Judge, 1914-05-23 · page 14 of 24
Judge — May 23, 1914 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This humorous article by Homer Croy satirizes folk remedies and quack cures popular in early 20th-century rural America. The piece presents a tongue-in-cheek narrative about a Minnesota man supposedly "cured" of stammering after being kicked by a cow named Geraldine. The satire targets two things: (1) the gullibility of rural communities who embraced dubious medical treatments, and (2) the absurdity of attributing miraculous recoveries to violent accidents. The author's deadpan delivery—describing in mock-serious detail getting kicked into a feeding trough—emphasizes how ridiculous such "cures" actually are. His concluding refusal to endorse cow-kicking as legitimate treatment confirms the joke. The accompanying illustrations and shorter humorous pieces ("A Misnomer," "How He Knew," "Not or If Not") maintain the magazine's satirical tone throughout, poking fun at contemporary social observations and wordplay.
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NAUTICAL TERM—A LEG IN THE WIND The Cow Cure for Stammering By HOMER CROY MAN living in a small town in Minn- esota was cured the other day of stammering by being kicked by a cow. He was filling the bucket as fast as he could, when the cow put her foot against his neck, and when he came to he could talk as well as anybody. The cultured author of these One time, dressed in our Sunday clothes, we rushed down to a cow to get the milk that she had brought in from the pasture. Geraldine was a large creature, splendidly muscled, with just a touch of hauteur in her eyes. She was standing there going over her meal for the last time; she was never satisfied without sprinkIng her meal down for the night. Seating ourself on a one-legged stool, we took hold of the milking conveniences and proceeded at once to fill the pail, We had used them only a few times when Geraldine turned her large, meditative eyes in our direction. We smiled amica- bly at her, but she did not return the feeling of fellowship. She seemed above us. Being of a naturally trusting and con- fiding nature, we burrowed our ear in her flank and went on with our chores. All of a sudden we felt a muscle tighten, and in a second we were lying over near the feeding trough, with Geraldine’s foot in our vest pocket. She raked her foot roughly down across our lap, and the next thing we knew they had a feather bed under us in the spare room and were ar- guing over our broth. When it comes to choosing a cure for stammering, we feel that we would let the cow remain undisturbed in a corner of the lot, reflectively chewing her cud, while we hastily wrote to a correspond- ence school, asking for their best rate. A Misnomer If you judge things by their titles, You are apt to come to grief. Just for instance, there are few things Longer than a lawyer's ‘‘brief."” Changeable Rankin—I thought you said Rosemary was a strawberry blonde. Phyle—She used to be; but since pur- ple hair came into fashion, she is a huckleberry brunette. How He Knew Payton—Why are you so sure that isa New York baby? She can't talk. Parker—No; but she can lisp ‘‘Dough- dough,’’ ‘‘Car-car,’’ and ‘‘Tan-go.’” lines has had experience with cows, and after giving the subject a moment’s intense thought, he believes that he will look around a while longer before selecting a stammer- ing cure. We can imagine nothing more unpleasant than lying on the ground with a cow’s large and neglected foot star- ing one in the face. The cow treatment for stammering will never meet with our un- qualified indorsement; we will never sign a cow testi-- monial without a certain amount of reserve and hesita- tion. y NOT OR'IF NOT He—You'll be sorry some day that you didn't marry me. She—Well, I'd rather not be married and be sorry I wasn’t married than be married and sorry I was married. comicbooks.com