Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, February 1922 · page 15 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #30 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from the satirical magazine contains three separate humor items: 1. **Editorial note** on poet D'Arcy's work, discussing his famous poem "The Face Upon the Floor" (a sentimental narrative poem from the 1890s about a derelict). The editor denies the poem caused Prohibition, emphasizing it's moral commentary, not temperance advocacy. 2. **"Gus" anecdote**: A crude joke about a hired hand interrupting an affair. The "intruder" (the husband) casually exits with a flippant remark, treating the situation as routine. The humor relies on unexpected nonchalance about infidelity. 3. **"Ikey" anecdote**: A joke about an absent-minded city worker hired as a farmhand. The setup suggests the punchline will reveal foolish behavior with a horse, though the text cuts off mid-sentence. These items reflect typical *Whiz Bang* content: rural/urban character humor, sexual innuendo, and slapstick scenarios targeting working-class audiences.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang 13 ing in London and among whom both he and I had many friends. Cody and Major Burke circulated the copies among their theatrical friends and before many months three vaudevillians were reciting the poem at the big music halls, then Sam Bernard set America crazy with it and yet after over thirty years, it is still a popular ‘act’ and wins excellent booking. “I have been often told that my story set the pace for prohibition. I sincerely hope not. If I thought that I had helped that unfortunate law, I would walk down to the dock and kick myself into the river. ‘The Face Upon the Floor’ is not a temperance story, but an ad- monition to the world, not to despise the unfortunate derelict.” In this issue we are pleased to publish another poem by Mr. D’Arcy and have his promise of more to follow. And let me add, I found Mr. D’Arcy a regular fellow, well met, an excellent conversationalist and a fine reminder of the good old days. * * * GUS, our ex-hired man, escorted a petite young lady to her apartment. “Just as I was putting my arm around her,” Gus reports, “a man walked in.” “My gawsch, my husband!” exclaimed the girl. “Oh, busy honey?” the intruder remarked, as he walked out. * * * OUR new hired man, Ikey, from the cities, is so absentminded that when he went in the stable to saddle a horse, he was sur- prised to find, after a half hour’s work, that he