Judge, 1917-12-01 · page 14 of 36
Judge — December 1, 1917 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top cartoon shows a child playing with toy soldiers, captioned "That's My Daddy's"—a dark joke about militarism and fathers returning from (likely) World War I with martial preoccupations. The main story below, "A Christmas Offering" by Rod Chenevix, presents a dialogue between two men about social isolation and citizenship. Bob is criticized for being withdrawn from community life—avoiding politics, fraternal organizations, church, and even casual socializing. His friend argues this antisocial behavior stems from myopia (literal and figurative), urging him to engage with "human geometry" and recognize common humanity. The satire targets early-20th-century masculine individualism and social detachment as moral failings. Bob's eventual "resolution" to join a "militant democracy" scheme—complete with invented technology—suggests the author is gently mocking both naive faith in technological solutions and the tendency to channel social enthusiasm into questionable ventures. The page critiques both withdrawn misanthropy and unexamined civic participation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“ ELLO, Bob! I wish you wish H yourself a Merry” Christ- mas!” “How's that? I get you.” ‘Oh, just only I want you to fill up that aching void.” “Well, of all the bunk! What’s the idea?” “The trouble with you, Bob, is that you neglect your privileges or your opporunities—either or both.” “Opportunities for what?” “Friendship. You don’t go in for politics, you are not a Mason, you never get to church, you flock by your lonesome at your clubs, you have no facets of contact of soul or mind, and you neglect every angle of approach to your kind.” “My kind, indeed! There ain’t no such animal.” “And you a good hunter and a better shot!” “Ah is it to hunt my kind you would have me, and when tracked, shoot it?” ‘In a manner of speaking, yes. world.” “Do you accuse me of being a monk?” “Nothing like that. But you are out of humanitarian fellowship to such a degree that you forget all the other good fellows.” at gocs to show, then, that when you talk of my kind you are specifying something which has no existence, thanks be!” “Alas! There’s the rub! It is your vision. It is myopic “Very well, if you state facts they seem to settle it for Rhy TOD don’t seem to Get busy with the you.” “Not at all, nor for you, either. Get some spectacles of the proper refraction to correct your eyes. Study human geometry. | A Christmas Offering CHENEVIX Avail yourself of the right angles, polish your surfaces till contact is casy——” “Stop! Stop your metaphors! They are mixed. Iam tired of such generous interest in my poor behalf. Don’t cast your pearls.” “Ha, ha! Get thee to a monastery, eh?” “Far from it. Frankly, though, am I not as civil as the next one?” “Frankly, you are not, for the simple reason that you don’t see the next one at all. What you do see I don’t know. are you reflecting on the riddle of the universe, and so in the clouds? What is the answer?” 30 on, yourself.”” 's Christmas. The New Year is coming. You know as well as I do that you are too much yourself, and that thi really no good reason for such self-inflicted or such proud isola- tion. I don’t know myself which it is. The rest of us may not be your equals, but we are human, and we should like your company instead of your neglect.” “You shall have it. This shall be my New Year resolution. Come in with me on the ground floor. e all the stock you want.” “How’s that?” “T have just completed an invention for the infallible success of militant democracy, and now I am ready for a good time with the boys! Merry Christmas!” | | J as! Of Little Use “Lots of kings out of work now.” “Yes, and judging from results, I am inclined to think I have hired several without knowing it.” comicbooks}