Judge, 1918-07-06 · page 9 of 36
Judge — July 6, 1918 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Judge page contains three satirical pieces about World War I era politics and culture. **Top cartoon**: A domestic comedy about a woman exceeding speed limits on a bicycle while her fiancé (a "Dido Bicycle Cop") protests. The joke plays on the phrase "I'm not exceeding the limit" versus the officer's retort about her being his fiancée—a lighthearted jab at gender relations and courtship. **"The Magical Well"**: Benjamin De Casseres's essay praises France as mysteriously resilient and spiritually superior to Germany's rigid, formula-bound mind. Written during WWI, this reflects Allied propaganda portraying France as the romantic, creative nation versus Germany's mechanical coldness. **"Tremendous Idea"**: A satirical dialogue where a visionary idea pitches itself to a practical man, who dismisses it as outdated and plans to commercialize it through film and advertising—mocking modern culture's tendency to exploit and trivialize genuine innovation. **"The Listeners"**: A stark comparison listing noble Allied historical figures against infamous German/authoritarian villains—wartime rhetoric equating the enemy with history's worst figures.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
aufireur—I'm not exceeding the limit! le Cop—But you are! Th; my fiancé! Moods of a Modern Philosopher By Benjamin The Magical Well Ti: greatest phenomenon of all history is said to be the revelation of the German soul. But we know the causes of this phenomenon; hence it is no mystery. It is France that is the mysterious and unexplainable fact in the world. Her history is a series of dazzling eruptions. In fact, it is not history; it is a world fairy-story. Read this unbelievable story day by day. It is a series of tre- mendous surprises. Drawing her strength from some sterious spiritual well, she resuscitates herself over night. She is a Phoenix that rises from her ashes each day. Her victories are the new seven wonders of the world. We no longer ad- - mire her; we stand in awe of her, as before the supernat- «Senet ural. To the German mind, bottled up in its formulas, she will ever be a supreme enigma. What is the source of this magical well whence the country of Jeanne and Napoleon draws its cleansing and revivifying forces? Where the Prome- thean tube whence she draws her formidable re-creative fires? France is not a country; it is a Spirit! Today TREMENDOUS idea jumped out of its cribin the uncon- scious and sat up, Drawn by T. S. Suttivant wide-awake, right on top of the brain of the opinion that Germans are swine. “I am very glad of this opportunity. Some time ago I expressed. the Gentlemen, I offer you my apologies.” De Casseres ical Man smoking his pipe meditatively in his y-chair. “What are you going to do with me, eh?” said the Tremendous Idea, kicking its legs around wildly and waving its arms gleefully in the joy of its new-born consciousness. “I am about two hundred years ahead of your time. Are you going to accept me and get stoned to death, or foist me on some one else—a poet, say—and put the police on his track? “Neither, my nd,” replied the Practical Man with acalm smile. ‘ You are way behind the time to ask such a question—about five hundred years or so, I reckon. “Today, when we get a Tremendous Idea in our skulls we film it or camouflage it under anad. Come along, old mossback; we're going to see the director general of the Super- Super-Filmeraft Cor- poration about you. After he gets through with you we'll hand what’s left to the ad- vertising department of the Waterproof Soap Corporation.” The Listeners ISTENING in” on the wires of the Allies: Joan of Arc, Cromwell, Mirabeau, Washington, Paine, Lincoln, Grant, Hugo, Garrison, Garibaldi, Kosciusko, Lafayette. “Listening in” on the wires of the Ger- mans: Attila, Genghis Khan, Nero, Calig- ula, Tiberius, Borgia, Machiavelli, Satan. hoe os eee L = comicbooks.com