Judge, 1931-04-11 · page 7 of 36
Judge — April 11, 1931 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page **"The Returns of Spring"** (top cartoon): A satirical piece listing spring's return signs—birds, tourists, grass—ending with absurdist items like "rubbish piles under melting snows" and "the janitor after being, Lord-knows-where, all winter." The accompanying cartoon shows two men at a restaurant table with hanging pans; one asks "You wouldn't frame me, would you?" The joke appears to reference either a robbery or romantic entanglement, playing on period slang where "frame" means to falsely incriminate someone. **"C. Gray's Employment Agency"** (bottom): Shows a clerk interviewing a prospective housekeeper. The dialogue reveals she's married with three children, has poor disposition, and is being offered work as "general housekeeper." The humor lies in the absurdity—she appears completely unqualified, yet the agency proceeds anyway. Both cartoons satirize everyday incompetence and poor judgment.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Returns of Spring T birds; Florida tourists; green grass; tree blossoms; B.V.D.’s; head colds; spring fever; Fuller brush salesmen; auto salesmen, ditto; the idea of living in the suburbs; college boys in gaudy clothes ; amorous thoughts; rubb under melting snows; the parade; tree-sit- ters; flag-pole, ditto; the janitor— after being, Lord-knows-where, all winter. Then there was the absent-minded professor who went to a police station to report a robbery and ordered a glass of beer inste: ad. A hypothetical question, twenty thousand words long, was propounded recently in a civil suit, This question, if printed in the newspapers, would fill two and one-half pages. Person- ally, we'd like to be asked a question like that. When the fellow -finished asking it, we wouldn't say yes and we wouldn’. say no. We'd just say “What?” Now if they’d only put some real ghters on. If some promoter would only arrange a match betwi winners of the Sinclair Lew dore Dreiser slapfest and the Jim Tully-John Gilbert fisticuffing. “You wouldn’t frame me, would you?” Interview EMPLOYMENT : : * Are you married?” AGENCY Pere yet “Tam. ny children “Yes, Three of them.” “Mm. You need help rather badly then.” “T certainly do!” “Have you a pleasant disposition?” “I've always been told that I have.” “Are you regular, neat, orderly in your habits? Successful in human re- Honships, kindly and courtcous to- tions.” “You are very anxious to make this connection, and feel that you can do your part successfully if given a chane hat’s certainly the way I feel.” “Very well, then, we'll give it a weck’s trial, I'll be at your home at eight o'clock tomorrow morning to start work as general housemaid in “Nothin’ doin’, Buddy. I’m lookin’ myself!” your family.” —Wtnirreo Wintis comicbooks.com