Judge, 1929-08-17 · page 10 of 36
Judge — August 17, 1929 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Judge Magazine Satire Analysis This page satirizes President Calvin Coolidge through a farcical kidnapping narrative. The headline parodies sensational "Yellow Peril" fiction popular in the 1920s, invoking the fictional villain Fu-Manchu to mock fears of Oriental threats. The joke plays on Coolidge's actual identity as a Massachusetts lawyer-turned-politician before becoming president. Judge creates absurd scenarios—a police chief describing "medium shrift," Coolidge operating a billiard parlor in Washington, a mysterious Oriental visitor, and references to a lion tamer with "inferiority complex"—that mock Coolidge's background and character through nonsensical comedy. The cartoon illustrates the absurd amusement park scenario. This is primarily political humor targeting Coolidge, using exaggerated ethnic stereotypes and absurdist storytelling typical of Judge's satirical approach during the 1920s.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDGE Chinese Bandits Kidnap Coolidge! Sage of Northampton Held for Ransom by Fu-Manchu Agents! by S. J. Ransom Editor of Juver PereeMan, Northampton, July 30.—Resi- dents of Northampton cringe in dread tonight before the sinister menace of the Yellow Peril. The mysterious disappearance yester- day of Calvin Coolid local lawyer, has been definitely pro- nounced to be kidnapping by Alfred Dunhill, Northampton’s stalwart chief of police. Mr. Coolidge was kidnapped gents of Fu-Manchu,” stated Dunhill, “and it is my t lief that he is being held for som in a blasted oak on I Street. Chinese, by a t When I get hold of those you can bet your life that I will make medium shrift of them.” An amusement park. “What do you mean by medium shrift, ntain?” I asked. “I thought at first of making short shrift of them,” was the an- swer. “Then for a while I favored long shrift, but now I am compromising.” To demonstrate his compromising ability, Capt. Dunhill gave a short exhibition of the art. He was at one time The lion veloped an inferiority comples. tamer who de- ge eaeki lim assistant professor of Vassar, this, we as’ the compro- and knowing d him what he ght of that school. f I wanted my daughter to learn how to tipple I wouldn't send her there,” stated the sleuth. “You can lead a horse to Va but you can’t make her drink Dunhill’s theory of the ance is a unique one. records show that for a mising at Police time Coolidge lived in Washing- ton, where he operated a billiard parlor. While there he was visited by a mysterious Oriental sold him a valuable piece of d gauze which had been his gauze,” elaborated Capt. Dunhill, “was the only piece of its kind in America. It had come into Keaton’s possession when he he ad roodles a “Roodle s ple: xion, “Wh: “While going to school K suddenly began to grow a third set of fingers,” explained Dun- hill. “When doctors examined comicbooks.com