Judge, 1921-01-08 · page 8 of 32
Judge — January 8, 1921 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explanation for Modern Readers This Judge magazine page satirizes early 20th-century housing scarcity through absurdist humor. The main article "More Room; Less Space" mocks proposals to solve the housing crisis by eliminating furniture and rooms entirely—suggesting people discard chairs, sleep on ledges instead of beds, eliminate dining rooms, and remove libraries from homes. The satire critiques the era's severe housing shortage by showing how far such "economizing" logic could extend. The secondary story "Caropaprus" depicts a financially struggling man who discovered a scheme: accumulating small canceled checks to sell as scrap metal, generating profit. His wife admires his cleverness while he ironically considers abandoning the scheme—not from principle, but because writing hundreds of checks is tedious. Both pieces target urban housing congestion and working-class financial desperation of the period, using exaggeration and dark humor to expose the absurdity of proposed solutions and the desperation driving ordinary people toward questionable schemes.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
More Room; Less Space By Liste Brew HE only solution of the housing problem is smaller quarters. People have become used to too much room, and insist upon having three, four, or even five rooms in their homes. This is ridiculous. We must learn to live in lockers, just as we have learned to sleep (in Pullmans) on shelves. In order to economize in space, chairs should be discarded. They merely take up room in the modern home. There is no reason why we should not restrict ourselves to two positions while at home—standing or CALENDAR ANY MONTH WORKING DAYS IN RED 1234567 & 910 1112134 15 16 17 18 19 2021 ment’s thought will show that this room is quite as inessential as the others. Our cities, at considerable outlay, maintain public libraries, so why must we devote floor-space in our homes to a room with similar functions? On the face of it, it shows a lack of appreciation of what the cities are trying to do for us. So cross off the library. All we really need in the home, in view of the housing congestion, is a kitchen—and_ possibly a bathroom. These two rooms will serve all prac- tical purposes, and if one wishes to do any entertaining, they could be thrown into one. Caropaprus The tribute taker of 2021 lying Pool) : By FE. BL W dispensay 2700 y E. B. Wamxe The bedroom should be dispensed (OO with altogether. A ledge, slightly - 8 ; eo Ir Hotspays Keer Iscrnasixe ix Nustoer wider than the picture moulding, will < meet all practical requirements in the She—Dear, 1 CAN'T BEAR TO HAVE YoU GO eet: ab pra pequireme 5 TO WORK. THIS 18 THE SECOND DAY THIS MONTIE way of slumber. It’s a mere habit rar you nave HAD TO Go TO WoRK. man - who -stored - securities - t-the- bank - by - borrowing- y-on-them, sat up and took no- tice of his wife who showed signs of which impels us to go to bed. It would be far more economical of space just to roost A dining-room is absurd, when you stop to think of it. Be- sides, it requires an extra operation in the serving of food. It an idea, a good idea mental anguish. She eyed him thoughtfully a moment and then said “T've got to read a paper before the Why Work Club. L need would be much simpler for the family to gather around the cook- The-man-who-stored-securities-free smiled grimly. stove or range, and satisfy their appetites right off the burners. This would also do away with dishes, which take up room. The idea of a library has grown up in our midst, but a mo- Drawn by C. D, Swace. Ex-Lieutenant Jinks (to hired girl who insists upon lighting the fire mornings wit At rr acatx, ent, Nora? Wet, some FINE MORNING YoU'RE GoIxc TO BE A. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS! h kerosene)— W. 0. L, “You might try this on them. The bank furnishes blank checks free to its customers. Tell ‘em to pay their bills often and with small checks and have ’em insist on getting a written receipt besides. Have 'em bale up, and sell to the junk man, all paid and cancelled checks as fast as these checks come back from the bank “Tell ‘em to keep the receipt- ed bills until the debts which they represent are outlawed. Then have ‘em sell these old bills for junk and so get another extra melon dividend on their checks in the future.” His wife looked relieved “You are so clever! You al- ways come tothe rescue soneatly. I am very proud of you.” ‘The-man-who- stored- securi- ties-free perused his wife’s vis- age almost tenderly. “T could dope out something better if I didn’t have a couple of hundred checks to write this very minute.” And with a checked impulse to kiss her, he departed. Logical Conclusion Mrs. Robin discovering her husband pulling worms out of a can of bait. “Howdare you, sir! Howdare you feed us on canned meat?” comicbooks.com