Judge, 1930-10-18 · page 12 of 36
Judge — October 18, 1930 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Judge Magazine Page Analysis This page contains two satirical pieces mocking contemporary trends: **"A New Modern Opera"** (by Chet Johnson): Satirizes both modern radio entertainment and marital infidelity. The plot—a radio announcer discovers his wife with another man but maintains composure on-air—parodies overwrought operatic drama while poking fun at the emerging radio industry and casual attitudes toward adultery in "modern" society. **"A Testimonial"** (by Asia Kagowan): This is sharp satire debunking pseudo-scientific health fads. A man credits miraculous recovery to "infra-red" and "ultra-violet ray" machines Pete Bumpus provided, but eventually admits he never used them—his actual improvement came from a salary raise. The joke mocks both gullible consumers who believe in dubious medical devices and the hucksters peddling them as cure-alls. Both pieces ridicule contemporary American credulity and modern life's absurdities through humor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A New Modern Opery Witte a lot of you people are frit- tering away your time, we arc trying to do something worth while. We are composi 1 opera which will revolutionize the aria and finale racket, in that it will tell a modern story. It is to be one of those Pagli- The plot runs like this: yp and his wife leave the 'y and go into the city. Bill gets a job as a radio announcer and Mrs. Yapp does odd bits in radio plays. One day Bill comes into the studio and is surprised to find another guy making love to Mrs. Yapp. But Bill is true to all traditions. Althot heart is brea z, he stands before the microphone zhs at his own smart er: “How much did you lose? wenty dollars and th’ “Ti JUDGE Are you 15 and 5?” wife's alimony A Testimonial G1 months ago I was all run down. & o I had a bad cough and couldn't afford new shoes, a haircut, a suit and an au rettes to cure it. [ needed tomobile. I was pretty sick. “What you need,” Pete Bumpus told me, ‘is infra-red rays on that throat. And then a] ultra-violet rays. ‘They'll make a new man out of yah. course 0 “T got the machines,” Pete went on “Lm gonna bring ‘em over tonight. I'm going way fer the winter, so you might just as well use ‘em.” Of course, I didn’t have a bit of faith in the things. But, sir, six months later I was a new man, When Pete came back my cough was gone, I had all the ciga- rettes I wanted, new shoes, a haircut, a new suit and an automobile. “Still takin’ the infra-red rays?” asked Pete. “Nope,” I confessed. “Never did. “Oh, then it was the ultra-violet did the work? Great stuff, those ultra violet rays.” “Nope,” I said. “I couldn't mak: that thing work.” “Well,” said Pete, “if it wasn't infra-red or ultra-violet rays made yah like this, what kinda rays was it?” “Salary raise,” I came back. And that’s just what it was. —Asia Kacowan comicbooks.com