Judge — November 6, 1915 — page 4: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Editorial Page Analysis This page contains three distinct editorial pieces from *Judge* magazine. The left column discusses vocabulary expansion and intellectual pursuits. The center section offers brief philosophical observations ("A pessimist is a man who doesn't know anybody who cares to know him"). The right column, titled "Farming as a Game of Chance," satirizes agricultural economics by comparing farming to gambling. The author argues that farming involves uncontrollable variables (weather, market prices) similar to poker or stock speculation, making success largely dependent on luck rather than skill. The accompanying illustration shows a farmer, reinforcing the rural subject matter. The satire critiques how farmers cannot reliably control outcomes despite effort—crop failures, market fluctuations, and disease create unpredictable results indistinguishable from pure chance.