Judge, 1924-02-09 · page 35 of 36
Judge — February 9, 1924 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous editorial cartoon from *Judge* magazine satirizing American healthcare costs. The comic strip shows a sick man visiting a doctor repeatedly, while the text below presents a mathematical "proof" that subscribing to *Judge* magazine saves money. The satire works on two levels: First, it mocks the frequency of doctor visits (once weekly) as excessive and expensive. Second, it's self-promotional advertising disguised as social commentary—*Judge* argues that reading their magazine costs only $7.80 yearly versus $468 in annual doctor bills, thus "saving" $461 by keeping readers entertained at home rather than visiting physicians. The final panel shows a doctor annoyed that *Judge* magazine is in his waiting room, "ruining my business" by keeping patients healthy through laughter instead of medical intervention. This is typical of early-20th-century magazine humor: satirizing contemporary issues while promoting the publication itself.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HOW TO SAVE $461 A YEAR! Thavent You'd better see te He's eas at present It apau 2D wont you be seated_ fell myself Doctor Pall th’ doctor Lisedite ye fh - in bhe last right away in 3 youll find say i eae few days J PQ, on the Cable ? re while youre wailing The doctor How many times have I told you will see bie POW. not to leave that Judge’around here, Geice It's ruining my business STATISTICS tell us that the average man or woman visits a doctor on an average of once a week throughout the year. [HE average American family consists of three people and the average doctor’s fee is three dollars. THREE times three is nine dollars and nine times fifty-two weeks is four hundred and sixty-eight dollars. JUDGE costs fifteen cents a week or seven dollars and eighty cents a year. FOUR hundred and sixty-eight dollars minus seven dollars and eighty cents equals four hundred and sixty-one dollars! Not to mention the twenty cents. Q. E. D.! comicbooks.com