Judge, 1917-06-30 · page 19 of 29
Judge — June 30, 1917 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising disguised as self-help editorial**. It promotes "Conscious Evolution," a pseudo-scientific health philosophy marketed by Alois P. Swoboda (visible in the advertisement at bottom right). The text invents a fictional disease called "averagitis"—laziness and mediocrity—claiming most people are "only one fourth to one half alive" due to "dead" cells. It promises readers can become "tireless" and achieve exceptional health through Swoboda's system. The cartoon shows a woman labeled "The Swoboda System" positioned as a miraculous cure. The accompanying testimonial (OCR'd in the text) references "worn-out body" and "simple discipline about eating." **Context**: Published June 1917, this reflects pre-FDA America's unregulated health-quack marketplace. The pseudo-scientific language about "cell activation" and "conscious evolution" was typical marketing for charlatan wellness schemes. The pitch exploits anxiety about fatigue and ordinariness—common concerns during WWI-era America—to sell an undefined self-improvement program.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
CUM June 30, 1917 You Can Make Your Brain and Body Fatigue-Proof! You Can Easily Become Tireless; You Can Increase Your Health and Mind Power a Hundred Fold; You Can Become AsGreat in Physical and Mental Characteristics As You Desire. F you cannot exert your greatest possible brain and body power for long stretches at a time; if you cannot complete big jobs without feeling the need of rest afterwards; if you cannot be just as alert, as quick, as vibrant, as energetic at bed time as you are in your’freshest morning hour; if you cannot resist and throw off the fatigue elements so that you are never compelled to rest or even let down in your activities of mind or body—if you cannot do these things, you do not know what it is to LIVE! You are sacri- ficing golden treasures and golden pleasures, you are giving up at least one-half of your rightful proportion of joy, happiness, pleasure, health, energy, Vitality, strength and success—you are missing at least fifty per cent. of what you could easily secure out of life simply because you are so easily overpowered by negative elements. You Are Only One Fourth to One Half Alive! If you are inclined to lean up against some- thing when standing—if you are inclined to let your shoulders droop when sitting—if you are inclined to lie down after dinner,—if you are tired upon arising—if you feel that you must “be care- ful” not to do things that you would like to do— afraid to eat what you like, or work late and hard; or if you have a pet list of mental and phys- ical “don’ts”—you are missing at least three fourths of what life holds for you! I can prove it. You are only one fourth to one half as alive as you think you are! The billions of tiny cells of which your body and brain are composed, are of vi ivity—some are alive, some are weakened, some are practically lifeless and some are totally dead. The activity of your body and brain, their resistant powers against fatigue, their ability to think, create, accomplish, are entirely dependent upon the degree of activity of all the cells. Most people have a predominant quantity of antagonizing, non-alive cells, which master and overpower the live elements, making them easy victims of “averagitis.”” Are You Suffering From Averagitis? Averagitis is the disease of being only an average, or below average, person instead of an exceptional person. Most people are only average in health, aver- age in wealth, average in mental capacity, average in everything instead of being exceptional in health, exceptionalin wealth, exceptional in mental capacity, exceptional in everything. Perhaps you think there is no hope for you— that Nature has made you what you are—that it is natural for you to get tired—that Nature governs your destiny—that nothing you can do will change your position or prospects. The truth is that Nature makes us only as great, as mentally alert, as physically powerful as we compel her! We hold in our hands our own fate. One man molds clay into ordinary nothings while the sculptor molds the same clay into magnificent masterpieces. So do some of us mold our own material into ordinary nothings while others make of themselves locomotives of energy, power, activity, and giants in mental equipment. Nature is YOU. The material you have to work with is the billions of cells in your system. By cultivating and developing these cells through CONSCIOUS EVOLUTION you can become as exceptional as you desire in every department of the body, including the brain! Conscious Evolu- tion can make you wish for a hundred hour day and no night! Conscious Evolution can so develop the stomach, the heart, the liver, the kidneys, the muscles, in fact every organ and part of the body so that you will not know what it is to feel tired or listless, you will not know what it is WHAT OTHERS HAVE TO SAY “A year ago, you promised to make a better and younger man of me at the age of 68 than I was 8. The, thing has been ac com never a better man physically than {am today at the age of 68. The fact that a man cay take hie wor body after 62 years of tise and by sicaple discipline make ie over oung body. is certainly a wonderful thing. leased with ‘now beginning to figure out what I | miteed and lost by waiting until now to. take, this course; “My scepticism for years concerniny Dow reaping benefits w Tcan hardly forgive myself for My present experience with Conscious Evolution is opens ing my eyes to what I have to your advertisements years ag My improvement ie th you but do not kni howsa: "Those who hesitate about Conscious Evolution have a pleas urprise coming to them, when eventually they ect." Fealize what a fool I have been for years in hesitating to try Conscious Evolution. ,, MY GREAT BOOK IS FOR YOU It is to your everlasting advant. you possibly can about the Swoboda system of Con- scious Evolution. of this opportunity to secure Swoboda’ you will be admitting to yourself that you are perfect ety ve z= ke this course.” | | ALOIS P. SWOBODA Joat, through failure to respond The most wonderful {transformation Im- to have indigestion or any of the ailments and complaints that sufferers from ‘“‘averagitis” must have! Conscious Evolution will make you look better to others and to yourself. Conscious Evo- lution will so supply you with reserve energy that you will not suffer from over-eating or over-exertion,—you will be able to withstand excesses, break Nature’s laws! And the most remarkable thing about Conscious Evolution is that no drugs, medicines, appliances, ap- paratus, cold baths, violent exercise, or any other dangerous or disagreeable element is required— there is nothing to give up, nothing to do that you will object to, it requires an average of less than fifteen minutes a day, and the beneficial results are noticeable after the first five minutes! Don’t Labor Under Handicaps Conscious Evolution can make your brain so quick-acting, so powerful in thought, so fatigue- proof, so eager to grapple with problems that your material success will amaze you! Conscious Evo- lution will make you so great in health and mind power that it will never be late enough for you to feel sleepy, or early enough for you to want to remain in bed, and no task will ever be dreaded. You will not be handicapped by detracting physical disorders or mental inefficiency because you will have left them behind. You will not know there is such a thing as failure. Without the knowledge of how to Consciously Evolutionize every cell, tissue and organ of the body, you are depriving y yourself of pleasures and advantages that you have been wishing for all your life—you are living an inferior life, you are denying yourself the success that can easily be yours, you are competing with millions instead of with a few hundred, you are missing opportuni- ties every day. How long will you let your nega- tive clements rule you? re to learn all that If you neglect to take advantage book free, Ith, perfect in mental power and beyond the of yourself. Already women and children, from 7 to 97 in all walks of life, have taken Conscious Evolution. No matter who you are or where you live, or how suc- cessful or healthy you now are, you will be intensely interested, enlightened, uplifted, and encouraged by a mere reading of Swoboda’s book. It explains the Swoboda system of Conscious Evolution and the human body as it has never been explained before. If you want to get out of the mob of ordinary individ- uals—if you want to make yourself impervious to disease or even partial disease, if you want to multiply your ability to take advantage of every opportunity, write for this book. If you do not write now, you will write later—perhaps 10 years from now and you will have missed 10 years of exceptional living power, pleasure obtaining power, memory power, success power. Swoboda has been after you for twenty years. How much longer will you deprive yourself of what he can give you? Write today. Mail the coupon NOW before you forget. ALOIS P. SWOBODA 2051 Aeolian Bldg. New York City 2051 Aeolian Bldg. New York City Please send me your free copyrighted book, “Conscious Evolution. comicbooks.com