Judge, 1923-11-10 · page 8 of 36
Judge — November 10, 1923 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Judge Magazine Page Analysis This page contains several brief satirical jokes typical of early 20th-century American humor, targeting social pretensions and domestic absurdities. The main cartoon depicts a mother questioning her Boy Scout son about his good deed. His answer—teaching a girl it's impolite to stick out her tongue—is juvenile and self-serving rather than genuinely charitable, satirizing the Boy Scout movement's moral claims. The written jokes mock various targets: a plumber-turned-doctor who lacks proper tools (satirizing professional incompetence); an employment agency clerk's joke that honest janitors are rarer than honest bank employees (cynical commentary on workplace dishonesty); a woman mistaking flower bulbs for sweet potatoes (domestic foolishness); and wordplay about bell-shaped trousers "ringing" when wives pass through them (crude marital humor). The "Verses for a Guest Room" poem humorously lists house rules disguised as welcoming poetry—don't overstay, don't be messy, don't break things—reflecting working-class anxieties about hosting guests. The humor relies on class commentary, domestic situations, and gentle mockery of contemporary institutions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Mother—And what good deed did you do to-day? Bobbie (a boy scout)—I taught that Simpson girl next door it wasn’t polite to stick out her tongue at boy scouts. “T UNDERSTAND,” said Mrs. — Smith, “that our former plumber has become a doctor.” “Yes,” said Mrs. Jones, “and they say he almost lost his first case.” “How was that?” “In the middle of the operation he found that he had to go back for some tools.” sae Man (at employment agency)—I want a man whose honesty is established by scores of references. A man who would be honest under any circumstances. Clerk—You wish a bank employee? “No. I've got my winter coal supply in and I am looking for a janitor.” “T believe these sweet potatoes would have been better if you had cooked them ittle longer, my od heavens, man! ‘Those are the bulbs I was going to set out to- Verses for a Guest Room by Sue Stuart Sree SWEETLY in this dainty bed— J But kindly don’t take root here. Remember, we don’t keep a maid— So won't you shake a foot, dear? flow day. att Jones—You remember old Hank Stewe, s a cook in our outfit in the army? n across him the other day. Smith—Well—well! Did he have a good jo “Yes—but not as a cook!” ttt Bright dreams be yours, ere morning break Upon day’s golden shore— But listen, kid—for heaven's sake Don’t throw things on the floor. May peace here greet you, welcome guest, And scatter joy about ‘er, Why. buy bell-shaped trousers if they But please, old thing, when getting dressed don’t ‘ring when your wife goes through Watch where you spill your powder! them? 6 comicbooks.com