Judge, 1922-06-24 · page 14 of 37
Judge — June 24, 1922 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical story by Lisle Bell mocks the distraction of office romance. The narrative follows a businessman whose productivity dissolves as he becomes preoccupied with his stenographer's appearance—her pumps, skirt length, and blouse. The humor lies in the absurd contrast between his supposed work (dictating letters) and his actual mental activity (analyzing her clothing and calculating how much more "enticing" she looks). The joke escalates when he invites her to lunch, then spends the afternoon reliving the experience and basking in the envy of other men. The accompanying illustration shows the scene setup: a well-dressed man in an office with his female employees, depicting the professional setting where this distraction occurs. For modern readers: this reflects early 20th-century office dynamics where young women (stenographers/secretaries) were common workplace fixtures, and male bosses' romantic interests were treated as both inevitable and comedic rather than problematic.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SOMETHING WRONG “My wife is displeased with the house as you have designed it. Movie people are continually asking to use it.” “As a palace?” “No, as a jail.” Business vs. Pleasure By Lisle Bell PLEASANT rattle of typewriters greets him as he enters his office. Stenographers lift their heads and smile without missing a key. Inside his private partition, an elec- tric fan drones soothingly. He notices that it is ten o’clock—he is a little later than usual owing to having gone two blocks out of his way to follow a pretty girl. He sits down at his desk and lights an_after-breakfast cigar. He summons his stenographer by pressing a button. Through the curling blue smoke, he observes her. She is wearing gray pumps this morning, instead of tan ones. Gray is a cool color, he meditates— cooler than tan. This morning’s skirt is two inches longer than yesterday’s, he calculates. He dictates a letter. This morning's blouse is ten per cent. more enticing than yesterday’s, he com- putes, He dictates another letter. The shorter skirt was more becom- ing, he would say with reference to same. He dictates another letter. This morning’s blouse is altogether chic, he remains, ete. He invites his stenographer out to lunch, * * E returns to the office at two- thirty. He lights his second after-luncheon cigar. He sits down at his desk. Through the curling blue smoke, he thinks over the luncheon. She made a snappy appearance in the restaurant, he recalls. Several men at near-by tables gave him noticeably envious looks. (Continued on page 32)