Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, January 1921 · page 48 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #16 — page 48: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three poems of social satire from what appears to be the Prohibition era (1920s-1930s). **"Tell Him Now"** advocates giving praise to people while they're alive rather than waiting until their funeral—a straightforward moral message about appreciating others. **"Or a Finger Ring"** by Gabe Caffrey mocks doctors who drink excessively, depicting one who wants to write prescriptions while perpetually intoxicated ("sip, and sip, and sip"). This satirizes medical profession corruption or incompetence. **"Come on, Joe"** directly references Prohibition, lamenting the ban on alcohol ("beer in a can," "highball fan"). The speaker claims he's "coming" with "ready dough" and hears "dominoes a-calling"—likely coded language for illegal speakeasies or gambling establishments where people gathered to drink illegally. The poem humorously depicts the absurdity of Prohibition's failure to stop drinking. The collection reflects *Whiz Bang's* satirical stance on contemporary American social issues, particularly Prohibition's unpopularity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
46 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang Tell Him Now If with pleasure you are viewing any work a man is doing. If you like him, or you love him, tell him now; Don't withhold your approbation till the parson makes oration And he lies with snowy lilies o'er his brow; For no matter how you shout it, he won't really care about it, He won't know how many tear-drops you have shed. If you think some praise is due him, now's the time to slip it to him, For he cannot read his tombstone when he's dead. More than fame and more than money is the comment kind and sunny, And the hearty, warm approval of a friend, For it gives to life a savor, and it makes you stronger, braver, And it gives you heart and spirit to the end. If he earns your praise, bestow it; if you like him, let him know it— Let the words of true encouragement be said. Do not wait till life is over, and he's underneath the clover, For he cannot read his tombstone when he's dead. * * * Or a Finger Ring By Gabe Caffrey. I want to be a doctor with prescriptions all my own, To write them out and flop about As dead as any stone. I'd love to be a physician and have my little nip Oh, I want to be a doctor— And sip, and sip, and sip. * * * Come on, Joe Gone are the days when we got beer in a can, Gone are the days before we got the ban, Gone are the days when we were a highball fan; I hear the angels sadly calling, "Come, dry man." (Chorus.) I'm coming, I'm coming, And I have the ready dough; I hear those dominoes a-calling, "Come on, Joe."