Judge, 1921-10-15 · page 12 of 36
Judge — October 15, 1921 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Political Cartoon and Magazine Content Analysis The top cartoon by John Conacher satirizes naval readiness concerns. A well-dressed man on a ship's deck points to a whiskey bottle floating in the ocean, sarcastically asking companions what purpose the "vaunted navy" serves if it cannot prevent such debris—likely full bottles—from being lost at sea. This appears to critique either naval incompetence or the Navy's failure to prevent alcohol smuggling/loss during Prohibition era concerns. The page also contains three literary pieces: "The Tragedy of Mankind" (a humorous short story about a man unable to choose between two women who is ultimately married by a third), "The Gift Horse's Teeth" (a brief joke about leaving a price tag on a gift to display its cost), and "Beauty in the Ruins" (a serious poem about finding grandeur in decay). The magazine blends satirical commentary on contemporary issues with fiction and poetry typical of early 20th-century Judge publications.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Drawn by JoHN CoNAcHe! The Fistormieghet at it! mile limit! I ask*y The Tragedy of Mankind By IRENE VAN VALKENBURG. ONES was in a quandary of the extremest kind. All day long he thought about it and thought about it, and most of the night he thought about it. His business was fast going to pot because he could not concentrate his mind upon it. Sleeplessness was robbing him of his erstwhile good looks. Friends and family were divided, but both were against him. Jones’s trouble was as old as the ancient hills. There was Muriel. She was elu- sive, tantalizing, never quite under- standable. She held his interest and stimulated his emotions when all the rest of the world palled into deadly boredom. There was something elfin about Muriel and her odd, woodland beauty. But on the other hand there was Eloise. Eloise was calm as a June day, restful when the world proved weary, comforting when black dis- eouragement drooped heavily on his shoulders. Eloise was dependable, kindly, and sweet. Marriage with her would be marriage in the true, old-fashioned sense. His people were very much in favor of her. Yet, of course, she wasn’t as fas- cinating as Muriel. And Muriel wasn’t as sympathetic as Eloise. But Eloise wasn’t pursued by all his bachelor friends as Muriel was. Well, either of them would do, and both of them loved him. If only he could decide which one . . While he hesitated, plain, tiresome Jane Beulah Brown sneaked up and married him. The Gift Horse’s Teeth Alice—That was an expensive pres- ent you sent Gladys. How mueh did you pay for it? Virginia—I don’t remember the exact amount, but I left the price tag on it. 12 A whiskey bottle, my friends!—Probably full—and within the three- ou, my friends, what is our vaunted navy for? Beauty in the Ruins By GLENN WARD DRESBACH A BEAUTY speaks from ruins of + old walls, Once high and beautiful, in some de- sign, i lifting from the dust, some lovely ine Unbroken where a flood of starlight falls, The structural splendor past, stone reealls Seme glory of the whole, and we divine In it a touch of mastery where twine The vines of ivy and slow shadow crawls. one Because of what it was before it fell To ruin we may see, in ruin, still A certain grandeur long in balanee hung Above the dust, and come to know how well We understand what golden hours fill When some old men begin, “When I was young—”