Judge — April 28, 1923

# Page Analysis This page is primarily **advertising and promotional content**, not a political cartoon. It advertises "A History of the American Legion" by Marquis James, the former National Director of Publicity for The American Legion. The text describes the book as a comprehensive history of the Legion's formation after WWI and its activities since then. A signature appears to be from the National Commander endorsing the work. The promotional copy emphasizes this is "one of the great books of the year" and notes that James, as the Legion's publicist for three years, has been collecting material "since 1919" to document the organization's history. There is no political satire or cartoon content visible on this page—it functions as a straightforward book advertisement within the Judge magazine.

# Judge Magazine, April 26, 1923 This page contains three distinct pieces: 1. **"How to Remain Single—Females"** by Kitty Parsons: Advice column satirizing dating and courtship, suggesting women wear spectacles, carry books, eat onions frequently, and adopt masculine mannerisms to discourage suitors. 2. **"Rhetorical"** by Gardner Rea: A brief humorous exchange mocking Southern nostalgia, where a Texas colonel romanticizes the Civil War as "Yanks in France," suggesting outdated thinking about regional conflict. 3. **Large illustration**: Depicts a dark interior space (marked "EXIT") with a May Day pole-dancing celebration visible through a small window—likely satirizing the contrast between traditional holiday celebrations and modern urban life or socialism-related May Day observances gaining attention in 1920s America.

# "Bluejacket Repartee" This illustrated story depicts a confrontation between American and British naval officers (bluejackets) in a first-class train compartment. The satire centers on a conflict over smoking: an American sailor smokes despite British objections, citing his first-class ticket as justification. When a British guard attempts enforcement, the American responds with quick wit, ultimately suggesting the guard's ticket is counterfeit. The humor relies on period tensions between American and British naval culture. The "bluejacket" custom referenced—that British sailors consider themselves superior—is mocked through the American's irreverent confidence and linguistic play. The story plays on national stereotypes: stuffy British formality versus brash American egalitarianism, suggesting Americans would not defer to arbitrary class hierarchies even during the World War era referenced in the text.

# Analysis of "What the Boob Shall Say" This page from *Judge* magazine presents humorous advice columns written by Carol B. Egan, offering comedic responses to awkward social situations. The sketches illustrate three scenarios: 1. **The Rejected Proposal** - A woman responds gracefully to an unwanted marriage proposal 2. **On Messing Up the Wrong Man** - Advice about accidentally insulting someone 3. **On Dropping the Baby** - Humorous guidance on recovering from accidentally dropping an infant The illustrations use exaggerated cartoon style typical of early 20th-century satire. The bottom sketch shows a domestic scene with two figures, accompanying the final exchange about sentimentality in relationships. The humor targets social awkwardness and etiquette violations common to the era, offering tongue-in-cheek advice on maintaining composure in embarrassing situations. The overall tone is lighthearted social commentary on genteel behavior.

# Analysis This page contains a serialized short story, "The Winning of Muriel" by William Sanford, rather than political cartoons. The narrative spans Chapters One through Four and describes a romantic encounter between two young people—Jimmy and Muriel—on a beach at midsummer. The right column features a section titled "Culture" by W.M. Adkins, offering light satirical commentary on social pretensions. It mocks people who claim to join Shakespeare clubs ("Go up a cog") while admitting they won't actually attend, and includes humorous anecdotes about dining and golf etiquette. The large central illustration shows sequential drawings of what appears to be gardening instruction—specifically "How to plant a verbena seed six-and-one-half times its depth"—likely satirizing overly detailed instructional diagrams. This is primarily entertainment and lifestyle content rather than political satire.

# Explanation for Modern Readers This Judge magazine page contains two separate satirical pieces: **The Cartoon:** A host frets that his banquet will fail because "a noted wit has failed us." A guest offers to find "a couple of half-wits" instead—a joke about substituting mediocre speakers for one absent wit. **"Best of Everything" Essay by Walt Mason:** This satirizes chronic boasters—men who endlessly brag about their possessions (wives, cars, boats, children). Mason catalogs these types: the husband praising his homely wife, the car owner "J. Hoopla Winder" who won't stop talking about his automobile, the father boasting about his "precocious" son. The satire's point: these men are tedious and insufferable, yet society cannot escape them. Mason concludes by invoking Noah's Ark—even that unique achievement wouldn't warrant bragging. The moral: before boasting about your car, gun, or relative, remember countless others possess similar things, so "decline to rant." The humor targets early-1900s consumer culture and the nouveaux riches displaying newfound possessions (especially automobiles).

# "Told at the 19th Hole" - Content Explanation This is a humorous piece by Walter Trumbull about golf club social dynamics and etiquette. The page combines poetry and prose commentary on golfing behavior. **The main content:** The poem humorously parallels Adam and Eve's temptation in Eden with golfers being distracted during play—the "Serpent" representing distracting voices (wives, cousins, bystanders) offering unsolicited swing advice, just as they tempt modern golfers. **The cartoon** (drawn by René Clarke) depicts a man trying to teach his young son golf while the boy's mother and a female cousin watch. The accompanying text explains the social awkwardness: the man has paid for a summer family membership, giving them legitimate course access, but the wife and cousin are novices and disrupt other players' games. **The satire targets** the tension between inclusive club membership policies and traditional golf etiquette—specifically how amateur family members, particularly women, were viewed as intrusive outsiders on the golf course during this era. The closing note about "MacNigle" appears to introduce a character series about club members.

# Political/Social Content Analysis This page from *Judge* magazine contains **no political cartoons or satire**. Instead, it features three pieces of **light, humorous verse about golf and fashion**, popular leisure topics for the magazine's upper-middle-class audience. **"Ballades of a Dub"** mocks a thin man embarrassed by his scrawny legs in fashionable knickers (knee-length pants), a style that required decent leg shape. The humor targets personal vanity and fashion consciousness. **"Th' Divoteer"** uses Scottish dialect to ridicule a golfer who damages fairways (creates divots) and breaks golf etiquette—implying he avoided military service during WWI and learned to dig only in safe places. It's gentle social mockery of an inconsiderate golfer. **"The Rhyme of the Golfer"** is a lighthearted technical joke: a poet struggles to find rhymes while describing each golf club and hole, ultimately succeeding with contrived rhymes. The overall tone is **recreational satire aimed at affluent readers**, poking fun at their pastimes rather than addressing serious political issues.

# Cartoon Analysis This is Ralph Barton's theatrical satire from *Judge* magazine. The cartoon depicts two separate theater productions: 1. **Top figure**: Cyril Maude in "If Winter Comes," an adaptation of A.S.M. Hutchinson's novel. The caricature suggests the production is "knocking" or defeating the source material. 2. **Bottom figures**: Dudley Digges and Margaret Wycherly in the Theater Guild's "The Adding Machine," where their characters (Mr. Zero and Miss Daisy Diana Dorothea Devore) find heaven boring without workplace rules and time-clocks to punch—a satirical commentary on the play's themes about mechanized modern life. The title's ironic reference to a spiritual hymn contrasts with both plays' earthly, material preoccupations. Barton satirizes contemporary theater by suggesting these productions focus on mundane concerns rather than transcendent or meaningful drama.

# Analysis of "Shall We Join the Ladies?" by George Jean Nathan This is a theater review of the Broadway musical comedy "Elsie," not a political cartoon. The illustration at top shows an actress adding costume details—referencing the review's central critique. Nathan's satire targets the creative bankruptcy of contemporary musical comedy. He catalogs the show's relentless recycling of tired theatrical conventions: stale plot devices (the "876,504th revamping" of Cinderella), hackneyed song titles, obligatory dance numbers, and stock character types. His point: "Elsie" succeeds only through superficial spectacle—elaborate costumes, skilled staging, and attractive performers—masking fundamental creative exhaustion. While Nathan acknowledges the show's professional execution and praises the dancing of "the skillful Royce," he dismisses it as skillful packaging of inherent mediocrity. The review exemplifies early 20th-century theatrical criticism's tension between entertainment's technical sophistication and its artistic substance.

# Judge Magazine Cartoon Analysis The main cartoon depicts a mugging or robbery scene. A victim (labeled "Victim") is being accosted by two figures—one appears to be a police officer or authority figure and another man. The victim exclaims, "Good heavens! Take off my union suit, too?"—suggesting he's being stripped of his clothing and belongings. The joke satirizes labor unions and their aggressive tactics. The caption "Thoughtful Yegg" (yegg being slang for a criminal) references the victim's reluctant acceptance. The satire suggests unions were seen as predatory, extracting everything from workers—literally taking the clothes off their backs. This reflects early 20th-century anti-union sentiment, when Judge magazine frequently mocked organized labor as corrupt and exploitative. The surrounding "Stories to Tell" section contains various humorous anecdotes, unrelated to the main cartoon's political commentary on labor disputes.