Judge, 1924-02-16 · page 32 of 36
Judge — February 16, 1924 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines advertisements with three satirical cartoons from the "Passing Show" column: **The cartoons mock contemporary concerns:** 1. **Train Robber**: References the income tax (newly established or recently expanded in America). The joke's bite: even criminal success yields nothing but tax paperwork—a commentary on how pervasive and inescapable taxation had become. 2. **Stage Manager/Super**: A theatrical joke about a performer claiming lumbago (lower back pain) to avoid performing. The absurdist punchline—replacing him with the horse's back legs—mocks both the excuse and theater's physical demands. 3. **Eavesdropper**: References radio broadcasting regulations, specifically "listening licenses" (Britain required these). The satire: privacy invasion through wireless technology, with bureaucratic licensing required even to listen privately. **The advertisements** (saxophone lessons, self-help books, revolvers, garters) reflect 1920s-30s consumer culture aimed at self-improvement and modernization. The page satirizes income taxes, theatrical pretense, and emerging technology regulation—all contemporary anxieties for Judge's readership.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
\ Easy to Play Easy to Pay Saxophone Book Free Tella when to ose S in a \ You can be playin ya pepe bom and within % dave, if yo ed desire, Uni tertainment, church, lodgeor school, nm, bie demand for orchestra dance Free Trial You may have six days’ free trial of phones | Corn estrument. Easy Meation the Catalog will ‘be “"BUESCHER BAND, INSTRUMENT co. 4934 Buescher Block oe life's, Secrets! in'a plata wrapp: ‘Send No ate, Ready Tricks ives, 100, Alphabets ad ta Bexiie WW Ip ¥/ EARN MONEY 7H EDATELY ~ ‘\! | // WE FURNISH EQUIPMENT TO START. Get one ew guaran. teed blue steel, side our special low postage. Chicago Supply erate Choo. ST Rose St. Dept. 20 New York City NEW GARTER CROOKED LEGS (Patented) MAKES TROUSERS HANG STRAIGHT If Legs Bend In or Out Self-adjustable Itholds Not “Form” or Harness” No Metal Springs Free Circular Plain, sealed envelope THE T. GARTER CO. 22, New London, New Hamoshire Elkhart. Indiana 1 wily , af gel Train Robber (who has just robbed the mail car of the overland)— Curses! Nothing but income tax blanks! Super—I say, guv'nor, I shall not be able to go on to-night. I've got such an attack of lumbago, I can’t stand up straight. Stage Manager—Well, go and change places with the back legs of the horse, then.—Passing Show. Irate Gentleman (to eavesdropper)—Excuse me, madam, but have you a listening-in license?—Passing Show. comicbooks.com