Judge, 1924-08-23 · page 25 of 36
Judge — August 23, 1924 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct pieces of satirical humor: **"Cut Down in Their Youth"** is a mock-melodramatic story illustrated with woodcut-style art. The dramatic narrative—complete with knives gleaming in moonlight and bodies striking the ground—is revealed as a joke: a hired farmhand simply cut down the hammock where young city visitors were sitting. The satire mocks both overwrought pulp fiction and the contrast between urban sophistication and rural practicality. **"Unsung Heroes"** is a brief satirical list of ordinary people performing small acts of courage or social sacrifice—from the man who uses public phone booths to conduct business, to someone eating artichokes for the first time. The humor lies in treating trivial social inconveniences as heroic deeds. **"The Urge"** is a short joke where a man promises to do anything for a woman; she responds by asking him to swim ashore and fetch her food. The humor derives from the anticlimactic, mundane nature of her "romantic" request. Together, these pieces exemplify Judge's focus on gentle domestic and social satire targeting middle-class American life.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Cut Down in Their Youth A Knife Gleamed in the Dark- ness—a Scream! Read on! T® velvet night had de- scended. The clock had struck midnight. These two, the man and the woman, sat in their trysting place beneath the trees. Lost in sweet contemplation of each other, they did not hear that stealthy figure climb the front fence, dodge from tree to tree in the yard, and come up behind them. Not a twig creaked, not a tustling blade of grass gave warning of that threatening presence. A knife gleamed as the moon came suddenly from behind a cloud. The weapon was raised aloft. It descended, then rose and fell again. There came the thud of two bodies striking the ground. With a muttered exclamation of satis- fied revenge, the wielder of the knife turned and disappeared in the shadows among the trees. The hired man had cut down the hammock in which sat the smart young boarder from the city and the hired girl. Picnicking on Mars in 1980 Unsung Heroes HE self-shaver who steps into a neighborhood barber shop every two weeks only for a haircut. The man who has to make use of a telephone booth to transact his business most of the day. The brave man who takes friends home to dinner without notifying the wife. The fellow intrepid enough to eat artichokes for the first time. The thirsty individual who takes the first quaff from a newly bought case of wet goods. The minister who pans the con- gregation before the collection plate is passed. The Urge Bill—Why don’t you practice He—Anything—I’ll do anything for you. | economy? SuHE—Oh, good! Do swim ashore and bring me a f Phil—I do—a couple of days Srankfurter and roll—and don’t forget, plenty of mus- before each payday. tard. L a XUM . comicbooks.com