Judge, 1916-09-02 · page 9 of 28
Judge — September 2, 1916 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes Jewish immigrant businessmen through ethnic stereotypes. The illustrated figure shows a young man fishing beneath a "No Fishing Allowed" sign—the visual joke being his "conscientious" nature makes him regret his literacy. The text presents a dialogue between Max Markowitz (a "skirt manufacturer") and Henry Shapiro (a bookkeeper) debating fishing's practical value. Markowitz argues fishing is pointless—there's no "percentage" (profit/advantage) in it. He sarcastically compares Henry to a wooden cigar-store Indian: decorative but nonproductive. The satire plays on contemporary stereotypes of Jewish immigrants as shrewd businessmen obsessed with profit and dismissive of leisure or nature appreciation. The Yiddish-inflected dialogue ("what ain't got," "perc-a-ntage") and merchant characters reflect Judge's ethnic humor typical of early 20th-century American satire. The joke assumes readers will find it amusing that these characters prioritize business over simple pleasures.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Verry Bavled ange Cay Conscientious youth—Darn it, | wisht I couldn't read! MARKOWITZ AND HENRY—They Discuss Fishing and Photography 6TO SEE a feller like you fishing is like for a fur coat salesman to talk with a F la buyer,” remarked Max Markowitz, the skirt manufacturer, to Henry Shapiro, his bookkeeper and brother-in-law, as they were standing on the shores of a lake in the Catskills one Saturday afternoon, “It’s all right: for an old man what ain’t got two other hands handy for a little auction pinochle to By LOU RAB waste his time by fishing. Maybe he ain't got no relations what he likes, so he gets attached to a stick and a string and a hook and sticks to it a whole day till he catches a couple of idees for a fish story to feed his friends on the whole year. But a young feller like you! Why are you standing there with a stick in your hand like a wooden Indian by a cigar store? Did you ever see the Indian do any business? Well, just the same you'll catch fish. What's the use? Where's the perc a “Percentage castically. * repeated Henry. sar- By everything you want percentage, ing. Look around you, Max! t it enough that you get a regclar bankette for the eyes from all them beautiful scenery? Look at that lovely lake what's quict and still comicbooks.com