Judge's Fun

I have started this magazine for fun. Money is no object; let sordid souls seek that. If money is forced upon me through the enterprise, I shall found a hospital or a free beanery with it.

So wrote Harry Hart in his first issue of Judge on Oct. 28, 1881. Founder Hart had plenty of fun with Judge, founded no beanery. He sold it to William J. Arkell who continued Judge's funmaking, bought Leslie's Weekly and published that too, finally selling both magazines in 1905. Since then Leslie's has been discontinued and a number of owners have had their fun with Judge. Judge Publishing Co. is now headed by Fred L. Rogan, onetime Curtis advertising man. Last week, roaring with laughter, Publisher Rogan handed his magazine over to Irving Trust Co., hoped it too, would have fun acting as equity receiver for cashless Judge.

Publisher Rogan said Judge's liabilities were $500,000, mostly in bills for his predecessors' fun. The magazine owes him $16,994. Assets include the name, record, credit for coining the "full dinner pail" slogan for the McKinley campaign of 1896, a primary subscription circulation of 130,000 and an indefinite secondary circulation. All these, thinks Publisher Rogan, are worth more than $500,000.

Irving Trust Co. faced its funny new task with equanimity last week, announced that the magazine would continue publication under its present board of funnymen, including Drama Critic George Jean Nathan, Bridge Expert Sydney Lenz. With their help Irving Trust hopes to pull Judge out of receivership.

Thirty-six years before Judge began, George Wilkes and Enoch Camp established in Manhattan the National Police Gazette. Purpose: "To assist the operations of the police department . . . by publishing a minute description of felons' names, aliases and persons," offering "a most interesting record of horrid murders, outrageous robberies, bold forgeries, astounding burglaries, hideous rapes, vulgar seductions." Like Judge, the Police Gazette tried to live up to its founders' precepts, but languished with the rise of modern tabloid journalism. Insolvent for four months, it suspended publication last month. Last week Irving Trust Co. also got it.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.