Judge, 1914-02-14 · page 9 of 24
Judge — February 14, 1914 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the early 20th-century obsession with eugenics and scientific rationality in courtship. The main story follows Lenore Delancey, who evaluates her suitor Henry Blackthorne not on love or character, but on medical certificates and eugenic charts—checking his leucocyte count, opsonic index, and inoculation records. The joke targets Progressive Era enthusiasm for applying "science" to human improvement and mate selection. Rather than romantic passion, their relationship hinges on laboratory data. When Henry's immunological response proves inadequate, Lenore—wearing a suffrage badge—rejects him despite emotional attachment, prioritizing scientific standards. The bottom cartoon, "One Thing Explained," shows a new arrival weighed at 41 pounds, likely mocking the period's obsession with measuring and quantifying everything, even infants. The satire critiques how pseudo-scientific thinking could replace human emotion and judgment in intimate decisions.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Barrier "THE RAIN beat desolately upon the windows of the spacious library where Lenore Delancey was waiting. Her face, with its delicate, thoughtful, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman beauty, looked pale and drawn, above the vivid cerise gown, with which, in ac- cordance with mod- ern science, she had tried to put a punch into the grayness of the day. As she gazed out into the richly appointed Long Island land- scape, she wondered wistfully_what fate had in store for her; and her heart beat faster as a taxi whizzed rapidly up the long drive. He entered—the suitor for whom she waited. Henry Blackthorne’s face and form had gladdened many a maiden’s heart. Tall, athletic, dark- eyed, he carried his Marxheimer clothes with a highborn grace. As Lenore ad- vanced to meet him, he took the prof- fered hand with a courtly air, while hope not unmixed with apprehension sat upon his manly, Leyendecker features. “You have them—the documents?”’ The little catch in the girl’s voice showed how vital was her interest. With a barely perceptible tremor of the hand, he drew from his pocket a eugenic chart and several certificates, which he spread upon the table before her; then he stood watch- ing in silence while she read. Presently the tension in her face relaxed, and at 1) gett fh PLENTY OF TIME Madge—Are you in a hurry ? Marjorie—Why, no, dear. her long breath of relief he moved a step nearer and whispered thrillingly, ‘‘All is well, my darling?’’ She nodded tenta- tively, but with a little gesture forbade his closer approach. “Practically, yes, though there are one or two little points upon which you can doubtless reassure me,’’ she smiled up at him confidingly. “‘My ear—the one that was bitten off at college, you mean? But Dr. Carrell can easily”—— She shook her head. ONE THING EXPLAINED Younghub (who has borrowed iceman’s scales to weigh new arrival) —Gee whiz! forty-one pounds! I have an appointment and I'm only half an hour late. “Then what?’’ he wondered. ‘We both had appendicitis a yearago. Surely you remember’’. She softened, remembering the happy days after the operations, when they had met and loved, at Palm Beach. Then she spoke firmly, with sweet seriousness. “I notice, Henry, that your leucocyte count is not all it should be.’’ He paled, for she was treading upon dangerous ground, and he feared the ana- lytical workings of that keen young mind. Yet he tried to speak lightly. “Not perfect, perhaps, Lenore; still, it is fair.’’ “And that leads to the question I must ask. I note that the result of your inoc- ulation with the mixed bacterins is not given here. Henry’’—her lips trembled —‘‘how about your opsonic index?’’ With a despairing gesture he sank into achair, and his head sank to his folded arms upon the table. He had dared to hope against hope. The girl stood look- ing at him, her slim fingers clutching con- vulsively the suffrage badge at her breast. For an instant a wild impulse swayed her. Should she dare all and ally herself with one whose immunizing response was weak? Forgetting the limitations of sci- ence and of her skirt, she took one im- pulsive step toward him, tottered and nar- rowly escaped falling at his feet; then, recovering her self-control, with renun- ciation written upon her set face, she turned and slowly left the room. Be- tween them all was over! —Corinne Rockwell Swain. comicbooks.com