Judge, 1927-03-05 · page 8 of 34
Judge — March 5, 1927 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "The Great Fight" — Judge Magazine Satire This satirical piece mocks aspiring writers' obsession with rejection slips as badges of literary authenticity. The story follows Wilfred Putts, a failed writer who becomes so fixated on collecting rejection slips (displayed as wallpaper in literary circles) that he intentionally writes terrible stories—yet keeps getting accepted and paid instead. Driven mad by his inability to be rejected, he ultimately dies. The narrator ironically claims he'll now pursue Putts's quest, expecting to fail at writing while Judge published his account anyway—a meta-joke about the magazine itself accepting mediocre submissions. The secondary cartoon mocks divorce proceedings becoming theatrical spectacles, suggesting courts might soon need a "runway" for witnesses performing for audiences rather than simply testifying. Together, these pieces satirize early 20th-century literary pretension and sensationalized media culture.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDGE “Better tidy up a bit, Martha. liable to blow in.” The Great Fight Let me first tell you the sad story of Wilfred Putts. One day while visiting a friend Putts noticed that one wall of the study was papered with magazine re- jection slips, and he became quite enthused over the idea of paper- ing his own den in like manner. He rushed home and hastily batted out a story which he sent to Blistering Tales. To his chagrin the story was accepted and he received a check for $25. Putts then sat down and sent a worse story to Second Story Magazine. Back came a check for $25. Putts, slightly dazed, sent a perfectly rotten story to Powder Magazine. A few days later he received a check for $50, with a request for more material. Putts fainted on the spot. The three months that followed were nightmares. Obsessed by his mania for rejection slips, Putts gradually became desperate. Night and day he wrote fever- ishly, and every mail brought him checks. He had put $1257 in the bank, but nary a rejection slip graced the walls of his den. His business went to pot and his wife went home to her mother. Finally Putts wrote to the Laughing Hyena and asked for a rejection slip. Back came a letter — enclosing $5 — stating that his contribution had won first prize as the “outstanding fairy story of the month.” Putts, as a last desperate mea- sure, enclosed ten dollars in a letter begging for rejection slips, and sent it to Hot Serials by reg- istered mail. That night, bandits got away with the registered mails and when Putts read the account in the paper he became violent. Neighbors summoned the police and Putts was put in a strait-jacket, but he died in the patrol wagon. The first time I heard that story I was so touched that I re- solved to take up the work where Putts had left off. So far I’ve been unsuccessful and I haven’t slept much lately. My friends have started to avoid me and I’ve lost my job, but I’m writing this account for Jupae, confident that I shall win my great fight. —Gurney WI1t1aMs, Jr. Sensational divorce cases becoming such a matter of theat- ricals, courts plan removing witness chair and putting in “run- way.” comicbooks.com