Judge, 1915-06-05 · page 11 of 28
Judge — June 5, 1915 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several humorous short pieces satirizing working-class and middle-class American life, likely from the early 1900s. **"Value Received"** mocks the false economy of eating in restaurants versus lunchrooms. Benny argues that a quarter dinner is reasonable when factoring in the "hidden costs" of his destructive behavior—burning tablecloth holes, spilling soup, stealing sugar and utensils, swapping his shabby cap for a plush one. The satire targets both the working poor who stint on food, and the casual dishonesty/entitlement of customers who feel justified stealing from establishments. **The illustration** shows what appears to be a domestic scene with three figures, captioned with wordplay about a woman's appearance and romantic prospects. The page's multiple brief jokes share a common theme: satirizing lower-income New Yorkers' petty schemes, damaged pride, and attempts at social climbing on minimal budgets. The humor depends on recognizing the absurdity of their rationalizations.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
oN ™ Value Received HILE walking along East Broadway, I met an old friend, named Benny. “Where are you running so fast? asked him. “To eat dinner,’’ he answered. “Where do you eat?"’ “In a restaurant."* “In a regular restaurant? You always ate in a lunchroom."" “I have decided that it is better to eat in a restaurant than in a lunchroom."’ “How much do you pay for a dinner?” I asked. ‘*A quarter,”’ Benny replied. “A quarter for a dinner! Then you are a real sport, a regular Van- and my waistcoat pocket with a handful of toothpicks, quarrel with the waiter in order that I may not be obliged to give him a tip, and, in the bargain, my waistcoat button catches in the tassel of the tablecloth, pull- ing along plates, glasses, bottles, knives, forks, spoons, saltcellars and napkins, doing damage amounting toa couple of dollars— when you take all this into consideration, a quarter for a dinner is not too much—espe- cially when the quarter is counterfeit.”’ J. Adler. A Difference “‘Do yuu know that man Boreby to speak to?’” “No; only to listen to.’” Vulgar Display of Wealth 66\Y FACE is my fortune,’’ said the conscious beauty. ell, it isn’t necessary for you to be constantly flashing your roll,’’ remarked the male cynic. The Only Way Crawford—Do you think it right to quar- tel with one’s wife over the telephone? Crabshaw—That's the only time to do it. You can shut her off before she can get in the last word. It isn’t always easy to address a man who is wrapped up in himself. derbilt, a Rockefeller. I can’t afford to indulge in such extrav- agance. I eat ina lunchroom, where a regular dinner costs fifteen cents, including in the course a bottle of sodawater."” “Then you are really a fool for not eating in a restaurant.’" ‘But a quarter is too much for me to pay,”’ I answered. “TL can't spend so much. It is too great an expense for my earnings. If you work for a shirtmaker, a boss who treats you badly, toil in his dark shop long hours and receive low wages, and when, in addi- tion, you are out of work for eight months in the year, you can’t afford such luxuries, and you can’t spend a quarter for adinner."’ “True, a quarter is a consid- erable sum,"’ said Benny; ‘‘but when you take into considera- tion that I burn three holes out of the tablecloth in the restau- rant with my cigarette, spill a plate of soup on my neighbor's new suit, yawn in his face, up- set a chair while getting up, Possess myself of a half-silken umbrella and a rubber raincoat before lezving, change my old, shabby cap for a new plush one, stuff my trousers pocket with about twelve lumps of sugar Jack—She thought bis love would grow and grow. Mrs. Golitely—And did it? Jack—No, a chicken scratched it up. comicbooks.com