Judge, 1918-08-24 · page 11 of 32
Judge — August 24, 1918 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Political Cartoon Analysis: "Shrapnel and Spuds" This Judge magazine page contains WWI-era anti-German satire. The main illustration depicts a bloated German figure surrounded by artillery shells and oversized potatoes—visual metaphors for Germany's military aggression and food shortages that plagued civilians during the war's final years. The accompanying essay by Benjamin De Casseres delivers pointed jabs at Germany: mocking German militarism as raising "murder from a fine art to a sport," referencing the 1914 burning of Louvain (a Belgian city destroyed by German forces), and suggesting Germans are culturally incapable of cosmopolitanism. The text praises French determination ("Clemenceau") while criticizing American leniency toward Germany. The three humorous asides below offer domestic American commentary on wartime conditions—quiet weddings due to scandal, women's economic expectations, and neighbors' nosiness—providing lighter relief from the heavy wartime messaging above.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Draven by Raven Barton Waar tHe Averace Bertin Famity Feers Like Wuen Tuere Is Goinc to Be Meat ror Dinner SHRAPNEL AND SPUDS By Benjamin De Casseres ANKIND is traveling in a fog, slowly, with France sounding the siren every minute. Germany lost the war by gaining ground. What we need in this country is less clemency and more Clemenceau. The Russians have discovered that he who hesitates is bossed. ‘The Germans know they are licked, but are afraid to believe it. Who ever heard of a German cosmopolitan? The flames of Louvain can still be seen from any- where by daylight. The world is divided into two races, those born east or west of the Rhine. After more than four years of it the insane are be- ginning to understand us better. The Germans are the first of the “moderns” to raise murder from a fine art to a sport. Safety First “Ah, yes!—a quiet wedding, of course,” commented the able editor of the Grudge Gazette. “And who gave the bride plied the Missourian. “You see, she didn't € any one who knowed much about her divorce from her first husband. That’s prob'ly why it was a quiet wedding.” A Girl These Days A girl won't marry a man in these days unless he can support her in a style to which she is unaccustomed. Neighborhood Curiosity The neighbors used to ask “How do you do?” but now they wonder how you do it. comicbooks.com