Judge, 1917-04-21 · page 10 of 32
Judge — April 21, 1917 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Judge* magazine contains satirical poetry and comic dialogues mocking social attitudes of the early 20th century. **"A Western Maid"** ridicules a beautiful woman from the West who seems perfect—elegant, witty, refined—until the narrator discovers she runs a **suffrage club in Oklahoma**. The joke relies on anti-suffrage sentiment: the poem suggests women's rights activism is absurd or unattractive, undermining an otherwise "ideal" woman. **"War Prosperity"** jokes about banks during wartime, suggesting financial institutions are all adopting identical loan policies—treating lending mechanically rather than individually. **"Benched"** depicts a baseball date where the woman flirts about the "squeeze play" (a baseball move), but the man admits he's not paying attention to the game. **The bottom cartoon** shows a wife rejecting steak on her birthday, demanding something "dearer and more indigestible"—satirizing wives as difficult and unreasonable consumers. Throughout, the satire targets women's autonomy, suffrage, and marital dynamics as sources of humor, reflecting attitudes of that era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A WESTERN MAID By CLINTON SCOLLARD HE came (at least she said she came) From lands beyond the Mississippi; She had a pseudo-Grecian name Which she declared was not Xantippe! Her dress was wholly a la mode From tiny foot to budding bonnet; ‘To see her was to dream an ode, Or else a serenade or sonnet Her quips were cute enough to quote: Her azure eyes were most compelling And in each perfumed note she wrote There was no doubt about her spelling Ase pr trailed in her train; She had no devotee devouter; A judge from somewhere (maybe Maine!) Forever—ever hung about her! And she seemed sensible and sweet Addicted to no special hobby; Nymph-like she trod the city street, And she looked lovely in a lobby I—I adored her for a span; Her beauty breathed a rare aroma Vill I discovered that she ran A Suffrage Club in Oklahoma! War Prosperity He—his war talk has made old Slopay quite « diplomat She—How so? He—He is sounding out all the banks of dis- count on an identical note AT FIRST SIGHT Benched She (coyly)—And what is the squeeze play? He (not on his job)—Why. at the game tomorrow I'll show you She—You needn't save me any rain checks! at FUL aT | i Wit i 1h 4 Ml < Ai ! yee Defame’ bac Husband—How about a nice steak, my dear? Wife—Oh, Alfred. not on my birthday. Let's have something dearer and more indigestible! comicbooks.com