Judge — January 3, 1920

# Analysis This page is primarily **advertising**, not political satire. It promotes Judge magazine's art prints through the "Judge Art Print Department." The advertisement emphasizes that Judge's covers—created by "the greatest artists of the country"—are available as affordable reproductions (five prints for $1.00). The images shown ("Captain Kid," "A Baby Bond," "No Man's Land," "Steady Work," "I Want a Drink," "The Curse of Drink," "A Present from Her Sailor Friend") appear to be humorous domestic and social scenes typical of Judge's satirical style, though their specific jokes are unclear without fuller context. The appeal targets middle-class readers seeking "pleasing wall decoration" for homes and gathering spaces. The coupon at bottom invites purchase orders from readers.

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Cover, January 3, 1920 This cartoon by Walter de Maris depicts two men in a small boat. The figure on the left appears to be a sailor or boatman, while the one on the right seems to be a passenger or official. The caption references bringing someone "outside th' three mile limit for liquid 'freshment'" and whether "wasser" can be used as a substitute. This is clearly satirizing **Prohibition**, which became law on January 17, 1920—just two weeks after this publication date. The "three mile limit" refers to international waters where alcohol remained legal. The joke mocks the impending alcohol ban by suggesting seawater as a drinking alternative, ridiculing both the law's imminent implementation and those seeking workarounds to obtain liquor.

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Cartoon This political cartoon by Artist MacDowel depicts a rural farmer examining what appears to be a photograph or illustration of an automobile—a striking contrast between agricultural tradition and modern industrial technology. The caption reads: "Isn't It Strange We Never Thought of Our Country Relatives Until This Year?" The satire appears to address urban-rural disconnect during a specific historical moment (likely early 1900s based on the automobile reference). The joke suggests that city dwellers suddenly "discovered" their country relatives, possibly due to rural tourism becoming fashionable or a particular social trend making rural life newly interesting to urbanites. The crude barn setting emphasizes the satirical point about class and cultural differences between urban sophistication and rural simplicity.

# Political Cartoon Analysis This is a satirical illustration paired with Stephen Leacock's essay "To a Prohibitionist." The cartoon depicts three well-dressed men and a small dog examining footprints in snow or ground, with one man saying they should "follow his footprints and find out where he is going." The satire targets **Prohibition enforcement**—the effort to track and arrest alcohol violators. The cartoon mocks the absurdity of prohibition detective work, suggesting the authorities' methods are comically inadequate. Leacock's accompanying essay argues **against Prohibition**, contrasting the social benefits of alcohol (beer, whisky, rum drinks) in pre-Prohibition times with Prohibition's effects: rising crime, increased arrests, and prohibition's failure to actually stop drinking. He portrays alcohol consumption as harmless compared to the social chaos Prohibition created.

# Explaining This Page of Judge Magazine This page contains multiple satirical pieces reflecting 1920s America, primarily focused on **Prohibition** (the constitutional ban on alcohol, 1920-1933). **Top cartoon**: A clerk suggests a bone-handled corkscrew as a gift for an unlikeable man—satirizing how Prohibition made corkscrews suddenly "useful" since people still needed them for hidden alcohol stockpiles. **"Historic Typographical Error"**: Mocks Prohibitionists by claiming the Declaration of Independence originally said "pursue life, liberty and happiness" but was misprinted as "right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"—suggesting Prohibitionists are now literally "pursuing" happiness through enforcement. **"Jubilation" and other sections**: Celebrate finding hidden alcohol ("a quart of likker"), humorously treating Prohibition violations as victories. **"Safety First"**: A tourist asks about illegal stills; locals advise silence—reflecting widespread public tolerance of bootlegging despite legal prohibition. The overall message: Judge satirizes how deeply Prohibition had failed, with ordinary Americans openly flouting the law while authorities largely looked the other way.

# Analysis This page from *Judge* magazine contains theatrical satire and brief humor pieces. **"Stage Directions As They Must Be Written"** mocks overwrought, overly-detailed stage directions in contemporary plays. Kenneth Andrew parodies the absurd specificity playwrights demanded—from how actors should clear their throats to precise lighting cues to how white powder should coat an actor's shoulders after an embrace. The humor targets the pretension and impracticality of detailed theatrical instructions. **"An Obstruction"** is a brief joke about a policeman who arrests a speeding chauffeur not for speeding, but for "obstructing the road" because he was driving slower than the legal rate—inverting expectations about traffic enforcement. **"Rivalry"** jokes about a college football team disbanded because it was overstaffed with former military officers of various ranks, with only a former corporal as coach—satirizing the absurdity of military hierarchy interfering with athletics. All pieces use wordplay and situational humor typical of early 20th-century American comic magazines.

# "The 'Used Car' in Dry Times" This satirical comic mocks Prohibition-era car sales tactics. An inventor "demonstrates" a used automobile to a guest by describing its mechanical operation, but the joke is that the radiator actually produces alcohol ("sour mash"—moonshine). The car becomes a cover for illegal liquor production and distribution. The six-panel sequence shows the con: gas ignites, the boiler heats, vapor condenses in the radiator, and finally liquid is collected in a glass from the drain cock. The punchline—"We should worry!"—suggests car dealers profited enormously during Prohibition (1920-1933) by selling vehicles ostensibly for transportation while actually marketing them as portable stills. The satire targets both Prohibition's absurdity and the widespread illegal alcohol manufacturing and sales that flourished during the "dry times."

# "Post Card Probioid No. 4" - Judge Magazine This page announces a reader-participation contest asking Americans to invent new slang words. The cartoon shows two women encountering a recruitment poster ("join now" with a heart symbol), satirizing how "drives" and recruitment campaigns had become ubiquitous—here absurdly applied to vocabulary creation. The contest premise: English needs fresh words to match modern life. The text references post-WWI changes (women voting, smoking, Prohibition) and invokes Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky" as precedent for neologisms. Readers are challenged to coin five new words, with examples provided: "WOG" (facial blemish) and "SKINGE" (scratching sensation). The satire gently mocks how Americans eagerly participate in "drives" for everything, here extended to linguistic innovation. Winners receive prize money, with results announced in Judge's January 17th issue.

# Political & Social Satire Analysis The main poem, "Requiem of the Cloves," satirizes **Prohibition** (the "Breathless Age" and "Volsteads" reference the Volstead Act). Cloves were traditionally used to mask alcohol on the breath—a key spice trade commodity. The poem mourns the economic collapse of the clove industry now that Prohibition has eliminated demand for this disguise. The language is deliberately grandiose and mournful, treating commercial ruin with mock-epic seriousness. The smaller comic vignettes employ standard early-20th-century humor: wordplay, Irish dialect, marital troubles, and class-based comedy. "His Self-Possession" celebrates composure under adversity. "Long Felt Want" jokes about invisible women's corsetry. "Too Bad!" plays on "dry land" (ironic given the castaway wanted to escape America's dryness under Prohibition). The illustrations are period cartoons with exaggerated caricatures typical of Judge magazine's satirical style.