Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, April 1921 · page 29 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #19 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two separate satirical pieces from *Captain Billy's Whiz Bang*, an early 20th-century American humor magazine. **"All in the Name"** is a joke about Prohibition-era smuggling. A Louisville woman claims her suitcase contains only "wearing apparel" but customs officials discover a hidden bottle of illegal whiskey ("Kentucky Dew"). When caught in the lie, she quips that in Kentucky they call whiskey a "nightcap"—a clever play on words suggesting it's sleepwear for the evening. The humor relies on the contradiction between her false statement and the obvious contraband, plus her witty deflection. **"Days of Real Sport"** is a brief, darkly comedic newspaper clipping mocking frontier violence. It reports matter-of-factly that a man faces blindness from a beer-glass injury during a barroom brawl—presenting brutal violence as casual "sport," which satirizes the roughness of early saloon culture. Both pieces mock social contradictions: Prohibition hypocrisy and the casual acceptance of dangerous violence.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang 27 All in the Name A party of Louisville ladies, en route to a Cana- dian summer resort, was delayed on the border by the usual customs examination. To the question as to what her suitcase contained, the fairest and youngest replied: “Nothing but wearing apparel.” Now, tucked carefully away in one of the corners of that suitcase the efficient official brought to light a tiny vial (evidence of a thoughtful mother’s “safety first” measure) filled to the neck with nothing less than a generous swallow of the once justly famed “Ken- tucky Dew.” The officer frowned to conceal his amusement. “Didn’t I understand you to say that this valise con- tained only wearing apparel?” he asked. The fair Kentuckian nodded an affirmative, no whit abashed by the contradictory nature of the official’s find. “Well, will you tell me what you call this?” per- sisted the inquisitor, holding to view the diminutive bottle, whose very contents seemed blushing for its owner’s disregard for the truth. “Oh, that?” came the reply in a soft, Southern drawl. “In Kentucky we call that a nightcap.” *** Days of Real Sport (From the Menominee Herald-Leader.) Ten Years Ago Today: Henry Albright is in serious danger of losing one eye as the result of being cut by a beer glass in a rumpus last evening in Michael Bottkol’s saloon. ***