Shrewd

The ability to leer in a naughty fashion will often earn a witless fellow a reputation as a wag; luck in getting his books suppressed will bring an author to renown even though no one has ever read them. Shrewd Douglas H. Cooke, President of the Leslie-Judge Co., may not therefore have been altogether stunned when he was told last week that his funny-paper, Judge, was barred from the mails.

The suppressed issue was called "The Parisian Number"; on its mottled cover a young woman, silhouetted in white-space, stepped into the profile of a bathtub over the caption "Cut Out by the Censor"; on its first page appeared a joke that was characteristic of the issue--a joke printed in French, and making a play of the words "habits" (clothes) and "explorer" (to go through). "Translation on page 31," said the editors. "Ha! this matter must be salacious," cried the vulgar reader: ". . . habits de mon mari. J'ai I'habitude de les explorer tous les soirs." Though ignorant of French he would not deign to turn to page 31; no, and what's more he would put the magazine where his wife could not get at it. Had he bothered to read the translation, he would have discovered that the evil witticism was as follows:

Voice from the Next Room: "Won't you feel strange getting into your husband's clothes for the fancy-dress party tonight?"

"No, I'm used to going through them every night."

And does the U. S. bar from its post such naiveties as this, friends of Judge might hotly demand? To them the thoughtful will answer: "Postmaster John Kiely [of New York City] is, like you, a friend of Judge. He well knows that there is no honest Rabelaisian lewdness in the pages of this flaccid journal; he must have been able to see that the editors were engaged in the far dirtier business of trying to make the clean appear foul. By barring the issue he has done the publisher a notable favor."

Shrewd Douglas H. Cooke made calf's eyes in an interview. Said he: "I believe we handled the subjects in a way to rob them of all suggestiveness. . . . I am at a loss to understand the objections."

And Manhattan's newpapers headlined:

PARISIAN NUMBER OF JUDGE IS BARRED