Judge, 1916-03-04 · page 7 of 28
Judge — March 4, 1916 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes hotel desk clerk incompetence through two separate stories. **Top cartoon**: A farmer confronts a horseman about being hit by a car. The horseman describes the vehicle in exhaustive mechanical detail (1914 Bint-Spitz, specifications) but admits he didn't notice the license plate number—the one detail actually useful for identifying the car. The joke mocks people who focus on irrelevant minutiae while missing essential information. **"Clerical Terrors"**: A well-dressed desk clerk at a New York hotel abandons his duties when an attractive woman ("Vision in Blue") enters the lobby. He becomes so entranced that he ignores the growing line of frustrated guests, who increasingly rage at his inattention. The satire critiques hotel staff prioritizing romantic distraction over professional responsibility, leaving customers waiting. The bottom illustration, "Mother Has Gone to the Movies," appears unrelated—a domestic scene, likely referencing cinema's growing cultural impact.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Farmer—What hit ye. stranger? Horseman—It was a Bint-Spitz 1914 model, right drive, eight-cylinder, three-passenger undersling roadster with skidnot tires. Farmer—Yep—but what was the number ? Horseman—Why, er—I didn’t notice the number. C L E R I C A L T E R R O R S IS MORNING coat fitted him faultlessly. His linen was un- eg your pardon, but—can’t you see I’m busy?” impeachable. As for the residuary details of his attire, it “Busy!” The little fat man from the West chuckled sardon- may be averred without misgiving that they cleverly embodied the rarest clements of smart restraint. “Yes—busy. ITcan't look after all of you at once, you And his bearing matched his And as the rest of the line glared its speechless rage, vestiture. The gesture with which 1 an in the Cutaway turned with a captivating smile to The he complemented an occasional Yision in Blue . mandate to an almost alert at- “Say, boy, you're overworked.” The small obese person was tendant would have won your instant admiration; no less the aspect of the eye, aloof and mildly rebukeful, out of which he sur- veyed the interior landscape. He was a desk clerk in a New York hotel. As the Vision in Blue crossed thing lobby and r 4 ng smile, the aforesaid air of elegant detachment was seen to drop painlessly behind. the de The mouth relaxed and the eye melted. The voice held a touch of cajolery, and there was more than a hint of conscious fasci- nation in the gaze whose goal was the Vision in Blue. Time be- came a phantom. feanwhile the line of guests—impending, actual and _retro- —kept forming at the right. Its impatience grew with each overheard confidenc ch deprecating laugh. When the cumula- tive note of outrage was in rapid process of transformation to an angry roar, The Man in the Cutaway suddenly turned MOTHER HAS GONE TO THE MOVIES comicbooks.com