A complete issue · 36 pages · 1918
Judge — June 22, 1918
# Analysis of Judge Magazine Cover, June 22, 1918 This cover depicts a small black-and-white dog sitting alone outside a house, with the caption "It's Awful Lonesome Now." The title "Wild and Mild Animal Number" suggests a humorous animal-themed issue. The likely reference is to World War I—the United States entered the war in 1917, and by June 1918, many men had been drafted or volunteered for military service. The dog's loneliness probably represents the pets (and families) left behind by departing soldiers. This sentiment was a common theme in wartime humor, playing on the domestic impact of the war by personifying animals awaiting their absent owners' return. The illustration is by Will Rannells, a Judge contributor.
# Judge Magazine Satire Analysis This page satirizes the declining value of American currency during what appears to be the early 20th century. The advertisement humorously proposes that one dollar—nearly worthless for practical purchases—is only useful as a subscription payment to *Judge* magazine for three months. The cartoon depicts three figures: a bride (labeled "Judge"), a groom in striped clothing, and a tall personified dollar sign acting as minister, "tying up" the marriage. The accompanying text laments inflation, noting that dollars once bought sandwiches or handkerchiefs but have become so valueless that readers should simply send their remaining dollars to *Judge* rather than hoard them. This is mock-serious advertising disguised as economic commentary, exploiting public frustration with currency devaluation to promote magazine subscriptions.
# "A Plea to the Provost-Marshal" This poem by Howard Dietz addresses General Crowder, the U.S. Provost-Marshal during World War I, who oversaw military draft administration. The satire targets Crowder's draft policies by cataloging occupations the author claims shouldn't be conscripted—gamblers, baseball players, clerks, waiters, peddlers, and others deemed "unessential" but who "look as though they shirk." The final plea is sarcastic: don't draft these "prolific 'potes' who write / What they call the free verse lay." Instead, make them do labor or write in traditional "rhyme and metre"—a jab at modernist free verse poetry as frivolous compared to wartime sacrifice. The author positions himself as this "old-fashioned bard" pleading for exemption. The decoration features figures in classical dress, referencing artistic/literary tradition.
