Judge, 1925-12-19 · page 14 of 39
Judge — December 19, 1925 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This *Judge* magazine page satirizes Prohibition's claimed success through mock testimonials. Three contest winners ironically describe how Prohibition has enriched them—revealing the satire's actual point: Prohibition created illegal profits. The first winner went from factory worker to owning multiple cars by becoming a bootlegger ("handles only the best stuff"). The second manufactures pencils but jokingly plans a "tin-cup business"—a reference to homeless begging, implying Prohibition's economic chaos. The third is a humorist whose income mysteriously increased since Prohibition, suggesting he profited from satirizing it. The joke: Prohibition's "success" meant criminal enterprise flourished. The Volstead Act (Prohibition's law) nominally failed but enriched those breaking it. The Gloria Swanson mystery contest below is unrelated advertising—a common magazine feature asking readers to identify a hidden celebrity for a prize.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WINNING LETTERS IN THE GREAT “IS PROHIBITION A SUCCESS?” CONTEST FIRST PRIZE Won by Alan Mooney, New Rochelle, N. Y; 1—Prohibition is a glorious suc- cess. Look at me. Before Vol- stead I was an armature winder. Now I have a different car for every day in the week. Furthermore, I am sending my boys through college. Then, too, I am thrown into inti- mate contact with the best families in the county. This latter, however, I attribute partly to the fact that I handle only the best stuff. Long live the Eighteenth. SECOND PRIZE Won by Clive Wood, Rochester, N. Y. 2—Prohibition has made good. “Anything that glorifies so typically American an institution as the cellar deserves our hearty support. And it has stimulated business. I am a pencil manufacturer, and have built threeadditionsto my plant since1919. I am thinking seriously at the pres- ent time of branching out into the tin-cup business. Volstead forever! _ THIRD PRIZE Won by Hussey Hoff, Fredonia, N. Y. 8—Prohibition is a life-saver. I am a contributer to humorous week- lies. I tremble lest the country be ill-advised enough to restore the old régime. My income, which used to stay close to the decimal point, has crept steadily to the left. So much so that I never hear the odious name of humorist any more. Folks speak of me asa writer . . . I am trying to think of an appropriate Latin greeting to Prohibition. But the only Latin word that I can recall is hie However, that will do quite well. G. A. Paravicini JUDGE’S GREAT MYSTERY CONTEST! 2 a HESE GIRLS IS GLORIA SWANSON? Send $10 for Particulars! WHICH OF T Bn >: $$$SS5 THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS THROWN AWAY! CAN THE FOLLOWING OB- | JECTS IN THE ABOVE | Acow. A horse. A dog. Acat. Pat and Mike. So’s your old man. And anything else you can think of. Fur length portrait of President Coolidge. Map of Ireland. Jack Dempsey. Two other fellows. Send no money! YOU DISCERN A es ea ae PICTURE? | WE CAN’T! comicbooks.com