Judge, 1919-11-01 · page 7 of 38
Judge — November 1, 1919 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Their Waning Prestige" - Explanation for Modern Readers This is a satirical fable using zoo animals as stand-ins for what appears to be **entertainment venues or performers experiencing declining attendance** during Prohibition era (context: "Temperance Worker" reference in the cartoon). The cartoon shows a well-dressed man confronted by a drunk acquaintance claiming to be on "strike"—mocking temperance activists' credibility. The story below uses anthropomorphic animals (giraffe, zebra, snake, monkey, elephant, bat) lamenting lost business. They blame summer vacations and people abandoning their "pets"—likely satirizing how **Prohibition reduced social gathering spaces and entertainment venues**. The piece concludes with an appeal to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, sarcastically suggesting these establishments deserve sympathy like neglected animals. The satire targets both the temperance movement's impact on leisure industries and the hypocrisy of reform advocates.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Drawn by Jous Conaciner. “Oh! Robert, Robert! “Sho’ Iam, Parshon. a MN 5 SKY lis ¥ ‘ = I thought you were a Temperance Worker?” I've—hie—gone on shtrike!” Their Waning Prestige By Harry Hamivron, During the two months just records, about 1 1s agains cases tree f JO18 anyway 7” the purple HAT’S the matter with people, asked the pink giraffe of zebra. “I dunno,” growled the purple zebra gloomily “We're not playing to anything like the houses we used to,” complained the pink giraffe. “Our patron- age is falling off in a most alarming manner. If it keeps up, there'll be nothing to it but to close the zoo. Let’s ask the snake. He's been here longest.” “Don't ask me!” hissed the snake. “I give it up. Why, I used to have any number of calls for private views—people from all over used to want to see me and now, honestly, I haven't had an outside call in two weeks or more.” “Listen to me,” chattered the “There is a man of my acquaintance that | usec magenta monkey 1 Tite cases have hee passed, according to the n treated in the alcoholic throughout the —Hospital Statistics ated ti drop in on regularly, and at all sorts of odd hours. | used to sit on the footboard of his bed and talk to him and grin at him. The other day he passed me straight by and didn’t even see me. I was cut dead.” “Aw,” cried the elephant with green polka dots, “I think it was the summer. People are always aban- doning their pets in summer; going away to the country and leaving ’em.” “They never left us before,” the purple zebra, the magenta monkey in unison, “The summer was my New Year's,” chirped the swinging dismally. Which is why, any mornin; Prevention of Cruelty to Ani rending appeal, cried the pink giraffe, and the snake, busiest season, excepting scarlet bat, waking up and the Society for the als may receive a heart-