Judge, 1918-11-30 · page 23 of 32
Judge — November 30, 1918 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents satirical scenes from contemporary theatrical productions, mocking social and moral hypocrisy of the era. **Top scene** ("Lightnin'"): A wife seeks divorce because her husband carelessly carries loose money—the joke being that financial irresponsibility, not infidelity or cruelty, justifies leaving. **Middle-left** ("The Unknown Purple"): A wealthy man (Peter) dismisses a jeweler's (Jewel's) social aspirations, sneering that his "society" is worthless. The satire targets class pretension and shallow social climbing. **Middle-right** ("Ladies First"): Actress Nora Bayes, playing Betty, campaigns for Mayor while mocking her male rivals as "Snooksies" and "Toodles"—nonsense terms suggesting male politicians are frivolous or incompetent. **Bottom** ("Nothing But Lies"): Two businessmen debate honesty; one naively claims truthfulness builds customer respect, while his colleague cynically notes customers will simply take their business elsewhere—satirizing the gap between business ethics preached and practiced. The overall theme: moral and social hypocrisy among respectable people.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“ Ligutsin’ “Mrs. Harper is here. “You must try to stop it.” “T did, but it didn’t do no good. I told her she hadn’t oughter leave a man who carries around his money loose in his pocket.” Usxkxown Purpie” Peter: You really want more of my society? Jewen: Of course, stupid. Peter: Well then, you're going to be as happy as an , because my society is about the cheapest thing I can furnish you. She's goin’ to get a divorce.” From “Tie i Langs From “Lapres First” Betty (Nora Bayes): I'll accept the nomination for Mayor! Never shall it be said that this town could elect for Mayor a Snooksie who has a Toodles! From “Notuine Burt Lies” “T believe that even in business honesty is the best policy. If you tell the truth your customers will respect you.” “And take their business somewhere else.” comicbooks.com