Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, March 1924 · page 10 of 71
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #57 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two short humorous stories rather than political cartoons. **First story**: A diner points to a menu item he cannot read (written in French or Italian by a non-English-speaking chef). The waiter refuses, saying "the band is playing it"—a joke implying the item listed is actually a musical composition, not food. The satire mocks both pretentious foreign cuisine and the absurdity of fancy restaurant menus. **Second story**: A woman tells a friend she'll marry "Bob" next month if he gets a week off work. When asked if he'll manage it, she reasons employers will grant time off for marriage (necessary) but not for vacation (leisure). The joke satirizes employer attitudes toward workers' personal time—suggesting marriage is considered a legitimate life event while simple relaxation is frivolous. Both stories reflect working-class perspectives on urban life and employment in early 20th-century America.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
8 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang WHILE in New York in January I had dinner one evening at a hotel where the menu is written out by a chef who doesn't understand a word of English. It was in Frog or Wop or some other shoulder-shrugging lang- uage. I didn't like to confess to my wife that I couldn't sabe the argot, so I pointed to one of the lines on the bill-of-fare. “There, waiter,” I said, “bring me that.” “Sorry, sir,” the tray juggler responded. “But you can't have that.” “I can't?” I demanded. “Why not?” “The band is playing it.” ONE of the Robbinsdale buckos dropped into a manicure shop to have his nails pared, when he heard a couple of the girls in con- versation. “I'm going to get married next month if Bob can get a week off from his job,” remarked one of the sirens. “Do you think he will be able to?” the other one inquired. “I think so. You see, it isn't the same as if he was asking for a vacation to have a good time.”