Judge, 1928-09-08 · page 11 of 36
Judge — September 8, 1928 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explanation for Modern Readers This page contains two distinct pieces of satire from Judge magazine: **"Letters from a Song Writer's Mother to Her Son"** is a humorous letter mocking the era's obsession with radio and popular songs. The mother complains that the hit song "Ramona" plays constantly on radios, making it impossible to count how many times she's heard it. She digresses into a story about her younger son Sammy learning songwriting, mentioning how Indians are referenced via coins (Lincoln/Washington on bills, chiefs on coins) and the song "Ramona" on the radio—suggesting Native Americans are only remembered through commercial culture. **The cartoon below** satirizes pretentious behavior. A man in formal wear questions another's use of "that coil of line on the saddle," and when asked about bait, the response mocks wealthy people's ignorance of practical matters. The joke targets upper-class affectation and disconnect from reality. Both pieces use gentle ridicule of American consumer culture, mass media saturation, and class pretension—themes typical of Judge's satirical approach.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDG Letters from a Song Writer’s Mother to Her Son Dear Son: How many times I heard Ra- during the last couple months I couldn't tell you because mona the radios was going all the time and it was hard to tell when one minenced and the other ended. ou couldn't counted them if I tried to. Still, it is a good But there is one weak- The Indians was good dan- cers, and this song is hard to dance have song. to. With Popper anyho. I tried it. Speaking of Indians, that re minds me. Your little brother Sammy who is learning to be a writer so we can keep the profits in the family in case you want to write songs with you was letting his hair grow, and we thought he needed a haircut because we didn’t 1 Popper said he air if I would help him by telling Sammy h raising stories while he was doing it. So I told him about the In- dians and how they was finally driven all the way across the coun try into the movies and wild west shows but not until they got a lot have somebody want him to become a_ classic would cut Sammy's h “May I share this with you?” And Do You Stuff Birds, My Good Man? In- quired the Bel- ligerent Little Gent Here's a passage from “Erotic Euclid, or Life on the Planes.” Depr Ranxcurr: saddle for?” horses and cattle, ma'am till, Anthony, we know you. of sealps to put among their souvenirs. So Sammy said what did a Indian looked like and Pop- per said didn't you ever see any on coins and Sammy said he ow, what do you use that coil of line on the Corey tin Cowsmasnen: “That's for catching the Miss Marcoortes: may I ask what you use for bait?” “Indeed! And Take your hand out of the couldn't remember so we had to refresh his memory. on Fopper too because he couldn't find a penny and had to part with a nickel because Sammy wanted to keep it to show a friend of his, which he did. Well, the Indians nothing to complain of t they may be gi but they are not forgotten: not with their chiefs on the coins and Ramona on the radio all the time. Speaking of of which Lam always Pop s, it seems that th are the sir the amounts they get their on. Lincoln and Washington on the small bills and the other presi dents on the larger bills. No wonder most of them are forgot ten by this time. People how aver should not worry about get ting th faces on they can get their hands on them. Popper says so. P don't forget your Mam my the next time you are writing songs and drop her a line, and the next time you are coming to sec me and set your intentions to mu- sie let me know by mail or tele- graph, not by radio. It was tough have got LUSC bills s'longs Your loving Mommer —R. C. O'Burex comicbooks.com