Judge, 1917-06-02 · page 5 of 28
Judge — June 2, 1917 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Judge magazine page satirizes two social anxieties of the early 20th century: **"The Spring Drive"** (top cartoon): Depicts a man reluctantly being driven away by a woman, apparently against his wishes. The caption suggests conscription or forced military service—"By the time the war's over, maybe I'll have a home to come to." This likely references WWI-era draft concerns. **"The Amateur Tenor"** (bottom article and photo): Mocks amateur male singers in musical organizations, describing them as loud, obnoxious men with "thick throats" and "rusty vocal chords" who inflict themselves on audiences. The accompanying photo shows a smug man being called "proud beauty" by a woman, satirizing male vanity and women's (apparently false) flattery of mediocre performers. Both pieces reflect class anxiety and gender tensions in American society.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE SPRING DRIVE Uncomfortable male—Guess I'll go an’ enlist. By the tim: the war's over, maybe I'll have a home to come to. THE AMATEUR TENOR “THERE seems to be a growing conviction in this land of the unjustly free and forward that amateur tenor singing should be regulated by law. Those who deem such extreme paternalism advisable maintain that all tenors should be ex- amined, licensed and tagged, and that their fields of depredation be clearly defined and advertised. Th Iso hint that steps will be taken to h the less responsible hitters of high C placed under bond to keep the peace. Everybody knows that at present it is impossible for one to come within two blocks of a meeting of any amateur musical organization in America without laying one’s-self liable to the influence of a tempestuous solo by some huge and pudgy person with a thick throat, a red face and a nasal whinny at least a half tone flat. We instinc- tively feel whenever we enter a music zone that some such man is going to set our inoffensive tympanums into unsym- pathetic vibration with his taut and rusty vocal chords. And we further realize that there will be enough perfect ladies of oth sexes present at his mighty performance to applaud politely and effect an encore. It is such a situation that the agitators for more stringent regulation are trying to ameliorate. Th for vigorous action has come. In a cause such as this, the end will justify any means short of poisoning, and good people everywhere should lend a hand in anything that is proposed to rid us of the predatory tenor. H.W. Dee. ~ Then you scom me, proud beauty !" he cried. The rich old maid fell for the “proud beauty” stuff of course, just as he calculated. comicbooks.com