Judge, 1928-07-07 · page 20 of 36
Judge — July 7, 1928 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This two-part page satirizes corporate workplace dynamics. The main story follows Tobias Turtle, a bookkeeper who has worked faithfully for 18 years with perfect attendance. Called to the president's office, he expects a raise or bonus but instead receives only a title expansion: he'll now manage ledgers A-to-Z instead of A-to-K—*additional responsibility with no pay increase*. The joke is the cruel irony of "recognition" that costs the company nothing while increasing his workload. The top cartoon mocks pedestrian car culture, showing a chauffeur asking someone to autograph "our little car" as the "first pedestrian we've hit"—dark humor about early automotive dangers. The bottom cartoon suggests a satirical solution to bus congestion: make buses wide enough to monopolize roads entirely. The page reflects Jazz Age anxieties about corporate hierarchy, worker exploitation, and rapidly changing urban transportation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDGE “Oh, sir, would you mind autographing our little car, you're the first pedestrian x The Crown of Success The buzzer sounded in the ear of Tobias Turtle. He looked up saw that the little shutter marked “president's offi had : arranging his and slicking his hair, entered the — itnposing anctum, said the compan chief executive, smiling b yrds show that n with us since eighteen ninety During that time you toiled zeal- ously and ‘conscientiously. You only came late once—and_ that "s fically, “our re you have be was the morning of the big bliz- “I overlook it. You've never watched the clock and have faithfully performed your duties as bookkeeper in’ charge of the A to K_ ledgers. The office manager tells me that you "ve hit!’ rarely le: or nine in the « hful ness deserves 4 Yet, un- them, our balance snot make it possible to increase your salary nor are we in: position to offer you a bonus. But the directors, through t n, want to record ion of your splen- 1s. jas blushed toe into the Persi grateful for this re stutt Is sy you would boomed the president. “There fore, Turtle, effective January first, in addition to your present duties as keeper of the A to K ledgers, by a unanimous vote of + directe you will also run Think of it, one in charge of the r gers from A to Tobias murmured his titude and returned to his desk, a happy man, ‘Those years of grueling toil—they had not been in vain. At last it was here—that recog nition that he had been waiting for since eighteen” ninety-seven! Pomy —Anruve L. Liveaann The height of ser other is having a ch motoreyele. —R.C.0 If buses must take up the whole road, why not build them like this? comicbooks.com