Judge, 1930-04-26 · page 8 of 36
Judge — April 26, 1930 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page This page satirizes corporate consolidation in early 20th-century American business. The top cartoon mocks a husband seeking a police officer's help to escape his wife—a domestic humor setup. The main article "Do You Wish to Be Absorbed?" depicts elderly bankers at an exclusive club discussing a massive corporate merger involving major industrial companies (National Chase Seaboard, Gold Dust Whelan, Benjamin Moore, American Can, Bosch Metal Smelting, Sugar, General Motors, Mills, and others). The satire targets the merger mania of that era—the absurdly large consolidation, the focus on asset totals and deficit-filling rather than actual business value, and the casual tone of powerful industrialists casually reshaping the economy. The humor lies in treating gigantic financial machinations as casually as discussing a missing hat.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Patient—Thank heaven, Doc, you've come! “Why didn’t I mind me mother and go to school? me fan mail.” JUDGE Hessaxp—Take my advice, officer, and beat it while the going is good! Now I can’t even read Lefcourt Colonial Irving Trust. Do You Wish to Be Absorbed ? Frere solemn, elderly gentlemen, wearing the conventional frock coat of big merger, sat round a mahogany table in the conference room of the Bankers’ Club. In the center of able reposed a list of all the corporations in the country ch had any assets. ‘The portly gentlemen puffed on their nt cigars, blew rich billows of smoke toward the ¢ 1 were silent. At length the chairman arose, cleared his throat and, rapping for order, said: “Gentlemen of the Board of Direc- tors of our new consolidation, the National Chase Sea Gold Dust Whelan Shattuck Benjamin Winter American Can Bosch Metal Smelting Sugar General Motors Mills Out door Advertising Dupont Holding Company, Allied Inter- ests and friends, we are here to discuss the plans of this gigantic merger. . . he seeretary will call the roll to see whether there's anybody with a decent bank account whe The s iry, having called the roll, turned to the chair- man ¢ 1: “The Simmons Bed interest is absent, but the quorum present.” . rst business to come before this meeti an nounced the president, “is the consolidation of assets and the election of vice-presidents. ... Mr. Bulbley, will you mak« a list of $5,000,000,000 worth of assets so we can continue with the meeting Mr. Bulble: tion, fter some rapid addi- “S$ 9,000 ,000.15. million,” the Chase aid gravely, The Gold Dust delegate said: “This is a lousy merger. I'm going out to get some new shoelaces and a shave.” The president rapped for order. “I've got it!” he said. “We'll all chip in and make up the million-dollar Mercheson, will you please pass the he hat was passed, and, when the treasurer had completed the count, he announced in a deep “We have Reddy tees and a brass hatéchec At last a timid cashier relieved the tension caused by this last announce- ment with ; boys, the City Bank Farmers’ Trust’ Harriman National “Stop!” interrupted the president. comicbooks.com