Judge, 1921-10-15 · page 25 of 36
Judge — October 15, 1921 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page collects several brief satirical pieces and jokes typical of early 20th-century American humor magazines. **"A Bard Creates a Sensation"** mocks newsroom hierarchy through exaggeration: a poet's mundane verse about someone buying a typewriter ribbon generates disproportionate enthusiasm as it passes through each department, with workers increasingly emotional about the trivial subject matter. **"Not a Modern Story"** satirizes editorial gatekeeping: an editor rejects a manuscript as implausible because the protagonist runs toward his childhood home after learning it's being rented out—treating ordinary human emotion as unrealistic. The remaining items are brief jokes about domestic life (wives and cooks), a Paris-based quip about poison technology, and a cartoon showing two figures in conflict over a white waistcoat's practicality. The humor relies on workplace absurdity, editorial pretension, and domestic comedies—themes reflecting early 1900s magazine culture where trivial matters received exaggerated treatment for comic effect.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A BARD CREATES A SENSATION— The copy reader looked upon the verse I handed in— His eyes began to sparkle, and he cracked a cheerful grin; He called the copy boy, and lo! in spite of all the heat, The voice wherewith he summoned him was gentle—even sweet! The boy he took the copy and he started up the stair; He glanced upon the pages and he hummed a merry air. The copy cutter took the bunch, all listless and distrait— He took another look and instantly was blithe and gay. Slug Seven took the copy and he hung it on his hook— He saw the page and jocund joy dis- placed his surly look; And merrily he rattled on the lino- type machine— And it was found the galley proof was absolutely clean! The proof went to the proofroom, and the copy went along The copy holder took a look and then burst into song; The office rang with glee, that day— they talk about it still “Ted Robinson has bought a brand- new ribbon for his mill!” Ted Robinson in Cleveland Plain Dealer. Nort A MopERN Story—“No, Mr. Scrawl,” regretted the editor of the Fortnightly Flipper, “your story is fairly good in construction, but it would tax the credulity of my read- ers. You write such impossible things.” “I was not aware that anything in my story savored of the impossible,” ventured the fountain-pen wielder. “Oh, but it does!” asserted the ed- itor. “Listen to your own words in chapter three. “‘Our hero, rich at last, strode blithely down the sweet-scented lane towards the home of his parents. “‘He caught sight of the rose- decked cottage at last and broke into a run.” The author nodded complacently. “‘He dashed madly to the wicket- gate,’” continued reading the editor, “‘and then, to his great sorrow, found that the dear old place was to let!’ “That, sir,” snapped the editor, “is ridiculously impossible!”—Brooklyn Eagle. “Wonderful! The American chemists have discovered a poison whereby three drops on the skin is enough to kill a man.” “Great! That does away en- tirely with equipment: We shall no longer be obliged to carry a squirt and an umbrella.”—Le Rire (Paris). A RaRE BirD—“What have we here?” “A letter to the editor.” “But it’s more than a column long.” “Our correspondent says he has never written a letter to the editor before, and he thinks he’s entitled to some consideration.” “There’s something in that.”—Bir- mingham Age-Herald. > TIONS—“I hear that Jubb’s prodigal son came home and said he would be contented to be treated like one of the servants.” “He had all the nerve in the world, didn’t he?”—The American Legion Weekly. IN LONELYVILLE — “Why around the station like this? train for four hours.” “T want to see if I can’t intercept a cook starting back for town.” —Louisville Courier-Journal. WELL-INFORMED—‘“Is Mrs. dere a well-informed woman?” “T should say so. Her cook has lived with all the other families in the neighborhood.”—Boston Tran- script. hang No Nex- TYRANT—Boggs—Well, 1 Can’t be late HOME have to toddle on now. for dinner. Joggs—Afraid of your wife, eh? “Oh, dear, no; it's the cook’s feel- ings I’m thinking about.’’-—Columbia State. ‘ THE WHITE WAISTCOAT “And look here, I don’t want another white waistcoat. I find it very unpractical.”—Fliegende Blaetter (Munich), 2 comicbooks.com