Judge, 1919-07-05 · page 13 of 36
Judge — July 5, 1919 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Judge Magazine Satire Analysis (May 12, 1895) ## Top Cartoon: "What People Laughed at Twenty-Five Years Ago" This depicts Victorian-era social scandal. Two women discuss a third woman who was involved in a "breach-of-promise suit"—a legal action where a woman sued a man for breaking an engagement promise. The satire mocks how society fixated on such scandals and the woman's reputation, suggesting these trials-by-publicity were both lurid entertainment and instruments of shame for women. ## Texas Oil Boom Articles These satirize the speculative oil boom frenzy of 1890s Texas. The humor shows absurdity at multiple levels: a farmer mistakes leaky automobile oil for natural reserves; syndicates incorporate with wildly inflated stock values; actual fortunes come not from oil but from housing and feeding desperate speculators. The joke exposes how fraudulent and irrational these investment schemes were—enriching promoters while honest prospectors lose money. ## Bottom Cartoon: "Safety First" A humorous motorist safety joke: a woman warns her husband (implied) not to help a stranded motorist, predicting he'll be attacked. Dark comedy about roadside dangers and motorcar culture.
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Drawn by Tuowas B, Ronentson, in Jeoce, Moy 12th, 1895 Wuat Peopte Laucuep at Twenty-Five Years Aco—II Belle—Who is that person attracting so much attention? Madge—Why, that is the woman who figured in that vile breach-of-promise suit. And to think how much attention she receives! I should dearly love to sce what she looks like. Belle—It hurry up, Madge. Latest News of the Great Texas Oil Boom ) By Franx H. Witttams Craccywaccy, Marne—The Burk-Burk-Texas Oil Asso- ciation has just been formed here with a capital of $10,000,000, par value of shares $1 each. Trading in the shares has already commenced, the present quotation being $7.53 a share. The president of the company expects to leave for Texas in a week or, so to try and get leases on some oil lands. Cuvanoca, Texas—Intense excite- ment prevails in this village through the discovery of oil made on his farm by Cephas Alfalfa, who smelled the oil while plowing near the turnpike yesterday. Mr. Alfalfa has incorporated the Alfalfa-Texas Oil Company for $100,000,009, par value: of shares fifty cents each, and expects to place same on the market tomorrow. Later—Mr. Alfalfa has found that the scent of oil on his farm came from a leaky flivver which spilled oil on the turnpike. Mr. Alfalfa has, however, in response to pubic demand, placed the stock of his oil company on the market. Present quotation, $4.52 per share. RockyBEND, TEXAS—An eastern syn- Drown by Stvaar Har Mrs. Flying Fish—You Johnny’ Flying I should think people would be ashamed to notice her. Let's was never able to make a living out of his ranch owing to the steepness of the mountain and impossibility of raising grain on it or using same for grazing. The syndicate expects to sink a well somewhere on the mountain and sell several million dollars’ worth of stock, as this mountain adjoins one of the big oil fields. The topography of the land will not be shown on the maps used to exploit the sales of stock in this company. ‘ Boomtown, TeExas—One of the biggest winners in the Texas oil fields is Mr. O. Howe Smartt, of this plate. Mr. Smartt has steered clear of oil land leases and stock specula- tion and has devoted himself to the job of sleeping newcomers in pup tents at a dollar a night and serving them hot dogs at fifty cents a dog. Mr. Smartt ex- pects to be a millionaire in another week or so. " Safety First “That unfortunate motorist seems to have two flat tires, engine trouble, a lurid vocabulary and a most disagreeable dis- position,” commented J. Fuller Gloom. “However, if I walk right by him, with- out offering him sympathy or endeavoring to be humorous at his expense, I do not Fish, come right back in this water! You'll dicate has secured a lease on the young get your feet dry, and catch your death o' cold! nticipate that the wretch will attack mountain owned by Paul Poverty, who an me. 13 comicbooks.com