Judge, 1913-09-20 · page 9 of 24
Judge — September 20, 1913 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the American Press Humorists' convention held in Peoria, Illinois, home of writer George Fitch. The main article praises Peoria's hospitality while backhanded-ly insulting the city—Heaven is "select," but Peoria isn't in that class; it's "superior to many larger cities" yet still inferior to actual Heaven. The satire targets Peoria's defining characteristics: it's a railroad hub and corn-processing center (for whiskey distilleries). The text jokes that the city has an insane asylum whose superintendent allows patients unusual freedoms—a dark jab at local eccentricity. The cartoons are unrelated humor: the top shows a man and charging bull at a "Sportsman's Club" (missing his target), and below, two people discuss a garter snake, with the woman innocently remarking it's "much too small"—likely a double entendre about male inadequacy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AT THE SPORTSMAN’'S CLUB Taurus—Did | understand you to say you were going to hit the bull's eye? HF4 VEN is supposed to be a place of felicity and desirable as a perma- nent residence. Peoria, IlI., is not in its class, and this fact may ac- count for the comparatively small attendance upon the Annual Outbreak of the American Press Humorists, twenty of whom found their way there chiefly be- cause it is the home of George Fitch and he is proud of the town, Not that any city now known can enter into competition with the place which is the ultimate ambition of the good, nor eoria will suffer in comparison with the average town of its size. Peoria, i fact, is superior to many larger cities for so many reasons that it is useless to enumerate them. It is the stopping- of several lines of railroad and the ‘al terminus of corn, a field of which some four hundred miles in length I laboriously made my way through to get there. If George Fitch hadn't hypnotized Peoria for the event, the city will go down in the records and memories of the Press Humorists as the most hospitable on the continent. Possibly other so- journers there not favored by acquaint- ance with Fitch may not find it so genial. Heaven is somewhat select, for St. Peter looks over credentials with no partial eye and permits no entry on mere pre- tense, Everybody suspected of being a humorist was wel- comed at Peoria with open arms and music, Entertainment at the Country Club, golf, river excur- sions, automobile and trolley jour- neys, baseball, ban- quets and even the circus that timed its show to the con- vention were on the list of entertain- ments. Peoria has three newspapers that seem to work in harness without competition or jeal- ousy for the com- mon good. They at least worked to- gether for the good of the humorists, though they may have resumed the competitive hullabaloo common to newspapers after the boys left town. Peoria makes more whiskey than any other town in the country, and this ex- plains the corn field referred to. It has an insane asylum whose superintendent is said to permit his dotty guests to do THEY ARE RESILIENT Arnold—Yes, that 's a garter snake, Minnie (innocently) —What ! that little thing? Why, it's much too small, comicbooks.com