Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-03-24
WOES OF A COMIC EDITOR
Felcitously Set Forth in Q Very
 Distinguished Symposium.
Editor Gunner of "Puck," MT. Gregory of Judge" and MT. MetcaIfe of "Life' Give Inside Facts About
 Humorous Journals.
CoPYRIuHT 1890.

COPYRIGHT 1890.
 Up to 1876 no humorous journal had managed to establish itself in this country for what may be called ''gen- teel permanence." This was not for want of trying-the list of failures up to 1871 was well over a hundred. Thousands of dollars-hundreds of thousands, indeed-had been spent in the endeavor to bestow a "Punch" upon America. All that had been ac- complished was the establishment of tho facts that America did not want Punch" and it cost money to learn this simple truth.
 Nc doubt their imitation of a foreign model told against the founders of the hundred and odd humorous journals that died prior to 1871, and for this and other reasons it came about that craft after craft was launched upon the sea of popularity, only to sink into the depths of oblivion. Some of them were well manned; some were not. All shared the same fate "Punchin ello," "Vanity Fair,' and Mrs. Grundy" left something of a ripple behind them as : they went down; but that was all. The ripple was unremunerative.
 But in 1877 paper came out, which was not a copy of a foreign model, and the originality of it's appearance attracted popular attention, and held it long enough to make good It's claims to favor. That was enough. When the conservative public once ac- cepted the new idea, it became conscious of that Hong felt want" of which it had never before been sentient. There was room for the humorous journal and that room has been pretty well oc- cupied by Puck from that day to this. During these twelve years four or five other journals of a similar character have won success in the city of New York alone, and but one humorous journal-that was really worthy of the name-has failed. And that one failed i only because the capital of it's founders | was more in brains than in cold cash and in their case, brains could not pay the printer.
 Puck" has grown with the times. It 1 began its existence at a time whom Americans were earnestly asking each other what in thunder dado was. At that time the literary and artistic ma terial it had to draw on was meager in f the extreme. Outside of the artistic staff of that first paper, (which at one time consisted of one solitary man,
 
 York City who devoted themselves to the business of drawing ''comics." As to literary matter. there was certain supply from the professional para graphers and funny men'; but these mainly chronicled acrobatic mishaps- too often their highest flight of humor was sketch of a gentleman who, re. turning home during period of house. cleaning and general devastation. stepped upon cake of soap at the toy of flight of stairs, and descended humorously to the bottom upon his spine, settling down eventually in a pail of water. The gentleman's name was generally Hoopenhammer, or the like.
 But all that is changed to-day A host of bright young men and women make their living out of the papers whose unhappy predecessors could not even make living for themselves. The lit erary and artistic quality of their work is graduated by far higher standard than the humorists of the cake-of-soap pail of-water variety ever dreamed of ,, They draw on human nature for theil inspiration, and they seek for humor 1T the actual life about us. In this growth , and change lies the promise of thei performance H. c. BUNNER.