Judge — August 26, 1922

# Analysis This page contains an editorial statement titled **"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"** signed by "JUDGE," the magazine's editor or editorial voice. The text is a **manifesto of the publication's values and approach**, not a political cartoon. It explains Judge's editorial philosophy: championing individual freedoms (religious, speech, press), optimism balanced with realism, political independence (Republican but acknowledging Democratic merits), and **humor as the primary tool** for social commentary. Key to understanding Judge's purpose: the editor positions **laughter and satire as vehicles for addressing serious issues**—using wit rather than solemnity to critique "big problems of the day." This reflects late 19th/early 20th-century American satirical journalism's ethos of informed, humorous social criticism serving the "pursuit of Happiness."

# "Hootch" — Judge Magazine, August 25, 1922 This satirical cartoon depicts Prohibition-era humor. A woman in a beach setting holds an umbrella and appears distressed, exclaiming "Oh, thunder!" The accompanying dialogue references "seven raids with seven cops" and discusses contraband liquor ("the liquor in the hand"). The humor centers on Prohibition enforcement (1920-1933) and the black market it created. The "rum-sleuth and the officer" mentioned in the poem were federal agents tasked with stopping alcohol distribution. The jokes reference: - Difficulty obtaining alcohol despite laws - Corruption among law enforcement - The absurdity of Prohibition The woman's seaside setting with an umbrella may suggest she's "weathering" the challenges of the dry era. The cartoon mocks both Prohibition's ineffectiveness and contemporary social anxieties about crime and enforcement during this unpopular federal experiment.

# "Sold!" by Norman Anthony This is a short story, not political satire. Freddy Decker searches for a house to buy for his mother in Bronxville. He encounters an old man working on a lawn who claims to represent "A. P. White, Dover Road, Bronxville" real estate. The man directs Freddy to a Colonial house, where a woman greets him—but she turns out to be the old man's daughter. The "joke" relies on a romantic setup: Freddy falls for the girl at first sight, and the story implies he'll "buy" not just the house but win the girl as well. This reflects 1920s-era romantic comedy tropes where courtship and consumer transactions overlap humorously.

# Analysis The page contains two distinct elements: **Top cartoon ("Gee-Whizdom"):** An illustration by Gluyas Wilkinson showing an elderly hostess horrified by a child's blunt comment. The joke plays on generational differences in manners—the child's honest observation ("you've been spoiled") violates social convention. This reflects 1920s anxieties about changing parent-child dynamics and the perceived decline of Victorian propriety among younger generations. **Main article:** "How to Tell the Sermon from the Jazz" by Walter Prichard Eaton. This satirical piece addresses early 20th-century cultural anxiety about jazz music's growing influence. The author humorously compares jazz's "wave lengths" to church sermons, suggesting jazz was becoming as culturally dominant and spiritually compelling as religious instruction—a concern held by cultural conservatives who viewed jazz as morally corrupting.

# Judge Magazine Page Analysis This page contains two cartoons and editorial commentary about early radio broadcasting. **Top cartoon:** Shows a bear under a camping automobile, interrupting breakfast with "Isn't breakfast nearly ready? I'm as hungry as a bear!" The satire concerns radio's technical limitations—how broadcasts transmit voices across distances but lack the "personal contact" needed for genuine audience engagement. The bear represents an uninvited listener, illustrating the problem of reaching uncontrolled audiences. **Bottom cartoon:** Depicts a man and child, with dialogue about ocean breezes coming "beyond the three-mile limit." This appears to mock radio's inability to confine broadcasts within geographic boundaries, satirizing regulatory confusion about controlling transmission. The editorial text discusses challenges radio broadcasters faced in maintaining audience attention without visual elements, a significant concern in early broadcasting's development during the 1920s.

# Explanation for Modern Readers This page contains a humorous essay ("The Mind of the Bushelman") by Strickland Gillilan about the peculiar trade of a "bushelman"—a tailor's specialist who alters and repairs men's clothing, particularly trousers. The narrator satirizes the bushelman's theatrical dramatics: despite measuring the same customer's legs repeatedly over time and finding them unchanged, the bushelman feigns shock and injury, as if the customer deliberately altered his own anatomy between fittings. The joke targets the bushelman's performative incompetence—he's surprised each visit, blames the customer, yet delivers no real solutions. The accompanying cartoon (captioned "Engaged? Why, he's much younger than she is"/ "Yes, but he doesn't know it") is unrelated social satire about a woman engaged to a younger man who's unaware of the age gap. The piece mocks both working-class tailoring trades and masculine vanity about clothing fit through deadpan exaggeration of the narrator's "peculiar legs."

# "Told at the 19th Hole" - Judge Magazine Page Analysis This page contains three separate humorous anecdotes told in golf club settings, typical of Judge's satirical humor. **Top image**: Shows a golf clubhouse at the National Golf Club, Southampton, NY—the setting for the stories below. **Main stories**: 1. A golf club committee chairman scolds a new member for practicing swings improperly, insisting rules be followed. The humor lies in the chairman's pompous enforcement of etiquette. 2. A woman secures a "plus four" man (a skilled golfer) for a round and asks if he likes "high fees"—an apparent pun on golf handicaps that he misinterprets as a question about church donations and morality. 3. Two business partners—John (newly religious) and Jasper—where John repeatedly pressures Jasper to join his church. The irony suggests John's newfound piety doesn't overcome his annoying persistence. The illustration labeled "MAN! Master of the Earth" (by H. Pascal) appears unrelated to the text stories. These represent typical early-20th-century Judge humor: genteel social satire mocking clubmen, religious hypocrisy, and romantic misunderstandings.

# Judge Magazine Page Analysis This page contains five separate humorous anecdotes typical of Judge's satirical style: 1. **The Golf Outfit Story**: A tourist notices new golf clubs at a resort shop. The proprietor explains they're shared through a chain of borrowing—he borrows from a banker, who borrows from him—satirizing the interconnected debts and financial dependencies of the era. 2. **The Court Dignity Joke**: A judge instructs a gentleman not to make "invidious comparisons," poking fun at judicial pomposity. 3. **The Service Flag Confusion**: A storekeeper displays a service flag (indicating family members in WWI), but when asked if 38 members of his family serve, admits they're actually "customers I lost"—dark wartime humor about business losses. 4. **The Automobile vs. Farmer**: An old farmer refuses to move his wagon for an automobile, humorously resisting modern technology. 5. **The Lawn Mower and Domestic Help**: An African American worker reports the lawn mower won't work, reflecting period racial dynamics and domestic service relationships. The bottom illustration by René Clarke shows a Scottish golf pro instructing someone named Tony on proper swing technique—a visual joke about Scottish golf expertise.

# Heywood Broun's Sport Page Analysis This is a sports commentary page featuring sketches of tennis players. The cartoons mock specific athletes: **"Shimmie"** (top left) appears to reference a player known for the "shimmy" dance—a popular 1920s fad—suggesting he wears trousers in a train despite Western habits, likely poking fun at cultural differences. **"Little Bill" Johnston** (center) is depicted shooting tennis balls wildly when angered, capturing his reputation for aggressive, emotional play. **Anderson of Australia** (right) struggles comically to cover his net—a visual pun on his "net losses" in matches. The main article by Heywood Broun discusses Japanese player **Shimizu**, praising his consistent, defensive style and cheerful demeanor as philosophically superior to Western aggression. Broun contrasts him with American stars like **Tilden**, **Williams**, and **Johnston**, critiquing American players' emotional volatility and unsportsmanlike conduct. The piece advocates for Shimizu's grace-under-pressure approach as a model for international tennis etiquette—a backhanded compliment wrapped in sports criticism.

# "There Serves a Samurai" - Judge Magazine Satire This page satirizes tennis players and American political figures through a sports column by Weed. The top cartoons mock **Seiichiro Kashio** ("Shimizu"), a Japanese tennis player, depicting him in exaggerated caricatured poses with racist stereotyping. The text emphasizes his unusual "sitting posture" and constant smiling—playing into period xenophobic tropes about Japanese people. The main article discusses American tennis champions like **Bill Johnston** and **Helen Wills**, praising American aggressive playing style versus European baseline techniques. The final section compares how U.S. Presidents engaged with golf: **Theodore Roosevelt** played seriously; **Woodrow Wilson** played infrequently and poorly (the text mocks his "sliced abominably"); and **Warren G. Harding** plays less due to state burdens. The satire's point: American vigor and efficiency—in tennis and governance—surpasses foreign (European and Asian) approaches, while also subtly critiquing presidential distractions during serious times.

# "As We Were Saying" - Judge Magazine Satire This page collects brief satirical commentary on contemporary issues, circa early 1920s (Prohibition era). The sketches by W.E. Hill and text by Arthur H. Folwell target: **Prohibition enforcement**: Jokes mock agents' ineffectiveness at stopping liquor—family vaults and stained-glass church windows are suggested hiding spots they overlook. **Tariffs & economics**: References a proposed 137% duty, mocking the Senate's ease in deceiving consumers economically. **Celebrity culture**: Isadora Duncan's avant-garde eye-movement dance is ridiculed; aging performer De Wolf Hopper's repeated divorces are joked about. **International politics**: "No More War" European peace movements are dismissed as ineffectual without substance beyond uniforms and rhetoric. **British taxation**: Torture implements lose their power under heavy English tax rates—a dark joke about financial burden. The tone is cynical, worldly commentary on contemporary absurdities—typical Judge magazine fare mocking politicians, celebrities, and social hypocrisy.