Judge, 1916-01-08 · page 10 of 28
Judge — January 8, 1916 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from the satirical magazine **Judge** contains three distinct pieces satirizing early 20th-century American life: **"A Handmaid of Modernity"** celebrates the telephone operator (the "hello girl")—a modern female worker essential to society yet invisible and underappreciated, treated as a utility rather than a person. **"Modern Housekeeping"** mocks labor-saving devices marketed to women. Despite "fireless cookers," "scrubless tubs," and "dustless sweepers" promising to free women from drudgery, the housewife simply rushes to the movies instead—satirizing how modernity promised liberation but didn't fundamentally change women's workload or social position. **"Little Edwin's Plan"** is a children's humor piece where a boy takes his weekly medicine in advance to skip doses and spend his savings on movies—gentle satire on childhood reasoning and parental authority. The page's bottom illustration depicts a domestic scene of marital tension, accompanying a joke about infidelity and deception between spouses. These pieces reflect Judge's satirical commentary on modern life, technology, gender roles, and social change in the early 1900s.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Handmaid of Modernity HE MAY be a blonde or a brunette. he greets you without an introduction. She is highly esteemed by lovers who do not make love to her. Sheis the unconscious custodian of secrets that ) she never betrays. She performs feats with greater alacrity than a professional juggler. She has added to the gaiety of nations. She is a factor in Wall Street yet rarely speculates. She makes it possible for the truant hus- band to comfortably miss his train. She brings together in the evening the husband and wife who have quarrelled in the morning: She is terse and to the point though fre- quently exclamatory. She is quick at figures. She frequently provokes profanity. She is indispensable, but awakens no interest in her welfare. She never speaks of her family. She is heard but rarely seen. She is—the hello girl! —G. Vere Tyler Modern Housekeeping HE fills her fireless cooker With seven kinds of grub; Turns on the suds and puts her duds Into the scrubless tub, She starts the dustless sweeper On gear keyed down to low: Powders her nose and gaily To see a picture show.—IW'm. S. Adkins SEE $AW Little Edwin's Plan ITTLE EDWIN’S weekly allowance was one cent each day, provided he took his cod-liver oil each morning regular- ly, and cach Sunday the seven cents which he saved during the week was put into the contribution box at Sunday School. One Monday night Edwin rushed breath- lessly in from school and climbing into the cupboard he got the bottle of much despised medicine and took it to his mother, saying: “Ma, I guess L'll take this weck’s physic in advance. Bill Brown an’ I's goin’ to the movies tonight an’ [ need the money. Some Mix-up Maud Willis—What was the commotion about over at your house carly this morning? Bess Gillis—Wasn't that awful? You see, George was trying to get away without pa seeing him, and pa was trying to get it without ma sceing him, and ma was trying to get down-stairs to light the kitchen-fire without George secing her. Hubby—H.as-at; Mary, we're in luck; they're lighting up some of those cigars you gave me for Christmas and in a few moments I can tackle them without assistance. comicbooks.com