Judge, 1918-06-08 · page 13 of 36
Judge — June 8, 1918 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1918 *Judge* magazine page uses **baseball metaphors to satirize World War I**, mapping military leaders onto team players: **"Baseball Notes from the Flanders League"** casts the war as a championship game: - **Von Hindenburg** (German general) is aging and near retirement - **Kaiser Wilhelm II** ("Manager Hohenzollern") lacks adequate reserves; his teams (Austria, Turkey) are underperforming - **Ferdinand Foch** (French commander) is strategically superior, "knows weaknesses" - **John J. Pershing** (American general, recently joined the Allies mid-1918) is expanding territory and performing excellently The satire argues Germany is **losing the "game"**: weakened reserves, declining offensive power since April 1918, while Allied coordination and morale improve. The page's other cartoons ("Bum Proof," "Warfare of Love") appear unrelated domestic humor. This reflects genuine 1918 confidence that American entry had shifted the war decisively toward Allied victory—Germany would surrender that November.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Baseball Notes From the Flanders League HOSE who have been observing his work on the firing line of late think that this will be von Hindenburg’s last season in fast company. He celebrated his seventieth birthday recently, and another season is likely to find him with the miners. Manager Hohenzollern, of the Teutons, is in a bad way for second-string men, and it is causing him con- siderable worry. If any of his regulars are injured or put out of the game, he has practically nobody on whom to call. Most of his substitutes are young, indifferent and wholly inexperienced. Foch, of the Allies, is a box general, who has grown steadily stronger as the season has progressed. He knows the weakness of the men who face him as few pitchers do, and never fails to keep them guessing. His speed and control were never better. The Allies are hoping for great things from Persh- ing, who joined the team about mid-season, coming from the United States League, where he did good work in the series with Mexico. Pershing covers more and more territory every day and handles everything that comes his way with a certainty that is pleasing to the manage- ment. Drawn by H. Lewis She—L expect. my little brother is spying on us.some- where! He—Why not intern him for the duration of the call? The Teutons are weak in the outer garden and Manager Hohenzollern would give a good deal to strengthen that part of the team. Charles, the Aus- trian, is playing a listless game, and the Turk, even under the coaching of Falkenhayn, has fallen far short of expectations. Anything hit to the outfield is likely to drop safe, a fact which doesn’t add to Hohen- zollern’s peace of mind. The whole play of the Allies of late has been of a nature to encourage their supporters, and the latter can see but one finish to the race for the flag. The Teutons, they admit, are strong, but Teuton team play is not what it was a year ago, and in hitting power the Kaisers have gone back woefully since April. The Allies, on the other hand, are increasingly able to hit Drawn by Gro. L. Cartson Tue Warrare oF Love. Drawn by Avice Harvey “Bum Proor” when hits mean runs, and they expect to take full ad- vantage of all the “breaks.” Every member of the team is on his toes and perfect harmony prevails. The Bookkeeper's Point of View Bookkeeper—What guy was it that wrote “Billing and cooing and little else doing”? Assistant—I don’t remember, but if he had the job of getting the bills out on the first of the month, he would find there was mighty little time for cooing. No. 3. Over the Top