Judge, 1925-05-23 · page 14 of 36
Judge — May 23, 1925 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes 1920s American business culture, particularly the "booster" mentality of service clubs like Kiwanis and Rotary. **"The Office Boy's Prayer"** mocks the aspirational language fed to young workers—promises of success through "hustling," "quotas," and "pre-arranged plans." The prayer asks to be made into an obedient, ambitious businessman, revealing how corporate ideology was marketed to office workers. **"His Majesty"** ridicules the mystique surrounding "Traffic Managers"—railroad executives portrayed in advertisements as powerful decision-makers. The author admits never actually seeing one, only imagining them "juggling freight cars," exposing how advertising created fantasy versions of white-collar jobs. The cartoon shows absurdly exaggerated office antics (desks launching people into the air) to emphasize the gap between promotional mythology and mundane reality. Both pieces use gentle mockery to critique how business culture promised young men status and meaning through corporate service, when the reality was often tedious clerical work. This reflects 1920s anxiety about industrialization and conformity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
+) | The Office Boy’s Prayer “Miampen or Commerce, Kiwanis “and Rotary Boosters, good fellows, go-getters, intent T come to thee now as a novice and votary- ‘Teach me the ereed of the hundred per cent. Teach me the Babbits, Slap-on-the well-met; me the statistical ‘Tables and make me the slightest bit wet. vits of big-hearted ck and hail-fellow- mystical lure of Help me to kindle my innermost fires to Lead in the march to accomplish- ment’s shrine. Show me the way to compel hard- hoiled buyers to Passively sign on the old dotted line, ‘Teach me that quotas are built with iotas— Prate on the worth of a pre- arranged plan; Make me a bustling, hustling, \ fretting. ness manu! a tussling, a etting, alert busi- Arthur L. Lippmann Bootteccer—That’s good whisky the man who drinks that won't go home and beat his wi “Gimme the other kind you don’t His Majesty ne business world is made up of poor drudges like myself and Traffic Managers! Ever since I ned to read and thumbed the advertising pages of periodicals, there it stood out in bold type Be a Traffic Manager!” ven't the slightest idea what a manager though I vaguely visualize him as juggling freight cars while puffing cigar sthoke in the faces of railroad: presi- dents, “Boss, your copper stock that you thought worthless has just paid a dividend of 810,000." “Yeh, sat all?” | “Well, you won the office bascbalt here's the & a ——| pool this week No doubt traffic managers sit Lehind ylass-topped desks pressing Inittons that change the destinies of railrouds, Yet, week after week, th zines Dellow—"Be a ‘Traffic Man- It anybody runs across areal, common or garden variety of traffic manager please wire me collect at once. IT want to touch him and grovel at his feet. After that, I'l be con- tent to merely continue as a hum- drum, $25,000 a year bank presi- dent. Arthur L. Lippmann wok that has the town “When We Were by AL A. Milne. It’s aknockout! pf “In the spring a young man's het your life he is! Now, the lads are wearing lumber- jack shirts with Hot diggidy! colored squares. fp The six best “Steppers: “Why Do LT Love You? “Rhapsody in Blue” (Dance t “Tl See You in My Dreams. “Stepping in Soci “Montmartre Ro: “Prince of Wales.” —p— And now we have * Pool Parties.” Try in your local swimming pool! ‘Tables are placed around the edge of the pool, and the guests dine in their bathing suits. Hosts or hostesses are and dance warned to post signs disclaiming all responsi- bility for guests falling in said pool, as they are very wet parties! comicbooks.com