Judge, 1917-10-20 · page 10 of 28
Judge — October 20, 1917 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top cartoon depicts a conversation between two men about German espionage. "Binks" jokes that Germany's spy network is so effective that within 24 hours of him joining the "Home Defense" (likely a civilian defense organization), the information reached the German Reichstag (parliament). This reflects **WWI-era anxiety about German spies infiltrating American institutions**—a genuine concern at the time, though often exaggerated. Below is a collection of humorous observations about urban American life titled "Big Town Sayings," attributed to Arthur Chapman. These are satirical quips about modern city dwellers: their materialism (studying car nameplates instead of faces), their superficiality, their obsession with phonograph records over books, and their selective newspaper reading (only headlines). The commentary gently mocks wealthy pretension and women's concerns with appearances and domestic trivia. The small illustration of a sleeping dog labeled "Feeding an army is no joke" likely refers to wartime food rationing concerns.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Binks—Yes, Germany has a marvelous spy system. I'm convinced that 24 hours after I joined the Home Defense they were discussing it in the Reichstag. BIG TOWN SAYINGS / Piven don’t study faces any more—they merely study the name-plates on automobiles. The average Big Town man meets thousands of people every day without thought of speaking to any one of them. Yet, after a week ona desert isle, he would be ready to talk the humblest of them to death. I have a friend who has lost all faith in the rural districts since he has found a farmer who carries a nail clip in his over- alls pocket. A ship's buoy is about the only thing in which the original cost and not the upkeep is the chief concern. A person who has been on a torpedoed ship is about the only individual nowadays who can tella story without gettinga yawn. Many a confirmed newspaper reader is willing to swear that there is more human nature to be found in an occasional want advertisement than in a three-decker novel. There are seven ways of getting money —and occasionally some man seems to know how to work all the basic formulas at once. It used to be that a man’s children were wont to boast of the number of books to be found in the library at home, but now they boast of the number of phonograph records and music rolls. An army of the first’ magnitude Feeding an army is no joke. could be raised from the ranks of those who say: “TI only read the headlines in the pape A man who is not wealthy merely has a stenographer work- ing for him. The man who is wealthy has a private secretary in his employ. woman is a success as a housekeeper according to her skill in picking window curtains that can readily be seen out of but not into. The average woman does not think much of the govern- ment at Washington for the very good reason that most of her knowledge thereof comes through receiving bulletins on canning and preserving which are not as practical as the instructions in her favorite cook book. A country visitor was saying to a Big Town woman: “Think of missing the soothing rustle of leaves in the evening.” “But,” said the Big Town woman, ‘“‘you get all that effect and more from the rustle of so many silk skirts.” Not the least of the good effects of war is the fact that it has added some dignity to the sending of post cards. The inventor of the brick may appeal to the imaginative man as the founder of cities and one of the mainstays of civiliza- tion; to another type of man he will appeal \ only as responsible for something that is - mighty handy to scratch matches on. —Arthur Chapman. comicbooks.com XUM