Judge, 1919-08-23 · page 14 of 36
Judge — August 23, 1919 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a slapstick comic strip about a circus performer (likely a clown or laborer) being hired and immediately fired, then sent on a humiliating series of errands by circus officials. The humor relies on: 1. **Circus hierarchy absurdity**: A lowly worker receives contradictory, increasingly ridiculous orders from authority figures—fetching items from a camel, an elephant's trunk, a monkey cage, borrowing impossible tools from other animals. 2. **Physical comedy**: The worker runs frantically between locations while circus animals cause chaos, playing on slapstick conventions popular in early silent film (referenced in panel 1: "One Reel Feature"). 3. **Social satire**: The joke targets workplace exploitation and the powerlessness of workers taking orders "subject to your orders, sir!" despite absurd treatment. The final note indicates next week's installment will feature "Charlie" (likely Chaplin) responding to a mother's plea—suggesting these were topical entertainment references for Judge's readers circa 1910s-1920s.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
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