Judge, 1931-01-17 · page 9 of 48
Judge — January 17, 1931 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Murphy's Folly & Judge Magazine Page Analysis **"Murphy's Folly"** is a humorous narrative about a man who borrows money from the narrator on Monday, claiming poverty. Murphy then admits he spent the entire weekend—Saturday and Sunday—taking his girlfriend Betty on repeated outings: dinners, drinks, shows, taxi rides, and more drinks. Each day he "accidentally" ran into Betty and spent lavishly on entertainment, completely depleting his finances. The satire targets **post-WWI leisure spending and dating culture**—the casual way young men frittered away wages on entertainment and women. Murphy's repeated claim of coincidentally encountering Betty while broke suggests either poor judgment or romantic impulsiveness. **The secondary cartoon** (by John Rachilze) shows a man on a high beam, with the caption "Dammit, Joe, the wife's canary follows me to work every day"—a domestic complaint joke about marital entanglement. **"Insight"** appears to be a separate humorous essay about an unnamed advisor figure (possibly satirizing Washington insiders) who offers unsolicited expertise on everything from art to economics and presidential matters.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
4 MURPHY’S FOLLY Meerny isthe man—Murphy of * the Mile High City. It was Monday when he approached me. You know the casual way treat money in a newspaper office. Saturday is pay da ame to me on Mone —but Monday “Old tan,” need it, I do.” “LE thought only the did.” I i 7 ‘ve been in’ the same be yourself, haven't you?” he asked. I had to admit that I had. “Well, then, you won't refuse me. You can't. Remember the heyday of ur youth.” “Edo 1 to do with fir of yours?” “Well—if you feel that way...” “Wait,” TD said, “VI fix it; but how did you get broke this quickly?” ‘Saturday night,” Murphy b “T happened to run into Betty . I interrupted: “Y —on Saturday . and Murphy Tuesday—yes 1 him’so. > said, “T actually Republicans id, “but what's that ring the hey-heyday Betty ‘Or view versa. 1 nodded. 1 knew, said Murphy! And Trt Kechi2ze— JUDGE “So we had a couple of drinks, and we had some dinner, and we saw a show, and we had a bite to eat, and then we had some drinks, and I taxied her home.” “But that couldn't have broken you,” [ said. No.” said) Murphy and had the grace to blush, “but the funny part is that Sunday, too, T just) ran into Betty—of all people . 2.” “AY “So we had a snack of dinner, and took a couple of drinks. and went for a ride in the afternoon, and had some supper, and saw a show, of drinks.” said, “there was a late supper.” “T thought so,” I said. “And now I'm stony,” said Murphy. “Completely?” “Well, Lonly had a five spot when I said good night to Betty.” “And what happened to that?” I dd. “TL guess,” said Murph. T guess 1 must have spent t foolishly ! -Davin S. Leman 9) oO “Dammit, Joe, the wife’s canary follows me to work every day.” Insight Annes: is a man who understands things. On subject from modern art to. er 1 oysters, he knows and tells the t y. While he does not exactly President by name, there is evidently a consider- able intimacy between them. Ambrose is too modest to say that he does the thinking for the Chief Executive; on the other hand he is too generous tu hold back on the President when he has a good idea. Ambrose is equally willing to foretell, and propheey not the least of his gifts, Few compare with him in’ seeing to have avoided great disasters. makes it clear that if the right thing had been done at the right time in Nineteen-Fourteen, there would have been no war... and his formula for preventing the stock market collaps« of Nineteen-Twenty-Nine is a master yr. Nor is Ambrose, as might be supposed, merely a cloistered thinker. He is a man of practical affairs, and can be found any day behind the fourth chair in one of Washington's busiest barber Crank Stone piece of economic’ strate comicbooks.com