Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1889-03-01

tenn had been eradicated. IL WAS like
sudden liberty to a man confined under
sentence Of death. He reappeared at
his desk with his sober face and business
like air writing his jokes as a canary
sings-each one taking up the middle of
half a sheet of note paper.
What he called those things l did in
Puck" the dialogues now sold in book
form under the title of "The Tailor
Made Girl he said. were bevond his
powers of authorship. He always, v
his wife credit for the principal work
upon them. That book is the only en-
during work he has left.
The operation by which he lost his
tongue was performed nearly three years
ago. 1t left him able to, talk, but, of
course very i..pasi like 9 tongue.
tied person. Two years passed and last
summer another cancer formed, this
time on his. chest. Again the surgeons
went at him, knife in hand, anil again
Weleh appeared at The Sun Office after
a fortnight's illness.
Here is a joke written at the hospital;
sroiLEp BS TIME.
Free Lunch Expert (to STANDARDIZATION Gu
cuInbers amt as fresh!a they might be, Mr.. Bar.
keep.
Bat5ender--They were fresh enough when you
began. Oh the lunch, but how long do you expect
cucunibers to remain fresh.
Fancy that coming from under n sur
geonls knife, written by a man in the
very bloom of life lying in a hospital,
knowing that he must SOON die, think
ing of the world he loved and yet must
soon leave, of his wife and the two
charming little girls that on sunny
mornings always took a hand of his, one
on either side, for a walk out of doors.
In n score Of traits Philip II. WEIGH
was a remarkable figure among the
most striking characters in Journalism.
Now that his life is past, it is noted how
true a man he was. There is nothing to
hide about his record. nothing to slur
over or extennate. No vices enslaved
him; he had no mean attributes. 1t is
said of every departed soul that he was
modest, honest, charitable and generous.
The words have been so abused as to
| lose their salt. but the men and women
| who knew WEIGH know that they ap-
| pliedlto linn, and did not do him full
justice, either. Although a humorist,
| he nbver posed as a funny man. He
had no stoeE stories, no eccentricities of
| speech or manner; no desire to shine ex-
cept in his work. g
Every man broughta grist to his mill.
He carried q note book and jotted down
ideas that he got from his talks and CON
VIBRATIONS lie overheard wherever he
went, The last time he came into The
Sun Office wa to announce tina the was
going to Boston to spend three or four
weeks. SO as to see a doctor there daily.
was on him, and his associates believed
he might never return to his desk. The
last operation upon his cnest had pulled
his neck 70 one side, and stiffened ii SO
that he could rot easily turn his head.
But the indomitabie spirit OF the mar
was still there. His. walk was confident
shss manner earnest, his eJe was steady.
While asking for leave to so to Boston
by the way, he turned in to the manag
ing editor a small batch of jokes.
Mr.. Welch's pluck and heroism il
shown in the fact that he knew he wa
under sentence of death. In tile autumn
after the second operation he went Il
Angelica, where he was born in 1S49, Il
a cemetery where the remains of hi
parents repose and arranged for the
right to have his w body laid besid.
theirs. 1t ia this conviction that he wa.
soon todie that makes his bearing ans
work phenomenal.
Quitting New York he went to OF
City. and while there sent petroleum re
ports TO Bradstreet 8. In the autumn o
1882 he joined the editorial staff OF TIL,
Rochester Post Express. His Present
Hour column was q revelation of quain
humor and telling shots at the foibles o
the day. Within a year The Philadel
phia Call bid for his valuable labor ant
got it,. He became q member Of til,
initial staff of that paper. and from thu
first issue its Accidentally OyerheArt
column was widely recognized. A few
months later, in the June following. tn
transfer to The Sun was made, zinc
which time his Queer Wrinkles hMy,
achieved more than a national rsputa
ton, and well deserved 1t.