Judge, 1920-01-03 · page 13 of 36
Judge — January 3, 1920 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Political & Social Satire Analysis The main poem, "Requiem of the Cloves," satirizes **Prohibition** (the "Breathless Age" and "Volsteads" reference the Volstead Act). Cloves were traditionally used to mask alcohol on the breath—a key spice trade commodity. The poem mourns the economic collapse of the clove industry now that Prohibition has eliminated demand for this disguise. The language is deliberately grandiose and mournful, treating commercial ruin with mock-epic seriousness. The smaller comic vignettes employ standard early-20th-century humor: wordplay, Irish dialect, marital troubles, and class-based comedy. "His Self-Possession" celebrates composure under adversity. "Long Felt Want" jokes about invisible women's corsetry. "Too Bad!" plays on "dry land" (ironic given the castaway wanted to escape America's dryness under Prohibition). The illustrations are period cartoons with exaggerated caricatures typical of Judge magazine's satirical style.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Requiem of the Cloves “And the trade in cloves has dropped forty per cent.”—News Item, By Steruen Vincest Beni UNDER the gleam of the almond stars In the hush of a cinnamon breeze The clove plantations used to croon A vegrant, fragrant, julepy tune, And the planters called for the waiting coon By the half-seas-over seas! The liners tore from the thirsty north, They roared from the ribald south. From scarlet dawn to the spice-day’s death They loaded the boon which, the barkeep saith, Shall take the suspicion from each man’s breath Whenas he assuages drouth. Alas! and now by a bevo moon The furious volsteads rage! The coons are hocing the turnip crop, The sad-eyed planters are drinking pop, For the cloves and the clover of Life must stop When they come to a Breathless Age! His Self-Possession “The Reverend O. Goode Evans has wonderful control over his emotions,” commented Professor Pate. ‘While the wind was blowing so strongly yesterday a sack of flour fell from a dray into thestreet and burst open. The contents came swirl ing down the wynde in a sirocco of white. It struck theclergyman fairly and squarely, instantly covering him from head to foot, transforming him for the nonce into the likeness of an animated snow man. But he only gulped a few times, wiped the flour out of his eyes as well as he could, and went on his , humming the well- known hymn, ‘Whiter Than Snow.’ ” Drown by Ouven Hearoas “What a framp that Mrs. Orpinzten is getting to be! No wonder her husband is er for that speckled vampire.” “It’s her own fault the way she ne-lects her appearance. You can’t expect to hold a husband's ns with a mere egg record.” Too Bad! The Skipper—Well, thanks be, we're safe at last on dry land! * The Castaway—Now ain't that tough luck? And I sailed from the U.S. just to get out of a dry land. Long Felt Want “Congratulate me. I'm on the road to riches.” “What have you done?” ‘Invented a woman’s waist material that cannot be seen at all.” Drown by Lass Coupons. " i Anxious to Please Pup—What makes you feel so gay? “ . ge Lamb—Eecause I'm sure my winter clothes Does this parrot swear?” are all woo! “No, mum. But he’s a bright bird. mum. Wouldn’t take ‘im long to leam.” 13 comicbooks.com