Judge — May 20, 1922

# Analysis This page is primarily **promotional text for Leslie's Weekly magazine** (May 20 issue), not a political cartoon. The content satirizes **government inefficiency** by comparing overstaffed private business to the U.S. Government's bloated workforce. It criticizes the expense of maintaining unnecessary government positions, sarcastically referring to "swivel chair warmers"—bureaucrats who ostensibly do little productive work while costing taxpayers millions. The piece uses a rhetorical device: if a private stockholder wouldn't tolerate such waste, why should taxpayers accept it in government? This reflects **early 20th-century Progressive Era critiques** of government waste and inefficiency. The page then advertises Leslie's upcoming articles, including pieces on radio, treasure hunting, and current events—standard magazine promotion of the period.

# Analysis of "The Wilds of Polynesia" This 1922 Judge magazine cartoon by Daulton Valentine satirizes colonial-era tourist encounters in the South Pacific. The illustration depicts a wealthy Western woman (representing the "South Sea Island Belle") encountering indigenous Polynesian people in their tropical setting. The humor derives from the collision between civilized pretension and primitive reality: the explorer claims hunger and seeks "kai-kai" (food), while the fashionable tourist expects luxury amenities like "tea rooms." The "speed limit 15 miles cannibal" sign suggests dark humor about alleged cannibalism. The satire mocks both the naïve expectations of wealthy Western tourists and the stereotypical depiction of Pacific Islanders as exotic, uncivilized "others"—reflecting common early 20th-century colonial attitudes and racial caricatures now recognized as offensive.

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page This page contains two separate pieces of humor content: **"Why Manicurists Never Marry"** (by Alfred Westfall): A satirical article mocking manicurists' romantic prospects. The accompanying Clive Weed cartoon depicts a bald man at a manicurist's table, representing the "discouraging" reality manicurists face—supposedly encountering unattractive clientele. The humor relies on physical appearance stereotypes and the notion that proximity to unflattering customers would deter marriage prospects. **"Two to Make a Bargain"**: A brief joke about fishing and catching fish on Sunday, with an A.H. Walker illustration titled "Dolls" showing women playing baseball or similar sport. Both pieces reflect early 20th-century casual attitudes toward appearance-based humor and gender roles. The manicurist piece particularly reflects period anxieties about women's professional work and marriageability.

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page This page contains two distinct pieces: **"The Story of His Life" by Katherine Metcalfe** satirizes wealthy Willie Jones, depicted as a privileged man who always had more money and possessions than his peers. The accompanying illustration shows Jones with a woman, mocking the shallow materialism of the idle rich who amass art collections primarily to display wealth rather than appreciate art. **"Mirth Control" by Anthony Euwer** is a poem satirizing birth control advocacy. It mockingly addresses different "boobs" (fools) who support birth control through various hypocritical motivations—seeking social status, avoiding embarrassment about having children, or maintaining selfish lifestyles. The cartoon illustration shows a woman decidedly rejecting domestic life and motherhood as incompatible with her modern desires, presenting birth control as liberation from traditional female roles.

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page **Top Cartoon: "Everyday"** Three illustrated vignettes by Julia Daniels show women performing domestic tasks—scrubbing, grooming, and housekeeping—depicting routine "women's work." The captions suggest monotonous daily drudgery, mocking the limited scope of women's expected roles. **Main Article: "The Why of Whiskers"** Roy L. Abbott's satirical piece explores men's beards historically and socially. The accompanying illustration by Charles Barkerville shows a well-dressed man in a bowler hat, captioned "Out of sight, out of mind"—likely suggesting beards conceal vanity or masculine insecurity beneath fashionable appearance. The article traces beard-wearing from Biblical times through modern society, humorously suggesting beards reflect both masculine pride and anxieties about aging and appearance.

# Judge Magazine Page Analysis This page from Judge contains several satirical pieces reflecting early 20th-century American social concerns: **"It Must Be Done"** (top): Four cartoon figures illustrate feminine grooming standards—depicting women engaged in beauty rituals (hair care, makeup, bathing). The satire mocks the labor-intensive demands placed on women to maintain appearance. **"True Optimism"** and **"Different"**: Brief joke exchanges satirizing male attitudes. One contrasts pessimism with indifference; another mocks Prohibition's expected effects on longevity, suggesting heavy drinkers won't live to old age anyway. **"Happy Days" (poem)**: A sentimental piece romanticizing rustic courtship, contrasting simple pastoral love with modern urban life. **Long prose section** on facial hair: A humorous editorial lamenting the decline of beards and whiskers, attributing their disappearance to modern hygiene, business practices, and safety concerns (notably mentioning lice and the "safety" razor). It's nostalgic social commentary on changing masculine grooming standards. The page reflects pre-1920s American concerns with modernity, gender roles, and social etiquette.

This page from *Judge* magazine contains six brief satirical jokes typical of early 20th-century American humor: 1. **"A Family Row"**: A crude Adam-and-Eve joke where the serpent boasts about giving Eve poison ivy leaves as a shirt—mocking domestic quarrels and blaming women. 2. **"What They Are For"**: Political satire suggesting the Army and Navy exist perpetually, not for specific purposes—commentary on military spending. 3. **"An Expert"**: Jokes that experts identify real pearls by examining price tags, satirizing shallow consumerism and fake expertise. 4. **"Erroneous Conclusion"**: Mocks a wife misinterpreting her husband's loud snoring as practice on their son's new saxophone—light domestic humor. 5. **"Some Protection"**: Jokes that cheek-dancing isn't intimate contact because girls wear heavy makeup—satirizing both the dance craze and women's cosmetics use. 6. **"Experienced"**: A rejected manuscript writer claims five women rejected him before—playing on romantic rejection and literary failure. The illustration depicts what appears to be a treasure-hunting scene, matching the pirate theme referenced in the captions.

# "Told at the Nineteenth Hole" - Judge Magazine Page This page collects several short humorous anecdotes, likely from the 1920s-30s era. The title references the nineteenth hole (the clubhouse bar at golf courses), a genteel setting for swapping jokes. **Key content includes:** - **"How She Would Pay"**: A racist dialect joke about "Lizzie," a Black maid, whose colleague Della buys a victrola (record player) on credit despite her children's poverty. The "joke" plays on stereotype and financial irresponsibility. - **"Turkish Humor"**: A folktale about Nasreddin Kodja correcting his master's speech about plowing fields (adding "if God wishes"), then ironically later saying "if God wishes, it's me" when returning home—deflating his own lesson through humiliation. - **"His Reason"**: A post-WWI joke where a former socialist's refusal to fight is compared to a suffragette not being in the Follies—both due to "physical disability," a snide retort attacking women's rights advocates. The cartoon at bottom shows a golfer explaining his lateness by warming up with his wife. The satire reflects period attitudes toward class, religion, gender, and patriotism.

# "Comedians and Comediennes" by George Jean Nathan This is a theater criticism essay evaluating popular stage comedians of the era. Nathan argues that true comedic talent is intrinsic—a performer should be funny even in silence, not reliant on scripts or songs. **The figures discussed** include De Wolf Hopper (criticized as a one-hit wonder after his show "Wang"), Eddie Cantor (praised for genuine comedic instinct and willingness to embrace vulgarity), and Charlotte Greenwood (dismissed as unfunny). Nathan also catalogs other comedians—Frank Daniels, Harry Bulger, Victor Moore, and others—asking if audiences found them funny only once. **The satire's point**: Nathan mocks comedians who depend entirely on material rather than possessing inherent stage presence. The caricature at top right appears to be A.A. Milne, another theater figure. For modern readers: this reflects early 20th-century live theater criticism, when comedians performed repeatedly and audiences could judge whether their appeal was durable or novelty-based.

# Arthur Little Reviews "Letty Pepper" This page reviews a theatrical production or film titled "Letty Pepper." The illustrated vignettes show various romantic and comedic scenes featuring the character Letty (played by Frances Ray, according to the credits), interacting with male characters including soldiers and civilians. The humor centers on Letty's witty, irreverent dialogue—she deflects romantic advances with sharp quips ("I might be your sweetheart, but I'm not. I'm me") and treats flirtation as a transaction ("I'll lunch with you...I'm very hungry Tuesdays"). This appears to satirize the "modern woman" of the era—independent, quick-witted, and uninterested in traditional feminine submission to male flattery. The review showcases her comedic boldness as entertainment, reflecting early 20th-century attitudes toward changing gender dynamics and women's increasing social freedom.

# Stories to Tell Page Analysis This is a humor page from *Judge* magazine featuring three prize-winning short stories submitted by readers. **"A Shrewd Sale"** plays on Scottish dialect stereotypes—Sandy McGregor refuses to sell his dog to a wealthy American but accepts less money from a Londoner because the dog "couldna swim the Atlantic," implying he'd lose it anyway. **"Only One Ship"** references WWI. A German officer interrogates an American soldier about troop transport, expecting a complex answer. The soldier jokes that only one ship brought three million troops—the *Lusitania*, the British ocean liner torpedoed by Germans in 1915 with heavy loss of life. The dark humor inverts the tragedy into absurdist comeuppance. **"Friendly Flies"** features a Jewish immigrant store owner (Sam Cohan) using dots instead of dollar signs to mark prices. His son Abie misinterprets four dots as twelve dots, accidentally overcharging—but this benefits the father, prompting his grateful exclamation about "de flies" (a phonetic Jewish-dialect joke). These stories reflect period stereotypes: Scottish, German, and Jewish immigrant characters rendered through exaggerated dialect.