Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, July 1922 · page 32 of 67
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #35 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Captain Billy's Whiz Bang* (a WWI-era humor magazine) satirizes post-war American hardship through mock-religious parody. "The Doughboy's Prayer" inverts Psalm 23, replacing God with Congress—mocking soldiers' betrayal after combat. Veterans faced unemployment, denied bonuses, and broken promises, leading to genuine hardship and political anger (the "Bonus Army" became a major 1930s issue). The shorter pieces mock economic absurdity: "Topsy-Turvy" catalogs wartime commerce gone strange (seeds in hardware stores). The "jewelry" joke depicts poverty so severe that soup droplets on clothing masquerade as pearls—dark humor about Depression-era desperation. The final line, "A 'tip' in time saves many a fine," likely warns against bribery (paying cops). Overall: biting satire of broken promises to veterans and economic chaos.
📄 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 31 The Doughboy's Prayer Congress is my Shepherd; I am in want. He maketh me to pay all my income; he leadeth me to believe there will be no bonus. He restoreth no hope of faith; he leadeth me to regret my vote. Yea, though I walk through the alley and the street of doubt I find no pleasure in them. He preparest a fable before me in the presence of no free lunch counters. Surely poverty and hardships will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in a rented house forever. * * * It is so quiet in our Robbinsdale bowling alleys that you can almost hear a pin drop. * * * Topsy-Turvy They've garden seeds in hardware stores; They oft sell spuds with fruit. Though things are turned around a bit I think this is a beaut. For while I walked the other day, With neither thoughts nor cares, A sign in a special ladies' shop Read: “We Sell Teddy Bears.” * * * Big Sale On Jewelry! Algernon—“What a cute pearl you have in your scarf, Percy!” Percy—“Oh, you deah thing; that isn’t a pearl, that’s soup.” * * * A “tip” in time saves many a fine.