Judge, 1922-07-01 · page 12 of 36
Judge — July 1, 1922 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Political/Social Satire Analysis The top cartoon mocks middle-class hypocrisy. Two men are identified as "the Joneses, the pillars of the church"—suggesting they present themselves as morally upstanding community figures while presumably being otherwise (the "fat ones" reference implies gluttony or excess). This satirizes the gap between public piety and private behavior among respectable society. **"The Coming of Summer"** by Baron Ireland critiques modern commercial intrusion into daily life. The poem parodies medieval verse celebrating summer's arrival, but now the "bird (human)" must announce door-to-door salesmen hawking products like metal polish. It's satire on how aggressive advertising and sales culture have invaded even nature's seasonal pleasures—a commentary on early 20th-century consumer capitalism overrunning traditional life. The other short pieces are light humor: "A Virtuous Example" ironically celebrates a woman's rigid propriety that leaves her unmarried; political humor about self-interest; and ethnic jokes typical of the era's casual prejudice.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Drawn bg Wit Fostea. “Who are those two fat ones?” “Why, they are the Joneses, the pillars of the church.” The Coming of Summer by Baron Ireland “Sumer is icumen in, Lhude sing Kuku—" N the old days it was like that. Some bird (ornithological) would start to recreate its latest phonograph record (you positively couldn't tell the difference from the machine) at 4.30 a.m. and immediately everybody shifted from his woollies into his medium weight balbriggans. Even then, though, people were shrewd enough not to shift too quickly into the light- weight undies with the amputated legs and excavated sleeves. There has always been such a thing as being prompt with- out being rash. But times, as someone has acutely ob- served, have changed. It is no longer possible for a poet to record the advent of a new season in seven words. Nowa- days it takes several more than that. To be strictly up to date, the bird (human) who wishes to celebrate the occasion would have to put it something like “Sumer is icumen in, Lhude ring back doorbell metal polish, garden seed and magazine salesmen—" And it takes a vers librist, rather than a mere poet, to cope with that. Yes, the pth st plague is on us. And when you answer the bell and hear a voice say, “I am demonstrating the Bosco Metal Polishing Cloth, excellent for brass, silverware, aloomyum—just let me dem- onstrate on this door handle—just a few rubs—you see—positively will not re- move varnish from woodwork when polishing or injure the hands—thirty-five cents— k you—good afternoon” you may know, when you have come out of your trance and find yourself staring at the Bosco Metal Polishing Cloth in your hand and wondering where the strong smell of benzine comes from, that sumer is, or has, icumen in. 10 A Virtuous Example by Mary P. Chappell SHE doesn’t paint, She doesn't rouge, She doesn’t smoke, She doesn’t booze. She doesn't kiss, She doesn’t pet She’s thirty-eight, And single yet! tse “So you've taken up politics, have you? Want to see what good you can do for the country “Lord, no! I want to see what geod the country can do for me.” er “What kind of a club do you belong to?” “It's composed of old fogies smoking Pittsburgh stogies and talking about golf bogies.” ery Customer—Can you tell me where I'll find misses hose? Saleslady—In what department is she? sae “TI read somewhere that Chinamen are the most honest people on earth.” “Yes, and they are starving to death.” sas A little energy expended may mean a dollar expanded.