Judge, 1927-07-30 · page 13 of 36
Judge — July 30, 1927 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical "gallery of types" mocking various American stereotypes and professions. The poem introduces characters as if they're damned souls in Hell, each representing a recognizable social type: "Jocko the Radiofan" (early radio enthusiasts), a greedy doctor, pushy salesmen, a lazy milkman, a reform-minded crusader, a reckless driver ("Road Hog"), and others. The humor relies on exaggeration and moral judgment—the piece treats ordinary occupations as character flaws worthy of damnation. At bottom, two brief jokes mock lawyers (the audience is "four-fifths lawyers") and mock women writers using pseudonyms. The overall satire reflects early 20th-century anxieties about consumer culture, professionalism, and social hypocrisy—presenting modern American types as moral failures. It's punchy social commentary disguised as whimsical verse.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Hell’s Bells Devils and devilets, gather around And g Ww at the comical creatures found: ve This one is Jocko, the Radiofan. He talks, walks and curses as well as a man. He flutters around in the tele- phone vines And lives with the Statics and Heterodynes. Here is a Doctor, unusual thing, His beard is his fortune, his bill is his sting; Appendices, tonsils and gizzards his prey; His ominous growl, “Yesno- applestoday !” Here is 4 to s . We've quite a few salesmen among us in Hell, Snafferous salesmen, salesman with nothing Pestiferous salesmen, High pressure salesmen who wangled ’em well. Here’s the Dear Babe the benevo- lent stork Delivered next door with the butter and pork. A creature nocturnal, each sweet, — And this is the Lawyer—but let's This is the Villain—not many in “A mad world, my masters!” stilly night rule him out. Hell— It bellows and gurgles with tear- Four-fifths of my hearers are © Who wore a mustache and done | ful delight. lawyers, no doubt. wrong by our Nell. (eed He lived in the wilds of the } Opery House, And wouldn't be here if it weren't for his spouse. i at This is a Milkmanwithsqueaksin- : hishoes, And here's a Reformer—we have ‘4 “em in slew This is the Road Hog, the one painted red, And here is the Maidwithacold- inherhead. Step right up, fellow imps, one at a time— A fortune in laughs for the price of a dime. —Pavi Ernst 828 —I found the prisoner to have dementia vol- 4) canio to the extent of $10,000. “She uses a pseudonym when — | Seconp ALientst— > writes.” inherited millions—this should increase the application at least Zatso! I thought they all | 40,000, used Coronas.” | ractly! But my investigations also show comicbooks.com