Judge, 1936-09 · page 13 of 36
Judge — September 1936 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Too Late to Classify" by Ethel Jacobson This poem satirizes the impossible job market for women, particularly during the Depression era. The speaker lists absurd, contradictory help-wanted ads demanding women be young, attractive, multilingual, classically trained, and experienced—yet offering minimal pay ($10 to start). The central joke: there's ONE job that requires nothing—"no class, no brains, no speed"—for a woman with no qualifications. The speaker, once aspiring to respectable work, has become a "filing clerk" or similar menial position after failing to meet impossible standards elsewhere. The cartoon illustration shows people rappelling down a cliff, literalizing the economic desperation. The caption "Boy! I wish I'd brought my sound apparatus!" is unclear but likely references modern technology's role in disrupting employment. The satire targets both exploitative employers setting unrealistic demands and society's judgment of women unable to meet them—a woman is "too late to classify" into respectable work.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Judge Too Late to Clas By Ethel Jacobson HH". ANTED—FEMALE: SECTION D, \omorbid 1 ttraction form - — “< And omy heart con eT hed te Was young Vo dear myself a ectable trai Witlits FANCY PRESSER LADY RECEPTIONIST, young, neat dres HOSTESS, retined for salon de danse And FINISHER, exp. on men’s dress pants Nobody buy mice in Times For WANTED: LADY for dizzy rhymes, » Mr. Seitz W HEREVER L cast my weary eve I sce: Exp. only ply; MODEL, lingerie, stylish GOVERNESS, Swiss. with Thursdays out INGER WAVER: STUDENT MARCELLER: LADY BARBER: and LADY TELLER: A\DY oboe, de CHOCOLATE DIPIE SALESGIRE, followin Knowles Univ. grad. attractive, blond Je in brass; R. must have cla g in downtown region, Russian and some Norwegian, $10 to start; must put up b here, seems to need no Hut nobody, GIRL, no class. no brai I vod habits: ne ambition Unable master simple addition: ndability undesired No exp, nec., no rei. required Oe And they Iiugh when [ lie th mirst into tears and hide from view say. “Hey, vou Fve honest work, For who'd have me as a filing clerk? Wut if L conte nes worse, Phat some time ort of toyed with verse... weame this sobbing wreck wwe been took by the swan-like ned WAN FLOWERS or neck ALTERATIONS, Who know what PBXNing means! “Boy! 1 wish Pd brought my sound apparatus!” comicbooks.com