Judge, 1931-01-24 · page 9 of 36
Judge — January 24, 1931 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explanation for Modern Readers This page satirizes **Sinclair Lewis**, the prominent American novelist, preparing a speech attacking American standardization—ironically while rushing through it without writing it himself. He delegates the entire task to his secretary, insisting she use his notes and published opinions about underappreciated writers (Dreiser, Mencken, Cabell, O'Neill, Anderson). The satire's point: Lewis preaches against conformity and materialism while embodying exactly those flaws—he's too busy/lazy to write his own critique, demands "the regular thing" (formulaic speech-writing), and prioritizes material concerns (his sailing deadline) over authenticity. The bottom cartoon shows a doctor reassuring a worried patient, a visual palate-cleanser typical of Judge's format. The humor targets intellectual hypocrisy: a celebrated author crusading against standardization relies entirely on standardized speechwriting formulas and ghostwriting—the very commodification of ideas he claims to oppose.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
| How It All Came About Mi Stxeuame Lewis: Damn! VE Secretary: What's the matter? Mr I Damn this Swedish language ! It's the most im- possible 1 ever inst! Secreta difficult. Mr. Lewis: A trifle! “To form the past participh Oh never mind, Say, what time is it getting to be? Sceretary: Almost ten-thirty Mr. Lewis: Good Lord, and I haven't started on my address! I've only got a few more hours before I sail! Secretary: Then perhaps you'd bet- ter drop those Swedish lessons, and— Mr. Lewis: Drop them! I can't! I've got to learn a semblance of the language before I go over there. came up yi T imagine it is a trifle Listen to this: Secretary: Yes, but your long ad- dress in English—— Mr. Lewis: I can’t help it. There ire no two ways about it; you'll have to do it for m Secretary: What! Then you're not going to write it yourself? Mr. Lewis: Lord knows I'd like to, but I just haven't got the time. You can do it all right, can't you? Secretary: Oh, of course I can do “Well, now you cheer up, doctor; things are going to pick up from now on. 7 JUDGE Special microphone for politicians who feel more comfortable while talking through their hats. it. I've got all the files right here, but I was hoping — Mr. Le is: Never mind what you hoped. Now get to work. Secretary: Very well. You just want the regular thing, of course—a good standard speech attacking Ameri- can standardization. vis: That's it, “In Swedish ine form of the adjective is formed by Seereta how long Mr. Lewis: What? Oh, er—well, somewhere around five thousand. Now don't bother me, (An hour elapses.) Secretary: Well, [think I've got it pretty well outlined now. ‘This ought to run about the right length when I get it typed. Mr. Lewi Sceretary: I've started off with the lack of recognition accorded to writers with genuine vitality in this country, mentioning, of course, Dreiser, Men- cken, Cabell, O'Neill and Anderson, Pardon me, but about M& Lewis That's right. Only it might be better to list them al- phabetically. Some of them are he touchy guess pt to Oh well, never mind; [ not important. ‘Then you'y bout the man of material ns being more looked up to by the masses than the creative genius? Seeretary: Oh yes, naturally, And I've also complained that the material- ist gets more money. Mr. Lewis: Ah, that’s a good point Secretary: Of course the thought oc- curred to me that this really isn’t especially peculiar to Ame or to this age alone. Mr. Lewis: Good God, you didn’t put that in! (Continued on page 32) possess ica alone Worrying won't help, you know.”