Judge, 1933-11 · page 11 of 36
Judge — November 1933 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page This page satirizes Prohibition era America (likely early 1920s). The top cartoon "Judge" shows a drunk man juggling bottles while a small figure chases him—mocking the futility of enforcing alcohol bans. "He Was a Wise Old Bird" pairs biblical warnings against drunkenness with contemporary Kansas references, suggesting the moral case against drinking proved ineffective. The "Memories" section by R.C.O. is nostalgic satire about Prohibition's actual effects: backyard stills, bootleggers, illegal speakeasies (thirty thousand in NYC versus seventeen thousand cops), confiscated liquor dumps, and the inevitable rise of "cordial shops" selling labels—euphemisms for illegal alcohol distribution networks. "In Kansas" depicts a bootlegger's truck, humorously asking "Wanna buy some labels?"—code for purchasing illegal liquor. The overall point: despite Prohibition's legal apparatus, Americans continued drinking through underground networks that flourished during the ban, making the law's enforcement impossible and its intent laughable.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
He Was a Wise Old Bird HO hath woe? who hath sorrow who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine ey I] behold — strange women, and thine heart shall utter per- things. thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. Phey have stricken me, shalt thou say, and | was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not; when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again. In Kansas “He keeps that keg of beer Add similes: Mad as a Dry hen around here some place!” Memories N 1919 getting a picture taken of yourself drinking, to be preserved as a souvenir, because there wasn’t going to be any more .... the cellar stage . aman always comes up smiling, from the cellar anyway . if poets starve in attics it’s their own fault; real inspiration is to be found in cellars... . then the moonshine period thar’s gold in them thar mountains, thar’s gold in them thar hills, the natives thar are getting it by operating stills... . the man and his wife next door who left the house to- gether for the first time in years because the still in the kitchen exploded . . . . the Ic hootlegger taking orders in secrecy delivering it in a brief case... the movie newsreel with scenes of the dumping of confiscated hooch into the rivers, with groans and smacking of lips from the audiences .. the estimate of thir- ty thousand speaks in New York City and only seven- teen thousand cops .... cordial shops springing up like mushrooms, but with a toadstool effect... . and so on and on with one thing leading to another and one state following A i another until here we are “Wanna buy some labels?” with repeal proof of repeal will be in the drinking. —R.C. O. comicbooks.com