Judge, 1915-07-31 · page 4 of 28
Judge — July 31, 1915 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Judge* magazine presents an editorial titled "Editorial Demeanor" discussing the nature of true politeness. The main text argues that genuine courtesy is "a gift from heaven" and "the working grace of a good and kind heart," not mere superficial convention or social pretense. The cartoon below depicts three figures—apparently a couple and a gentleman—under an umbrella in the rain. The caption suggests a satirical exchange about marriage as "a game of chance," poking fun at romantic courtship rituals. The "Brief Decisions" section offers witty aphorisms about human nature and society, typical of *Judge*'s satirical commentary on American social conventions. The page critiques both artificial politeness and naive romanticism, using humor to question genuine versus performative social behavior.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Demeanor HE QUALITY of courtesy is not strained. It is a gift from heaven. Only few have guarded it as precious, and so it seems to persist only as a monopoly controlled by the minority. Acquired politeness is so dearly gained that it does not flourish to any large ex- tent, and the incidence of it is negligible. Constrained civility is like poor wine. It deceives nobody. So unfavorably is it regarded that it hardly attains classification. Perhaps no coun- terfeit sooner finds itself completely neg- lected. There is always effort made in every neighborhood to divorce politeness from kindness. The effort always fails. It col- lapses of its own artificiality. When Mrs. Haughty seems to unbend sufficiently to bid many of the ‘townspeople’ to her large and showy reception, say, once a year or less often, the event conveys nothing of what its author intends to have it convey. It serves merely to dismiss all obligation on the part of Mrs. Haughty's equipment to disseminate human geniality where it is reasonably expected. If politeness is anything at all, it is like kindness; it is pragmatic. It works. It would never work with anybody while it stands as the mere semblance of convention, the rouge and powder of an unhealthy countenance, the palaver of an empty head and an emptier heart. No; demeanor depicts character. Po- liteness is the working grace of a good and kind heart—the heart that sometimes for- gets its own and goes out to others. But to this end one must be intelligently and gently disposed in order to exchange view- point. What is more friendly than intelli- gence and gentleness? When they go to- gether, true courtesy is the outcome. And it follows, as the night the day, that these royal attributes innate in royal types of humankind are the indispensable char- acteristics of royal demeanor. Belle—Yor would make any girl happy, Jack Jack—Me? Why? Belle—Well, marriage is a game of chance, aud you are such a good loser. Brief Decisions ‘(OST of us can appreciate the stra- tegic value of a retreat without any explanations from the military experts. Some people don’t get things coming their way until it is too late for them to get out of the way. Clothes do not make the man, but they often fool the fellow who is wearing them. A luxury is something the other fellow thinks we don’t know he can't afford. He is indeed a clever mathematician who can square a domestic triangle. Even the man who is always kicking at nothing occasionally hits it. The man who thinks that all women are alike is hopelessly married. A woman must be charming indeed to win praise from her sex. comichooks.com