The Arkansaw traveler., 1882-12-24
A STAB.

A writer in well-known magazine, in a kind ofill-founded lament says: The humorous papers of the country are cer- tainly exercising baneful influence, not that their contents are immoral, but be- cause in an airy way they draw the mind of the reader away from more serious and consequently more nearly standard mat ter. In looking over newspapers, even our great dailies, cannot help but note that the projectors of such papers as the Defroif Free Pr<5S, ARKASsAw TRAVEL ER. Peek's Sum. 7tfas SifhngS, Cheek, Huntingdon Hawkeye and others cf that class are better known and more apprcci- ated than the authors of Evangeline and Thanatopsis or our devoted writers on the religious press. The encouragement of these alluring publications, instead of our own standard American literature, is, I am persuaded, drawback to the learned institutions of this county
 This is rather an unkind thrust a, the great journals that are building up the country. developing the minds of mirh and cultivating the broad fields of good humor. The humorous papers in no way interfere with the immortality of Long fellow and Bryant and by no means throw an obstacle in the paths of extremely mortal men who perspire over the pro- duction of copy for the religious press. The mission of the truly humorous paper
 is not to pull down, but to build up, If there were no demand for such papers, there would be none published. If the grea, dailies did not find it to their ad- advantage to publish selections from the humorous press, they would not clip so extensively. The great daily paper has humorous readers to please and knowing that every intelligent man enjoys we'll written articles of mirth, in which literary thought as we'll as humorous intention Is expressed, they devote space, which might otherwise be taken up with murder, arson and rape news.
 Humorous papers do not encourage in- sanity No insane man enjoys humor- ous article. They do not promote fanat- icism, for no man can read humorous paper and be fanatic. They do not eountenanee hypocrisy. They do not smile on self-rig
 No sensible man. by reading humor- ous paper, will think the less ot Lonsfel- low and Bryant. Hood has never in- Jured the reputation of Milton. Cervan- tes did not pluck any of the glory from the immortal head of the unidentified Homer Mark Twain has not injured Tennyson Josh Billings has not lcssened the reverence We all feel for schiller. Bill Nye has no, reduced Goethe's stock Peck has not hurt Victor Hugo: then why should this attack be made on hu- morous papers: The worlds literature has not been in the feast injured.
 If the masses become better acquainted with the engineers of humorous papers than with men who attempt to improve on the gospel. whose fault ist Humor has become business, just the same as religion is.-The humoristis a profession al man. just the same as the preacher. The humorist proposes 10 make people laugh and regard lightly the heavy cares of life. The preachers province seems to be to make people sigh and to impress them with the seriousness of death, when in truth death IS not nearly so serious as life. Death involves no mortal responsi- bilitles. 50 far as we know d dead man is only asphyAiated with the atmosphere of delight. The humorist, obeying the seriptural injunction. says; Eat, drink and be merry. The preacher says: Tremble, squat and be nervous.