Judge, 1919-11-29 · page 5 of 36
Judge — November 29, 1919 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page (11-29-19) **The Cartoon:** The top illustration shows a couple in a horse-drawn sleigh being stopped by a man on a snowy road. The couple claims they went to "the village an' seen a movin' pitcher o' Coney Island" for their honeymoon—a joke about how modest/inexpensive their honeymoon was (viewing a movie instead of traveling to the actual Coney Island resort). **The Article:** "Letters to the New Rulers of the World II: To a Hotel Manager" is a satirical open letter by Stephen Leacock. The sender complains about the hotel's arbitrary rules—being required to stand on one leg or vacate rooms by 1 PM—mocking how hotels (and post-WWI institutions generally) impose unreasonable, petty authority over guests. It's social satire about bureaucratic overreach and the loss of civility in modern management.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Drawn by T. 8. SULLIVANT “Well, Silas, I hear you got married recently, meoslliata Where did you go for your honeymoon?” “We went down to the village an’ seen a movin’ pitcher o” Coney Island.” Letters to the New Rulers of the World II. To A Hotel Manager By Steruen Leacock Note: This is the second of Mr. Leacock's serics of open letters to the mighty men who are con- trolling the destinies of the peoples of the Earth under the new post-war regime. We expect civ i as typified by the readers of Juvce, to be in these stately messages to those “higher up Noble and Exalted Sir: I am well aware, as I stand before you at the desk of your rotunda, of what a worm I[ am. There is, as far as I can see it, no reasonable excuse for my existence. I have, so it appears, “no reservation,” and yet I have had the impertinence to come here and to sue for a room. The contempt with which you gaze upon me is only too well justified. It is of no use for me to plead that I did not know that I was coming and that my journey to your city was entirely unpremed- itated. All this only indicates, as you justly express by the look upon your face, an ill-regulated life unfit for your consideration. { I am well aware, sir, that I ought to have written to you four months ago and entered myself upon your waiting list for accommodation: and T know that even in that case my chance of obtaining a room would have depended upon my continued merit and good conduct. tly’ improved through the sublime moral lessons involved You inform me now that if I lean up against this desk until one o'clock there is a possibility that a gentle- man may vacate room 4601. This is glad news indeed. I shall stand here with pleasuri nd T am sure that you will not consider me disqualified if I stand first upon one leg and then upon the other. It is a habit that I have acquired in such hotels as yours. Meantime, my dear sir, I should like, while I lean against the desk, to set down upon paper ina few words just what I think of you. I cannot help but contrast you, sir, with the old-time “proprietor” whom you have replaced. The change, I do not doubt, is altogether salutary: and yet in certain aspects I cannot but regret it. The old-time “Hotelman” was accustomed to meet me with an outstretched hand and a genial smile. He greeted me by my name and, though I knew that he had read it on my valise, my gratification was none the less. A room? Why that man would find me a room 11-29-19 comichooks.¢ om