Judge, 1934-04 · page 7 of 36
Judge — April 1934 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis The top cartoon by Ralph Barton depicts a judge at his desk receiving mail—satirizing a proposed amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure allowing guilty pleas by mail. The humor imagines absurd consequences: jail sentences delivered by stamped envelope, traffic fines via registered letter, and even convicted criminals pleading to the Postmaster General for pardons. The bottom cartoon by Cesare shows soldiers in a forest with the caption "Whatcha got in your canteen? I got beer in mine!" This appears to reference Prohibition-era enforcement, likely satirizing soldiers during WWI or the subsequent "dry" period, contrasting official military rules against alcohol with soldiers' actual behavior—a common Judge magazine joke theme.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Justice T WILL soon be possible, because of a recently introduced amendment to the Code of Crimi Procedure, for a violator to plead guilty by mail. The clerk of the court will then, if the culprit has remembered to enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope, write and tell him his sen- tenc 1 jail sentence the letter carrier can collect him on his di r . deliver him over to the sheriff wh he will be stamped and postmarked instead of finger-printed and photographed If ther due they can send him to the Dead Letter Office, where, if he is not called for within a certain length of time, he will be auctioned off and sold to the high- est bidder. Of course the more serious offenses, such as parking by a fire plug or talking back to a traffic cop, may require Special Delivery. Fines will always be paid by registered Letter or Money Order. Anyone who sends the Judge a souvenir postcard from Florida saying, “Having a wonderful time. Wish you were here,” will be adjudged guilty of contempt of court, and be reprimanded by airmail. He may even be extradited by Parcels Post. And the only way a fellow can get pardoned will be by a plea to the Postmaster General. —R. C. O'Brien. “Whatcha got in your canteen? I got beer in mine!” comicbooks.com