Judge, 1913-10-25 · page 7 of 24
Judge — October 25, 1913 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Judge magazine page satirizes American society at the moment of U.S. entry into World War I. The headline's ironic juxtaposition—placing "WAR DECLARED" alongside a trivial "kitten up a tree" scene—mocks the public's detachment from the gravity of war. The top image shows a Daily News storefront displaying a war declaration poster, surrounded by crowds of ordinary citizens going about their business largely indifferent to the momentous news. Below, multiple humorous pieces—about women's changing fashion, a flirtatious poker game using kisses as currency, and philosophical musings on ordinary life—underscore the satirical point: while the nation enters a devastating conflict, the American public remains preoccupied with trivial personal concerns: clothing trends, romantic games, and shallow social anxieties. The satire suggests both the public's disconnection from war's reality and society's absorption in superficial matters during a historical turning point.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE AMERICAN PUBLIC. WAR DECLARED—KITTEN UP A TREE Oh, Dames and Damsels! wrt next, oh, dames and damsels, can You do to startle modest man? Just now the atmosphere revokes Your skirts so thin and cries for cloaks; But memories of summer's shows Remain, and so the wonder grows As to another season’s code And what will then be a la mode. From ancient costume will you steal Still more, and yet still more reveal? Or will you fancy exercise And leave less action for the eyes? Imagination plays a part, And thoughts more perfect will impart _ Of maid and matron who'll disclose Much less, while wearing far more clothes: An ear of pink, a laughing eye, A rosebud mouth—all will imply Synthetic beauties in the fair Who hides them from the eye and air. Say, will you once more challenge gaze— Though 'tis not easy to amaze? Rejecting skirts diaphanous, Will you still have the laugh on us? When Beauty liberty has won, Her sway has only just begun! —J. A. Waldron. Stacked the Cards on Herself oe WHY ARE you 80 blue?” asks the first fair young thing. “Charles was teaching me to play poker last nigat,’’ explains the second. ‘*We wouldn’t play for money, so he suggested that we play that kisses were checks, and one hug was good for five kisses. Well, we played for a while, and then we had a jackpot, and I bet ten kisses, and he raised it five hugs, and I raised him a hundred kisses, and he raised me a thou- sand, and I raised him a thousand hugs —before the draw.” “Yes?” “And then I discarded the three aces I was hold- ing and drew to a deuce The Ordinary Lot To know a little sweetness, A little woe, A little love and labor, Then to go; Remembered for a minute, The Limit «¢ AND IS she really homely?” we ask. “‘Homely!"’ is the reply. ‘‘Why, she’s so homely that if you'd go to Canada to make love to her they’d surely deport you as looney.”” AN ASTHETIC NECESSITY Host—My wife is positively infatuated with that beast. understand it, Gucst—Why, my dear fellow, that is a handsome dog. Soon forgot— This is the ordinary Mortal’s lot. Lucile Byerly Miller. Many people profess optimism for the same reason that a boy whistles going through the woods—to keep up courage. Tcan't comicbooks.com