Judge — April 9, 1921 — page 4: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "When All Is Blue" — A Courtroom Satire This cartoon by C.H. Fourbell depicts a man standing before a judge, requesting permission to kiss his wife on their wedding anniversary—a request absurd enough to require judicial approval. The title "When All Is Blue" (meaning depressed or melancholy) suggests the satirical target: overly restrictive laws or social conventions that have become so oppressive they make ordinary marital affection illegal or require court permission. The upper gallery shows observers watching the proceeding, emphasizing how public and bureaucratic even intimate moments have become. The satire mocks excessive legal regulation of private life—a common Judge magazine theme critiquing government overreach or absurdly puritanical social restrictions prevalent in early 20th-century America.