Judge, 1917-04-21 · page 19 of 32
Judge — April 21, 1917 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon depicts a risqué hotel scenario playing on the tension between sexual impropriety and moral guardianship. A man (Mr. Jessup) pursues a woman (Beulah) up a high bridge/viaduct toward what appears to be a hotel. "Guardians of Virtue"—self-appointed moral enforcers—chase after them, intent on preventing scandal. The joke's payoff: Beulah deliberately leads Jessup to the wrong hotel room, where "That Woman" (likely a sex worker, suggested by the perfume and pink peignoir) awaits. She locks him in, thwarting both his seduction *and* the Guardians' interference. The title's double meaning—"prolonging the pleasure"—refers to extending the fishing metaphor from the opening caption about dangling bait. The satire targets Victorian-era moral crusaders as both sanctimonious and ineffectual, while celebrating female cunning and self-preservation over either male desire or moral policing. The page's smaller jokes mock war-related prejudice and changing gender expectations.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
PROLONGING THE PLEASURE Isn't this an awful high bridge to fish from? of the situation began to dawn on her. She giggled. Some of the spectators also began to snicker, but the majority remained rely solemn,—levity, in their eyes, being decidedly out of ce in such a serious matter. “Where is your room?” tittered Beulah. “Yes, where do you belong?” demanded the Guardians of Virtue. Mr. Jessup glared. He was about to deliver a piece of his b fecided not to, he snapped. tighter grip, he led off at a swift pace wake, half giggling and half panting. She who had been the breathless pursued, was not the breathless pursuer. And after her at a dignified distance came the Guardians of Virtue. “We'll protect. you,” they cried. “And we'll find out whether he’s telling a straight story Certain remarks which they volunteered were not calculated to restore Mr. Jessup to equanimity. Neither was the ten- dency of his bath mules to escape from his feet conducive to this end. He saw red,—in so far as he saw at all “Her he snorted at last, designating a door. His fierceness made her tremble. Timorously she took her pass key and unlocked the door. He strode in and closed it. And, securing his toga with a Beulah followed in his Yes, but, Gosh! Think of the fun I have pulling ‘em out! In that moment an instinct of self-preservation took hold of her. She gave the key, which she had not yet withdrawn from the lock, a quick double-turn. Now she was safe. The Guardians of Virtue, reaching the spot by this time, extolled her precaution. Meanwhile Mr. Jessup had no sooner got inside, than his astonished nostrils were greeted by a strong smell of perfume. Turning quickly, he cast a hasty glance about the room, It was not his. And directly in front of him, clad in a pink peignoir and holding up a chair in self-defense, stood That Woman. : Unprejudiced Hobbs—1 can’t see how anybody can be prejudiced about the European war. Dobbs—I should say not! Why, think what would happen if the other fellows should win! Sidestepping Wife—Here’s a girl cloped with a bald-headed man three times her age. What next! Hushand—Already bald-heade want their wifely duties all pred ch? Do the girls nowadays ted? comicbooks.com