Judge, 1931-03-28 · page 12 of 36
Judge — March 28, 1931 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Spring Carnival Jottings Analysis This page features **satirical commentary by S.J. Perelman** (humorist and future screenwriter) on the May 13, 1922 *Billboard* magazine and broader 1920s economic/social issues. ## Main Cartoons: **Top cartoon**: Two figures discuss the "Empire State Building"—likely satirizing New York's real-estate boom and speculation during the 1920s construction era. **Bottom cartoon**: "The near-sighted Mongoose"—appears to be social satire, though the specific reference is unclear without additional context. ## Textual Satire: Perelman mocks *Billboard's* classified ads for amusement park equipment and exotic animals, using absurdist humor to critique post-war consumer culture and stock market volatility ("What that last crack in the stock market did to amusement parks"). The "Quick Relief" section satirizes contemporary problems: wheat price complaints, police corruption in New York, and Cuban political unrest—typical 1922 news topics treated with tongue-in-cheek commentary. The humor depends on readers' familiarity with current events and period anxieties about commerce and urban development.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SPRING CARNIVAL JOTTINGS By S. J. Perelman Te May 13, 1922, issue of The Billboard is at hand— a bit late, it’s true, but Dismuke, our letter-carrier, has just recovered from an attack of pedemode, or postman’s foot, and everything has been in a size seven pother. Anyhow, here it is at last, just bubbling over with adver- tisements for world’s champion lady high di » slightly used carrousels, and pedigreed calliopes. ‘There are so many good things stewing on Billboard's kitchen range that you are lob indeed to present a stony pan to “Half-grown Bengal tiger, aff. disposition, ideal pet. yrite Box 29, Singapore, Malay Archipelago,” or “Amusement park, full equipped, Ferris wheel, penny fy pull, Leaping Lena, Tunnel of Love. Ad- dress Lipschutz, Milk City, Sucker that I am wipe that smirk off your u—I'd load the living-room with honey z , and king cobras if it weren't already stuffed with in: ent collectors and bailiffs. What that last crack in the stock market did to amuse- “Do you think you'll have room for the Empire ment parks is nobody’s business. Look at that ad on State Building?” page 37: “New model Laff in the Dark, Jr., smaller shorter curves. goes in any old build- ing or tunnel, price $ 0 up, or with tunnel if needed.” I ask you, as one man to another, are you doing right by that old building or tunnel of yours? Maybe a think I didn’t hear it whimpering when I went down Evans Street last night. It's lonely, man—do you hear me?—lonely. How about taking that money you put aside to bury your wife with and buying that old buildin, Laff in the Dark, Jr? That old building sat by you, rocking your cradle n you had scarlatina; and when you unfortu- nately recovered, what did you do? : Kicked her in the corridors and for- “Just pay no attention to them, Eleanor. We were here first!” got about her. And when she objected Quick Relief Wheat farmers are complaining that the price of wheat is too low. They should do it up in small pack- ages, say that it will cure something, and sell it in drug stores. Add similes: stood out like a hitch- hiker’s sore thumb. And we'd just about as soon have athlete's foot as athlete's head. There are a few New York cops who have amassed fortunes while they have been on the force and there are a lot more who spent their time sleep- ing. All is not well, politically, in Cuba, we hear. Under all the gayety of Havana there seems to be a strong rumba of discontent. comicbooks.com