Judge, 1931-04-11 · page 13 of 36
Judge — April 11, 1931 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explaining This Judge Magazine Page This page contains three satirical pieces mocking 1920s American culture: **"Retaliation"** is a humorous poem by Parke Cummings listing violent responses to losing in various sports—wrestlers strangling opponents, hockey players body-checking, baseball players using spikes—before ending with the joke that chess players should simply "grin and count to thirty" instead of getting physical. **"Success Story"** satirizes both psychoanalysis (a trendy new field) and Prohibition-era organized crime ("rackets"). A patient named Smythe complains of envy; the psychoanalyst's "cure" is to quit legitimate work and join the criminal underworld. Smythe follows this advice and becomes a successful psychoanalyst himself—the satire being that crime pays better than honest work during this corrupt era. **"Same Idea"** makes a brief joke equating women's gossip over backyard fences with their consumption of sensationalist tabloid newspapers—both are sources of scandal. The cartoons accompanying these pieces are generic illustrations rather than political commentary. The overall tone mocks 1920s prosperity, dubious psychology fads, and Prohibition's criminal consequences.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Retaliation A PEEVISH wrestler, seeing red. May strangle his opponent dead, And angered water poloists Are not averse to using fists. A hockey expert whom they vex Retaliates with body checks, And often half-backs have been known To break a rival’s collar bone. A baseball player with dislikes Can spear opponents with his spikes, And golfers sometimes vent their spleen By hurling clubs across the green. But those annoyed while playing chess Should frown on physical redres: Their wisest plan when foes play dirty Is just to grin and count to thirty. —Parke CumMinas The speakeasy proprietor takes his first look at the Grand Canyon. Success Story “Trixp,” the psychoanalyst said, “that you are suffering from an envy compiles. A cold chill ran down Smythe’s spine. He hadn't expected it to be that bad. He listened with ashen face and helpless look. “An envy complex,” the psycho- analyst went on, “occurs mostly in people who work hard. Like yourself, for example. It arises out of an in- tense resentment at secing other peo- ple making easy money at soft jobs. in these days of so many rackets.” “Can this—this envy complex be Smythe asked anxiously, “Yes, very ‘,” the psychoana- lyst answered. “All you have to do is quit the job you've got now and go : om ape into some racket. The bigger the “Good news, kid. racket the better. You do this and you'll soon. see how much better you feel. ‘Ten dollars, please.” I got ’em to give yuh a retoin bout!” * * «* Smythe took the psychoanalyst’s advice, And in a very short time he was congratulating himself on having done so. Not only did his health im- prove, but he found himself getting along better financially as well. He is rapidly becoming one of the most outstanding psychoanalysts in town. s —Harry Epstein Same Idea In the old days women used to lean over a back fence to learn the latest scandal. Now they lean over a tabloid. | : “You can come out now. There has been talk in the East of Spring is here.” making prize-fighting illegal. In the ting it is already considered uneth a comicbooks.com