Judge — April 9, 1921

# Explanation for Modern Readers This 1920s cartoon by Don Herold satirizes "Judge," the magazine itself. A woman complains that circus zebras are fed only corn and hay, threatening to write Judge about this animal welfare issue. A man responds that Judge won't get upset about such matters. The humor plays on Judge magazine's reputation for being deliberately unbothered by complaints and controversies. The accompanying text reinforces this: Judge prides itself on remaining pleasant and avoiding taking offense at anything, even when readers submit grievances. The zebra represents an absurdly trivial complaint—the joke being that Judge's philosophy is to maintain cheerful indifference toward virtually all criticism or social problems, no matter how earnestly presented.

# "Criminals" — Judge Magazine, April 9, 1921 This illustration by Walter De Maris depicts two figures in a dark, foreboding nighttime scene—a bare tree, church spire visible in the distance. The caption simply reads "Criminals." Without additional context identifying the specific figures, the image appears to be a general commentary on criminality rather than a topical satire of particular 1921 events or individuals. The shadowy, expressionistic style emphasizes moral darkness and danger. The nighttime setting, gnarled tree, and isolated church create an atmosphere of sin and transgression. The work may reference contemporary crime concerns of the era, but the page provides insufficient information to identify whether these are specific criminals, social types, or allegorical figures meant to represent crime generally.

# "When All Is Blue" — A Courtroom Satire This cartoon by C.H. Fourbell depicts a man standing before a judge, requesting permission to kiss his wife on their wedding anniversary—a request absurd enough to require judicial approval. The title "When All Is Blue" (meaning depressed or melancholy) suggests the satirical target: overly restrictive laws or social conventions that have become so oppressive they make ordinary marital affection illegal or require court permission. The upper gallery shows observers watching the proceeding, emphasizing how public and bureaucratic even intimate moments have become. The satire mocks excessive legal regulation of private life—a common Judge magazine theme critiquing government overreach or absurdly puritanical social restrictions prevalent in early 20th-century America.

# "The Return of Stewed Fish" Analysis This is a satirical short story by Ellis Parker Butler, not a political cartoon. The narrative mocks social hypocrisy regarding Sunday observance and religious propriety in early 20th-century America. The story centers on Mr. Constantly Stewed Fish, a man who was imprisoned for Sabbath-breaking (working on Sunday). The irony: while Fish served his sentence, respectable citizens—including a woman who baked a pie on Sunday—faced no consequences. The illustrations show the baseball game and social gathering on the holy day that prompted Fish's arrest. The satire critiques arbitrary enforcement of religious laws and the selective moral judgment applied to working-class versus upper-class citizens regarding Sabbath violations.

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page This page satirizes conflicts between religious puritanism and personal liberty in early 20th-century America. The dialogue features "Miss Huckett" (representing strict Puritan values) debating "Mr. Constantly Stewed Fish" (a caricature of an intemperate man) over Sunday restrictions. The satire targets Puritan blue laws—regulations prohibiting alcohol, hunting, and entertainment on Sundays. Miss Huckett advocates abolishing "all Sunday pleasures," while Mr. Fish defends rum, hunting, and "hard cider." The cartoons mock both extremes: rigid religious moralism versus hedonistic excess. The "Blue-Law Mother-Goose" illustration at top-left depicts this tension visually. The bottom illustration shows a hunting scene, reinforcing the Sunday recreation debate. The satire reflects Progressive-era conflicts between traditional religious authority and modern secular desires.

# Page Analysis: Judge Magazine Satire on "Blue Laws" This page satirizes **Prohibition-era "Blue Laws"**—strict Sunday regulations that banned alcohol, gambling, entertainment, and various leisure activities. The content attacks these laws as puritanical and oppressive. **Key elements:** - **"The Prospective Sunday"** poem mocks the restrictions: no cards, cigarettes, billiards, alcohol, vamps, short skirts, or sports—all presented as absurdly excessive constraints on personal freedom. - **"Mr. Constantly Stewed Fish"** character represents the drinker/bon vivant fleeing an "intolerant land," disapproving of such restrictions. - **The Secret Service agent cartoon** depicts a federal official literally arresting parishioners for "getting entirely too much fun" on Sunday—illustrating how invasively the laws were enforced. - **"Blue Sundae" joke** plays on the color "blue" connecting to both the laws and a new ice cream flavor, suggesting commercial innovation despite restrictions. The satire presents Blue Laws as joyless, freedom-crushing, and absurdly enforced—reflecting widespread public frustration with Prohibition-era moral legislation.

# "A Blue Sunday at Yapp's Crossing" This is a satirical town map drawn by Johnny Gruelle showing various establishments and their purposes. The cartoon appears to be social satire about American small-town hypocrisy, particularly regarding Prohibition-era morality. The labeled buildings include churches, a fire department, and various businesses. The title "Blue Sunday" likely refers to strict religious observance laws that restricted activities on Sundays. The satire seems to mock the contradiction between the town's outward piety (multiple churches visible) and implied actual behavior—though specific building labels are difficult to read clearly in this reproduction. The goats and people in the street suggest everyday activity in this rural American setting being scrutinized for moral inconsistencies typical of Judge magazine's social commentary.

# Explanation for Modern Readers This page combines a cartoon joke with a satirical poem criticizing American "Blue Laws"—restrictive moral legislation. **The Cartoon:** A society scene shows well-dressed New York ladies at what appears to be a social gathering. A stranger remarks that he notices none wear jewelry. A gentleman responds that this is because of recent crime waves and theft in New York. **The Poem's Satire:** Richard Le Gallienne's "Ballade of the Blue Laws" mocks puritanical legislation that restricted personal freedoms (drinking, entertainment, etc.). The repeated refrain "Blue's a d——d foolish color for the laws" condemns these moral restrictions as hypocritical and anti-joy. He attacks "fanatic fools," corrupt "lobbyists of 'purity,'" and calls for resistance against these false moralists who spy on citizens' pleasures. **The Connection:** Both pieces critique restrictions on personal liberty—the cartoon shows visible consequences (stolen luxury goods) while the poem attacks the moral framework behind such laws as tyrannical and joyless.

# Judge Magazine Page Analysis This page contains three satirical pieces mocking Victorian sentimentality and domestic hypocrisy: **"Pets No. 3"** is a brief humorous verse about a lady who spends as much on her favorite cat as on fashionable hats, with the cat living "a life of ease." **"East Lynne Revised"** parodies the melodramatic Victorian play *East Lynne* by exaggerating its moral extremism. A father violently ejects his second maid into a blizzard—not for pregnancy or seduction, but because she sang on the Sabbath. The satire mocks rigid religious hypocrisy and the play's overwrought tragedy. **"Suggestions on How to Spend the Day"** offers darkly comic domestic advice: eat foods you dislike, accumulate marital grievances, blame your wife, hide butter and sugar, slap children, and neglect affection. It's satirizing joyless, petty married life and suggests people deliberately make themselves miserable. The final cartoon shows a nouveau-riche woman (Mrs. Newrich) rejecting an architect's offer of "Adam period" mantlepieces, apparently confusing architectural style with Biblical references. It mocks nouveau-riche pretension and ignorance.

# "Rebuking Sin" Analysis This satirical story by Walt Mason, illustrated by Ralph Barton, mocks religious extremism and overzealous moral crusades. The cartoon depicts self-righteous reformers burning people at the stake for minor infractions—gambling, fishing on Sunday, refusing church attendance. The satire targets the hypocrisy of "moralists" who celebrate punishment in the name of virtue while ignoring practical harm (cinders from executions blacken laundry). The accused men—William Jones and Reuben Birch—are portrayed as decent, hardworking citizens whose supposed "sins" are trivial or justified by circumstance, yet the self-satisfied judge dismisses their pleas with contempt ("Piffle!" "Slush!"). Mason's critique appears directed at Prohibition-era reformers and religious fundamentalists who wielded increasing legal power to enforce moral codes. The exaggerated stake-burning imagery suggests that such zealous policing of personal behavior represents a dangerous, destructive form of tyranny—one that harms ordinary people while feeding the reformers' self-righteousness.

# "The Great Day Arrives" — Judge Magazine Satire This is a film review by Myron M. Stearns satirizing American cinema's competitive anxiety toward foreign films. The cartoon's header shows Paramount and industry figures attacking "invading" foreign films with weapons and propaganda. The satire criticizes "The Great Day," apparently the first American film shot abroad (likely in Europe, given references to Alps and British locations). Stearns mocks how the film awkwardly showcases European scenery—including oddly missing famous landmarks like the Rhine and Roman Coliseum—as if Americans needed proof they could make "foreign" films too. The deeper joke: the film's melodramatic plot is absurdly contrived (missing bodies, convenient deaths described only via title cards rather than shown), yet the industry celebrates it as a patriotic victory. Stearns argues American filmmakers should compete through quality storytelling, not jingoistic flag-waving about "making the world safe for American Film." The satire exposes post-WWI Hollywood's insecurity and propagandistic impulses.

# "The Murmurings of Lakewood" - Judge Magazine This page contains a romantic short story with period illustrations satirizing Gilded Age courtship conventions and health fads. **The Main Story:** A woman meets a man in a New York hotel and explains why she lives year-round in Lakewood (New Jersey). A doctor prescribed the resort town as a cure for her heart murmur. She dutifully spent a lonely year there—until she married the hotel proprietor, solving both her romantic and health problems "without a murmur." **The Satire:** The piece gently mocks the era's obsession with spa towns and resort living as medical treatments, plus the romantic plotting that naturally occurs in such settings. The ironic ending—she stays in Lakewood not for health but marriage—undercuts the health-cure premise. **Additional Humor:** The page includes two brief jokes: one mocking the high cost of living in Delaware, another about a job applicant fired from a canning factory. The illustration shows domestic life commentary.