Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, August 1922 · page 6 of 67
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #36 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is an editorial statement defending *Whiz Bang* magazine against censorship attempts. The page contains no cartoon, but rather a prose defense of humor's value. The text argues that humor serves as psychological relief during hardship and strengthens friendship. It acknowledges that *Whiz Bang*—a pocket-sized satirical magazine—is frequently targeted by censors alongside other small publications, attributing this to the magazine's prominence. The author defends the publication's purpose: to highlight life's humorous side without malice or offense, targeting "Old Man John Yawn and his half-brother, Jim Grouch" (personifications of boredom and grumpiness). The editorial takes a dig at "fanatics" who lack humor and overreact to minor issues. Finally, it appeals to critics to examine *Whiz Bang* fairly alongside comparable magazines, noting it qualifies for second-class postal rates.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
4 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang HUMOR is a peculiar life's potion. It is the relaxing of the nervous sys- tem; the bright sunlight into which folk may escape when the sweet singers of calamity begin yodeling and when profession¬l mourners start shedding borrowed tears. It is an invaluable ingredient in the dish of friendship. Switching the metaphor, it is the grease that keeps the wheels of companionship from creaking. Every once in a while I hear from some sec- tion of the country that someone is objecting to several pocket-sized publications and invariably Whiz Bang is included in them. That is be- cause Whiz Bang is the best known. No fanatic ever had a sense of humor. It is the man or woman who cannot see a joke and who has no humor in his makeup who is so apt to make a mountain out of a mole-hill and push a principle to the verge of idiocy. Whiz Bang is not in the world to hurt the sensibilities even of these rare types. Its pur- pose is to show people the humorous side of life; to be admonitive only when constructive and then without bitterness. In short, Whiz Bang stands for a subtle, wholesome war on Old Man John Yawn and his half-brother, Jim Grouch. Our little monthly periodical goes by Uncle Sam's mail as second-class matter and I would like to have every critic of the small sized magazines peruse us carefully and compare us