Judge, 1928-02-04 · page 11 of 36
Judge — February 4, 1928 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Judge Magazine Page Analysis This page satirizes parental excuses and hypocrisy through a newspaper writer's note justifying his son's school absence. The writer invokes Napoleon's famous maxim about circumstances, then admits *he himself* created the circumstances by telling his son about the circus in town—thus preventing the boy's attendance while lecturing him about willpower ("Nothing can stop you"). The satire targets how educated adults rationalize contradictions: the writer positions himself as a self-made man like Napoleon, yet undermines his own philosophy by manufacturing the very excuses he supposedly rejects. The accompanying illustrations—showing a "Philosopher and Humorist" examining comic strips, a "Long-Felt Want" (a hostel for men waiting for wives), and Lindy trying a Mexican sombrero—are separate comic vignettes poking fun at contemporary culture and behavior. The overall message mocks pretentious intellectualism masking simple human weakness.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
e ush time! reas raided at one-twenty and it’s only one-twenty-two nowt But if he don’t show up in five minutes we'll ca hom An Explanation The little boy of the writer of inspirational articles for a news- paper syndicate was absent from school one day, and on the fol- lowing day, when asked for an excuse, handed this note, pre- ed by his old man, to the cher. To whom it may concern: “Somebody once reminded Na- poleon, the French general, that circumsta rs alter cases, ‘Cir cumstances!" he retorted sharply, A Philosopher and a Humorist take a look at the comic strips JUDGE ‘why, I MAKE. circumstance Later on, it seems, he was a vic tim of these same circumstances, so you sce admittedly he had only himself to blame. How- ever, there WAS something in what he said. “Wilbert, as you probably know, was absent yesterday. Cir- cumstances prevented his at- tendance. The nature of thes« circumstances is of small mo- ment, but it will be enough to say that I made these circumstances. Napoleon did it, why could not 1? If more people understood THAT, there would be more N poleons, though where we'd put them all is something for some- body else to figure out. “Yesterday morning I said to A Lona-Fett Want Portable hostelry where men can sleep vaiting for their wives my son: ‘Son, the circus is play- ing in town today, so look out tor the elephants on your way to school.’ *Cireus?’ he said, throw- ing down his books, ‘I didn't know the circus was in town to- day or I wouldn't have becn well enough to go to school.’ Then he picked up the paper and showed me something I had written: ‘If you make up your mind to DO a thing, NOTHING can stop you.’ Well, any we went, and those were the circumstances, “This is the truth. George “Do you think that a woman should support her husband?” “Tm really in no position to say.” Washington told the truth, But did anybody tell the truth about him? s something for Ru- pert Hughes to write about. So Willie missed a day at school. But schools and colleges aren't the only places where people learn, or else those who went to school longest would know MOST. We knew a fellow who went to college nine years and he knew less than most people who go four. He died of angina pectoris in his sophomore year. Otherwise he'd be going yet. “George E. Porge Lindy tries out the Mexican gift, Sombrero comicbooks.com