Judge, 1918-07-27 · page 28 of 36
Judge — July 27, 1918 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Judge magazine page contains humorous poetry about urban leisure failures, drawn by Ray Roux. "The Busy City Man" is a satirical poem (assembled from various newspaper sources) mocking middle-class men who romanticize outdoor recreation but consistently experience disappointment. The cartoon above depicts such a man comically entangled or exhausted, surrounded by other figures—illustrating the poem's theme. Each stanza describes a leisure activity (gardening, fishing, picnicking, lawn-mowing, beach trips, countryside visits) that inevitably goes wrong: mosquitoes attack, ants invade food, he can't afford a car, his wife follows him, or bugs plague him. The satire targets the gap between urban workers' vacation fantasies and reality. The page also includes filler content praising Judge magazine and complaining about mess sergeants and Liberty Loans, referencing WWI-era military concerns. The humor relies on readers recognizing their own failed attempts at leisure—a timeless, relatable complaint.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Drawn by Ray Roux sufficiently steeled to the ordeal to execu good clutch and back away before anything happens. If any mess sergeant ever falls under the influence of remorse and makes a clean breast to a paymaster the requirements of the next Liberty Loan will be exceptionally low. There are no lean mess sergeants. They are all fat and sleek and comfortable-looking. The common allegation is that they eat of the food they cause to be served. This allegation is an error. It should be stricken from the testimony as irrelevant, incompetent and immaterial. It is not so. Before the mess call is rendered they have their appetites appeased and are ready for the toothpicks. While “‘the boys” get along on a breakfast of mush and adulterated con- densed m the Mess Sergeant has just com- pleted several eggs, with toast and rashers of bacon. And at noon when a wild and intricate stew goes out for consumption he takes on a choice steak with side dishes to suit. He is the one person who gets the most out of the army. And he is never bothered. As long as the National Army goes on he'll continue with his ate authority and his inexhaustible sup- plies and he won't begin to feel sorry until he hears the overtures of Peace. Good Taste and Sugar Mr. Joseph Meinrath, Kansas City, Mo., writes: It may please you to know, that my nephew in Fort Wheeler, Ga., writes: “I have no time for reading anything outside of military reading except the JuDGE you subscribed for.” Another nephew of mine in Washington writes: “Jupce is like sugar in my coffee.” And Out of Mind High ideals are often out of reach. Sune Coutp tr Sue Wantep To The Busy City Man ‘OW doth the busy city man delight to grasp his spade, And overturn the waiting soil and level And when the bed is spaded up and free from roots and stones, He goes and gets the arnica and groans and groans and groans.—Cleveland Plain Dealer. Now doth the busy city man delight to ramble out With most expensive fishing gear to snare the wary trout; But empty-handed he returns disgusted, tired and mad. And spends the next week telling what a bully time he had.—Springfield Union. Now doth the busy city man rejoice the time is near When he can take his wife and kids and picnic with good cheer; But when he gets the dinner out there's much tife in the cheese, And many ants investigating in his B. V. D.’s. —Yonkers Statesman. Now doth the busy city man delight to wake at dawn, And harnessed to the mower go to it on his lawn: And after he has traveled back and forth across the sward, He wonders if he’s saved enough to buy himself a Ford.—Northampton Herald. Now doth the busy city man delight to find a spot Where “cooling ocean breeze rout the summer season hot"; He's mangled by mosquitoes and he’s stifled by the heat, And then comes back and warbles, “Gee! The seashore can't be beat!"”—Bridgeport Standard. Now doth the busy city man kick up his heels and hie ‘To where the fields lie in the sun beneath the spring- time sky; And hie him home when shadows fall, filled with the day’s delights, And all night with a bacon rind run down his redbug mites.—Houston Post. Now doth the busy city man betake him to the shore, In hope to meet some look them o'er, But wifey follows ‘cause she knows that he’s on mischief bent, And so in just a day or two he’s sorry that he went.—Birmingham Age-Herald. peaches" there and gaily Now doth the busy city man, too busy to vacate, Weep on his job, with sweating brow, bewailing loud that Fate Denies the joy of gardening, of picnicking, and such For war-time things have surely put the city man in Dutch! Who's Hoo-ver Two greatly needed men on the farm— Manuel Labor and Percy Vere! Why He Was Silent Wife—Why don’t you tell me what you think of the pie I made for dinner? Hub—I hate to be always complaining. comicbooks.com