Judge, 1926-08-21 · page 10 of 36
Judge — August 21, 1926 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Law and Disorder" — Judge Magazine Satire This page satirizes Prohibition-era law enforcement through a comedic courtroom sketch. A prohibition agent brings a prisoner before a judge, charged with possessing "Scotch" whiskey. The humor hinges on the witness's absurd logic: he claims he didn't steal the liquor but received it and used it as "evidence"—a transparent dodge mocking how Prohibition agents and courts operated. The judge's increasingly frustrated exchanges—threatening to dismiss the case, jail both parties, cut salaries—parody the chaos and incompetence of Prohibition enforcement. The punchline: the prisoner has already left the courthouse, rendering the entire proceeding pointless. The accompanying cartoons mock other social absurdities: Robinson Crusoe's vacation resort, comic-strip dialogue balloons, and bicycle accidents. The "Judge's Question Box" offers deliberately nonsensical advice, further ridiculing the era's social pretensions and bureaucratic confusion during Prohibition's enforcement period.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Law and Disorder (Scene: Any district court-room. Pro- hibition agent brings prisoner before bench) oe 1TH what is the prisoner charged?” “Scotch.” “How do you know?” “T had some.” “Why did you take it?” “I didn’t take it—he gave it to me and I used it for evidence.” “Don’t give me any back talk.” “That's not back talk; I just now thought of it.” “If you keep on I'll throw the case out of court.” “Double dare you.” “Were you with the prisoner last night?” “That’s the wrong procedure. First, you want to know when I was born, don’t you?” “Answer my question. I’m not in- terested in the date of your birth.” ‘Neither am I. I guess we agree on that.” “We do not agree. I don’t think you can tell the truth, to tell the truth.” “Let’s go home then.” “Another one like that and I'll put you and the prisoner both in jail “You can’t—the prisoner went home ten minutes ago.” “Well, it’s all right this time, but if you're not more careful with your prisoners hereafter you'll get your salary cut. Case dismissed.” Leonard MacTagart Rosrsson Crusoe—Hmm, I thought the ads said this was an exclusive resort. Conic-strip Appict—Hey, mister, them balloons don’t say nothin’! “What! Broke your legs? Don’t lose a minute! beat it to the doctor!” Take my bicycle and Judge’s Question Box R. JupGE: I am a young girl 472 about twenty-five years ago and theboysare all crazy aboutme. What does that make me? Do you think I should accept the attentions of more than four (+) men at the same time? And what will take warts off of flannel doughnuts, and if not, do they ever run on Sundays or is it only common to those living in the less tropical climates? Black Beauty Dear Sparky: If, as you say in your charming and concise letter, the boys are all crazy about you, why it is our guess that that mak a laundress in an insane asylum? As to accepting the attentions of more than four (4) men at once, it might perhaps work out all right, depending on whether you are mar- ried, how many children you already have, and how jealous your husband is. If so, however, we still do not advise accepting the attentions of all four (4) on the same evening. Regarding your last question, we are glad to say that Uncle Remus is all over his shingles, and the pros- pect for the cocoanut crop in North Dakota is running fine again and looks like new, only being a little worn in some of the more daring night clubs of Broadway. If this doesn’t accomplish your purpose, you might try a cake of soap once a week after each meal. Richard S. Wallace comicbooks.com