Judge, 1927-04-23 · page 5 of 36
Judge — April 23, 1927 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page This page satirizes Prohibition's social effects. "The Road to Oblivion" depicts a man who's quit drinking and become a social outcast—rejected by friends, withdrawn from parties, abandoned by his sweetheart (who calls him "a damned old crab"). The illustration shows him surrounded by magical lamps, suggesting his isolation is self-inflicted yet fantastical. The bottom cartoon mocks pet fad changes, attributing them to Prohibition's enforcement. The poem "Underworld Greeting" sarcastically suggests that despite alcohol bans, various groups (sailors, farmers, cotton workers, coastal residents) will still access alcohol—implying Prohibition's futility. The overall message: Prohibition creates social dysfunction and won't actually eliminate drinking; it only drives consumption underground while punishing abstainers socially.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDGE The Road to Oblivion I have just become one of the enemies of society. I have decided to follow the majority no longer, but to cast my lot with the luckless and disagree- able minority. I have insulted all my friends. Their invitations have been spurned wholesa I refuse to join in their songs, their gayetie Their stories, that formerly were so entertaining, now appear witless and vulgar. If I am dragged to a party, I sit in the corner, almost overcome with drowsiness, and watch the merrymakers pityingly and with a newly acquired scorn. My sweetheart has passed on to other ente rprises. She s I've become “a damned old crab’— and I have. My business acquaintances no longer welcome me to their offices with a dive for the lower right- hand desk drawer. Instead they instruct their office boys to ask me what I want to see them about and then send out word the out of town or “in conference.” My secretary—well—no_ good morning kiss. We get right down to work. And I don’t blame any of them. I’ve become an awful thing, a misanthrope, an outcast, a slink- ing creature. In other words, I’ve quit drink- ing for a few wee re SS Some people are so dumb; they think Prohibition is a law. Yes, the fads for pets are changing due primarily to Prohibition. A lad ’n his wonderful lamp. Whatever else may happen, Altho’ the country’s dry, The sailor still will have his port, The farmer hé his rye; The cotton still will have its gin, The sea coast have its bar, And each of us will have a bier So, Volstead—there you are! Underworld Greeting “Lo, Dive.” “Hi, Jack!” comicbooks.com