Judge, 1922-09-30 · page 7 of 36
Judge — September 30, 1922 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Another Big Bank Hold-Up" This satirical cartoon from *Judge* magazine uses absurdist humor to mock baby savings accounts and parental financial irresponsibility during an era of banking anxiety (likely early 20th century, given the references to "Parent-Burglars' Association"). The illustration shows a crowd at what appears to be a bank entrance. The accompanying text, written as advice from an experienced "baby-bank burglar," is satirizing parents who repeatedly raid their children's savings accounts. The joke operates on multiple levels: parents are portrayed as actual thieves stealing from piggy banks ("burgling"), while the text treats this as a professional skill with a "motto" ("Early and Often"). The satire critiques parental hypocrisy—teaching children financial responsibility while simultaneously undermining it through theft. References to the child losing "confidence" in the bank and preferring to swallow coins rather than save them underscore the damage such behavior causes. The cartoon likely reflects Depression-era or pre-Depression anxieties about financial instability and moral decay among the middle class.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Another big bank hold-up intake (b) and drop through the air darn thing with a can opener or taking it fiduciary institution of such doubtful (c) into the mouth (d) with the greatest into the back yard and hitting it with a solvency. This may benefit the ipecac My brick. trade but it does not help the burglary In conclusion I wish to say that the business. No; my experience is that the WHILE. however, it is always well motto of the Parent-Burglars’ Associa- watchword of the baby-bank burglar for the baby-bank burglar to ac- tion—‘Early and Often”—was adopted should be “Early!” and “Early!” and quire, if possible, good form in burgling against my wishes. As the father of four “Mighty Early!” for, when the financial and to cultivate a classic stance and babies and a burglar of long and broad stringency in the little old home reaches swing, he should never feel himself too experience I objected to the “often.” that point, papa has to get up mighty strictly bound by rules. Personally I Even the most unsophisticated babe, if early or mama will have given the bank have made some of my best “‘hauls”—as_ its bank is burgled every morning, soon the Hairpin Jiggle, the Free Arm Shake, we in the jake say—by entirely loses confidence in it and swallows its the Sudden Suction and the Can Opener empiric methods, such as opening the pennies rather than deposit them in a Twist while he is still snoring. 5 of case (e-e-e) comicbooks.com