Judge, 1921-03-19 · page 9 of 36
Judge — March 19, 1921 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Fed-Up" — Judge Magazine Cartoon Analysis This 1921 satirical cartoon by Roger McPherson critiques urban malaise and the appeal of agrarian escapism. The illustration shows a tall, exasperated man wielding a spade, addressing "Uncle Walt" (likely referencing Walt Whitman's romanticization of nature and manual labor). The narrator expresses exhaustion with city life—its "stress and strife," labor disputes, pessimistic talk, and moral decay. He fantasizes about abandoning urban corruption for rural self-sufficiency: buying land, raising vegetables, and escaping what he views as civilization's decay and class conflict ("capital to boot"). The satire targets two audiences: young men seduced by pastoral idealism and the intellectual pretensions of such escapism. The accompanying "College Ties" illustration suggests mockery of educated men considering similar fantasies—viewing agrarian retreat as an impractical fantasy rather than viable solution to modern urban problems. The piece reflects post-WWI American anxiety about modernization, labor unrest, and social upheaval circa 1920-1922.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
RCO “UM STRONG TO TILL A GARDEN PLOT AND RAISE MY VITTLES ON THE SPO Fed-Up By Howaro B.C Milustration by Rocer 1 ‘usuman, Cornell, 20 ). McPuerson, Cornell, "22 (Hello, Uncle Walt!) and strife, this gel c life and be and lazy; ner plant and cat to d hazy. I" r; he raved about d about twice as wicked as before, and ale creation’s aiming for the bow-wows of demnition. Such gloomy lingo makes me boil, the line these croakers shoot; it makes me hate the sons of toil, and capital to boot; but most of all I hate the bum that spreads this concen trated glum, if he'd check out for Kingdom Come ‘twould settle my dispute. trects, this habitat of mourn ets way out ir 1 Hick le C ad play my trait the climbin are in the city? the traction m burgher’s lost his pu daily press except to read “Foreign Rates on Monic y forth to trap some Fnstead I'll take my fowling . or line my overcoat » ve seen my one and only hope to save my brai blooming flaw can spill the dope and send it al a- neral store and find the codgers "round the door rehashing all ard before—then, brother, I’m through trying! Drawn by Housce B, Coons, Ohio State College "£2 Cottece See Next Week's Judge for Tres the Overflow of College Wits 9