Judge, 1913-11-15 · page 8 of 24
Judge — November 15, 1913 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical story mocks women's rights activists, specifically those advocating dress reform—a real early 20th-century movement promoting simpler, more practical clothing to replace restrictive corsets and elaborate layered garments. The "Wrongrighters' Club" discusses a speaker, Mrs. Scrib-Ler, who proposes a complete dress revolution: one simple garment replacing multiple pieces. The club members' shocked reactions reveal period anxieties: without ornate clothing, how would women signal social class? One character fears looking like she's in a nightgown on Broadway; another worries about being indistinguishable from working-class shopgirls. The cartoonist ridicules both the reformers' earnestness and the resisters' snobbery—their obsession with fashion as class marker and propriety. The bottom cartoon about a maid's alibi is a separate, unrelated joke.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Revolt By TERRELL LOVE HOLLIDAY MBS. WADDLE, the olive branch and shock absorber of the Wrongrighters’ Club, finally succeeded in healing the dis- sensions caused by the minimum wage for wives bill. “We have with us to-day,’’ said Mrs. WW Fatley, the chairwoman, when the meeting > had come to order, or as close to that state as it ever approached, ‘‘a distinguished guest, the talented Mrs. Scrib-Ler, of whom you have all heard so much."* “I've heard something of her,’’ whispered Eliza Primpickle, ‘‘but I can’t remember what. Is she a Free Thought priestess or a kleptomaniac? That robe would cover almost anything.”’ “If you'd read more and gossip less,”’ peppered Mrs. Cay- enne, ‘‘you’d know that Mrs. Scrib-Ler is the author of that cele- brated mystery story, ‘How Old Is Ann?’"’ “Read? Humph! Didn't you propose a resolution request- ing the government to abolish the old-fashioned departmental bureaus and install dressing tables?" hotly responded Eliza. Mrs. Waddle edged between the two and prevented hairshed. “It is my hope,’’ began Mrs. Scrib-Ler’s dulcet tones, ‘‘to secure the support of this intelligent and influential body for the great cause—dress revolt. Not dress reform; thesystem jis too complicated ever to be reformed. We must revolt, I say! Throw off every hideous, cumbering garment’'—the speaker flung her arms in a sweeping, illustrative gesture—‘‘and stand free and unhampered!"" “Sounds sort of indecent, doesn’t it?’ murmured Mrs. Fith Avnoo, ‘As if the bathroom walls had crumbled and left one standing in the tub, with the afternoon parade passing.’’ “This one simple garment,’’ continued Mrs. Scrib-Ler, “takes the place of the many which we have worn.’” “Good gracious!"’ cried shocked Eliza. ‘*What does she do when the wind blows?” “I'd feel like I'd awakened from a somnambulistic trance and found myself on Broadway in my nightgown,” declared Mrs. Kindert. “It can be made in a few minutes by an amateur seamstress, "’ said the speaker. 7 NOT TO THE MANNER BORN S. Urban—'S'matter? Is the man crazy? al Right Stranger in New York, I guess, “Then there would be no more imported gowns !’” gasped Mrs, Fith Avnoo, ‘‘The idea! How could you tell a lady from a— er—common person?’ “The shopgirls would dress better than we,’ asserted Tessie Tarrysingle. ‘Some of them do now,” affirmed Mrs.Cayenne, glancing at the chairwoman. “In this costume,’’ pointed the propagandist, ‘‘the fat and the lean look equally well."’ AN Maid—W ALIBI ell, you can't blame me for that ma'am, I 've only been here ten days. comicbooks.com