed as shallow opportunism.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Belinda!"”’ “And if I were a ‘Johnny,’ as they call those chaps who talk in falsetto and whose eyebrows and hair exclude fore- heads”. “Stop! Do you think I'd ever be a show girl? I mean the drama—tragedy —something big—tremendous! Oh, you don’t know what I've been doing! I can play Lady Macbeth!’* And Arabella struck a pose which she thought was appropriate, closed her eyes and began the somnambulic scene, ‘‘ ‘Out, damned spot! Out, I say!’'’ “Wait!” cried Belinda. ‘Do you think, dear, that Mrs. Siddons ever stood like that? She must have rubbed one hand with the other. Or that Ristori or Ellen Terry shut her eyes in that scene? FAILING Young awife—Jack, you no longer love me! Hubby—Ridiculous! 1 hugged you so hard then I crushed two cigarettes Young wife—But you used to crush two cigars, You read it j uation essa: Arabella emerged from her histrionic mood with a laugh. ‘‘But what shall I do? What shall you do? We've decided that matrimony is a snare and a delusion, as it is.’” “And that men are unnecessary ani- mals, except as they go to swell the audience!" “Or except as they may be used fora bit of recreation on occasion, if they happen to own motor cars. By the way, I met Jack Garland and Billy Sanford this morning, as I was coming out of Madam Dupe’s shop.’ ‘Why, you didn’t tell me you had been to Madam Dupe’s! Did you finally order that stunning leghorn shape and the para- dise?’’ “Yes, Iwas going to tell you. Jack Garland and Billy Sanford met me as I came out, and Billy asked if you and I would like to go down the Jersey coast to-morrow for a day in his auto."” “With him and Jack?” “Ofcourse. We can’t run a motorcar. “But Jack proposed to me yesterday, and I refused him.’” “Well, what of it? Billy proposed to me the day before, and I refused him. They can’t do anything worse than pro- pose again in couples’’—— “*And be refused again, of course. But I'm not sure either of us has any time for motor rides or to waste on such chaps."” “Or any other chaps. Now, dear, I’ve something to ask. Do you think it is right for a young woman like me to think too steadily of the uplift of the human race?" “Not in view of the fact that you have not added to the race and have no inten- tion to do so. But what did you answer Billy about the motor ride?”’ st as you spoke your grad- “T didn’t answer. Now, if you think as you say, I shall give up my idea of settlement work. There seem to be plenty of persons in it already."” “Yes. Besides, the dangers of settle- ment work are enormous. Most young women who go into it might just as well contemplate a regular matrimonial bu- reau with favor and be done with it. They all get married—that is, the well- locking ones, The ill-looking ones have to do the work. You, my dear, are cer- tainly not ill-looking. “Thanks, awfully “‘And you are determined to remain single, as I am, and teach weaker women lessons. But did you tell Billy we didn’t care to go down the coast?’’ “The idea! How could I tell him un- til I had spoken to you about it? For myself, I don’t care to go joy-riding. I’ve too serious a purpose in life. And as I've given up my plan to go in for settlement work, I must keep quiet for a bit and think of what to do—something earnest and beneficial to humanity."" “‘Joy-riding, indeed! That wouldn’t be joy-riding, and we really need a little change. The weather promises to be fine. We can take our bathing suits along.”” “Yes, that’s what Billy said. And he said they could order dinner in advance at that fine new hotel.’’ **But, my dear, it seems you have been a little stupid about it. You haven't even said we'd go. How are they to know?”’ Belinda almost snapped this out as the telephone bell rang. “There!’’ said Arabella. ‘‘Billy said he'd call up. That’s him, I’m sure!’’ And Arabella and Belinda ran to the "phone together. —J. A. Waldron, Many breach-of-promise suits have had their beginning in a bathing suit. comicbooks.com