Judge — July 28, 1917 — page 15: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Judge magazine cartoon satirizes men rushing into marriage to avoid military conscription. The image shows a man in formal dress presenting flowers to a woman, while Cupid flies overhead and two cherub-like figures observe on the right—suggesting a hastily arranged romantic scenario. The caption's dark humor implies that marriage was preferable to being drafted into military service. This likely references either World War I or II era conscription debates in America, when some men sought marriage as a potential exemption from draft obligations (though eligibility rules varied by conflict and period). The satire mocks both the desperation of draft-dodging and the mercenary nature of wartime marriages, presenting marriage itself as an escape route rather than a genuine romantic commitment.