Judge, 1924-07-12 · page 21 of 36
Judge — July 12, 1924 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes a theatrical production about American independence ("The Spirit of '76") performed by members of the American Federation of Labor. The cartoon critiques the play's quality and the actors' abilities. The top illustration shows three men performing clumsily on stage—depicting the supposedly poor acting by labor union members cast in leading roles. The text mocks the superintendent/director as dull and the production as reliant on slapstick ("sledge-hammers, riveting machines, wash boilers") rather than genuine artistry. The satire suggests that casting working-class laborers in a patriotic historical drama produces amateurish, undignified results. The characters perform with exaggerated physical comedy rather than skill—one mimics a cabaret dancer, another speaks in an affected "beer-bass" voice. The lower cartoon is unrelated domestic humor about memory and modern intelligence. The page ridicules both labor activism in arts and cultural pretension generally.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
after the school superintendent inceg. viewing his first manner of a Sunday Paris peep-show. He is also dull. minutes of Save for about ten farcical hhorse-play in his second act, | His idea periodical no intelligible subtlety is a pretty boresome fellow. mis to make an actor yout the stage for mye reason and his idea of to work laboriously up. toa piece of dirt and then, just as the d Sf \ The Spirit of '76! ence expects the explosion, have one char acter whisper it into another's ear. In addition, he repeats as often as a voter in ariver-front ward, By way of getting a point over, he resorts to. sledge. Mm, mers, riveting machines, wash boile and bass drums. He is, in. a word, approximately as suave as a billboard. The evening discloses some acting. Reginald who may usually be relied upon for a Aside from She—Oh, Harold, promise me you'll always remember this night. He—Dearest, I swear it. See, I'll make a memo. of it right now. smooth performance, the members of the American Federation of Labor who have been drafted to enact the play dis- port themselves in curious and wondrous w The gentleman who plays the role of the young husband, for instance, is evidently of the belief that youth and high animal spirits may best be depicted hy imitating the pri allerina in a Havana joy-house, while the gentleman who plays the réle of his adviser (that of butler) is evidently of the equally strong conviction that the pos- session of intel a sapient nee on best be suggested by pushing one’s chin down hard against one’s collar and speaking in a rich beer-bass. Hops Hops. come: tw ‘beer bottles, erase hoppersand summer hotels. They also affected by toads, fleas and kay roos. Hopping is one of the great indoor IL is also used to some extent in Hops come in succession, as A single hop, however, can often be obtained in Chinatown. sports. cabarets. a rule. Mr. and Mrs. Mrs.—It says here that the intellect of the average person is that of a child of thirteen. Mr.—Yes, but look what a lot children know these days! icbooks.com