Judge, 1935-03 · page 7 of 40
Judge — March 1935 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Return of the Native" by DeWitt O'Kieffe This satirical piece mocks the changes in Pappapolis, Ohio after someone left and returned five or six years later. The dialogue humorously contrasts what was lost (old landmarks like Bare Foot Mountain, demolished for government projects) with what was gained (new government buildings, a reoriented post office, promised but unbuilt airport and stadium). The cartoon critiques government inefficiency and over-development—tearing down natural/historic landmarks to build bureaucratic infrastructure that yields minimal practical benefit. The final cartoon captioning "Edwards lost the body in a crap game" suggests the absurdity and moral decay accompanying these "improvements." The satire targets early 20th-century American municipal development and government waste disguised as progress.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Judge Return of the Native By DeWitt O’Kieffe ARDON me, friend, but isn’t this Pappapolis, Ohio? Some- how I don’t seem to recognize the old town. Moved a in ’29 and hain’t been back here since.” “Yep, this here’s Pappapolis, all right, but guess if you've been away five or six years you wouldn't place it off hand. The gov- ernment’s gone and put in a few improvements.” “What happened to old Bare Foot mountain—that was a regu- lar landmark in my time?” “Oh, they tore that down—gave 148 men four months’ em- ployment doin’ it, too.” “Kind of miss old Bare Foot—it was a right nice mountain— fun for wiener roasts and such in the Fall.” : ger, we don’t miss Bare Foot Mountain. Not at all. The government went an’ built us a bigger and better mountain south of town, Took three hundred men 89 working days.” “H'm—the postoffice looks a little strange, too. “Well, they put a new roof on it and turned it around facing st—used to face North, you remember. But Farley, it seems, he claims he likes his civil service employees to have the morning sun, especially since there’s so many different new stamps to watch out for. The city paid a hundred dollars—and we got the rest from Roosevelt.” I don’t seem to see Shanty Row down on the tracks.” “Oh, you mean our old Slums? Nope, they’re gone, too. Government built a modern quadrangle instead. We're goin’ to make all the Shanty Row folks move into it too, just as soon as we can catch ’em!” “Well, you've certainly done wonders in Pappapolis !” “Pshaw, we ain't even started yet—our Representative’s al- ready promised us a new airport, an’ a municipal stadium that can be turned into a skating rink in the winter and a swell illum- inated fountain for the square. Maybe we'll even get a rolly- coaster !” “Things sure are humming in the old town, It’s great to get back again. Well, stranger, I'll probably be seeing you around.” “Well, I don’t know—you see, me and my family’s moving out of here this week.” “What, leaving Pappapolis with everything on the boom?” “Yep, we're moving over to the county seat—the government's really doin’ things big over there!” “He came in last night with a party of basketball players.” “Edwards lost the body in a crap game.” 5 comicbooks.com