Judge, 1925-11-07 · page 23 of 36
Judge — November 7, 1925 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page mixes humor pieces with corporate advertising. The left side contains short jokes mocking working-class life and absurd situations—a "Paris" hat assembled from American sweatshops (Reno, Utah) yet marketed as French luxury; a boss demanding his clerk appear idle to fool a visitor; children baptizing cats; and people discussing theft in rough neighborhoods. The dominant content is a Bell System advertisement celebrating the New York-Chicago telephone cable completed around President Taft's inauguration (1909). The ad presents technological progress as national infrastructure—the cable provides reliable service despite weather that previously disrupted communications. The rhetoric—"safeguarding the lanes of speech," "artery of speech"—frames telephone service as essential to national unity and commerce. This is corporate propaganda dressed as public interest journalism, typical of Judge's era when advertising increasingly colonized editorial space. The bottom promotes Judge's football issue as a must-read entertainment product.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Song of the Paris Hat M* FRAME was made up at A sweat shop in Reno, My velvet was trimmed by An Eighth street bambino. An ostrich from Texas Gave the plume that I wear, While a factory in Utah Made my lacy affair. I sell for a “fifty” And quite cheaply at that: You know me, friend hubby— I’m the “Paris” made hat. George Bancroft Duren RR tad Boss—If Mr. Simpson calls to- day, tell him I am out. Clerk—Yes, sir. “And don’t be doing any work, or he won’t believe you!” —Illustrated Leicester Chronicle Rated John and George, small sons of a Baptist minister, after listening to one of their father’s sermons, decided that they must baptize their family of cats. The kittens made no ob- jection. One by one they were put in a big tub of water. But when it came to the mother cat, she rebelled—and fought—and scratched—until at last John = re- marked: “Just. sprinkle her, George, and let her go to H: 1.” —Tit-Bits FAS He—What’s funny about that stationery shop? She—They’re moving it. —Answers “Tt’s a rough district. I think I’d better take my revolver.” “You poor dumb-bell! And have that stolen too?” —Le Petit Bleu = Safeguarding the lanes of speech The New York-Chicago telephone cable has been completed and is now in service. A triumph of American telephone engineer- ing, the new cable is the result of years of research and cost $25,000,000 to construct. Its first reach extended along the Atlantic seaboard, then steadily westward until this last long section to Chicago was put into service. To the public, this cable means dependable service irrespective of weather conditions. It is now not likely that sleet storms, which at times interfere with the opén wire type of construction with 40 to 50 wires on a pole, will again cut off the rest of the nation from New York or from the nation’s capital as did the heavy sleet storm on the day of President Taft's inauguration. The new cable means speedier service, as it provides numerous additional telephone circuits and will carry a multitude of telephone and telegraph messages. It would take ten lines of poles, each heavily loaded with wires, to carry the circuits contained in this most modern artery of speech. This cable, important as it is, is only one of the Bell System projects that make up its national program for better telephone service to the subscriber. It is another illustration of the System’s intention to provide the public with speedier and even more dependable service. AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY AND ASSOCIATED COMPANIES BELL SYSTEM One Policy, One System, Universal Service JUST FOR THE FUN OF THE THING GET THE FOOTBALL NUMBER OF f JUDGE YOU MAY BE FORCED TO KICK IF YOU DON'T ARRIVE EARLY AT THE NEWSSTAND ..*.. NEXT THURSDAY comicbooks.com