The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-03-08
ETTERSON VARIOUS TOPICS.
,lnsplpER HuMoRrsrs.
49,. ta,.s Concerning Ties, by ous OF
bp Them.


=, -yr rpiroR OF The suS-Sir The de-
James VI. Bailey. better known as tho
p.nt,,, Ne,rs man." following By a few weeks
81 deoth o. Joseph Keppler OF Puck. recalls
- many minds the fact that Mr.. Bailey was
Az. nionecr OF a certain class OF newspaper
nnori.ts. Just as Mr.. Keppler was the pioneer
oItbs colored cartoonists- II 10 odd that ooth
"a =, almost the same time but odder still
ul.S that Mr.. Bailey leaves no professional
..s..ors whereas Mr.. Keppler was the pro-
.s.,,e o,tenscore Of colored earicaturists. The
~, /. tho cartoons In the weekly comic papers
,s.,.od ., being the making OF the American
-.r.ner humorists. as was thought likely
&c. yoars ago have really wrought their
Abstraction.
NJ pailey was the pioneer OF now about
...inot class OF able and popular men con-
..o,sd with newspapers In the small cities OF
~ country. Following the Ddnbtuy Mems
~ Mr., Bailey. who took his rise In 1873.
~. an. Nory.istoun Herald man. Williams; the
n.troit Free Press man. Lewis the " All Sort"
-, n III. Boston Post. Hoyt; the burlington
us',t,ye man. Burdett: the lonkers Gazette
..r Holden; the Terds SJiinos man. Knox.
nd 40 on throughout tho country. Many
..v,n.pers OF fifteen or twenty years ago be-
80. more generally celebrated for their
snmorous column than for any news or liter
as ,.,ture. and when the first OF the Illus
,r.,.d comic papers was established here 1t
"a. confidently predicted that a place would
hs found for the writer's In other cities whose
.nlsrsiug fame would Justify their metropoli-
tan employment. Since 1873 the number OF
somic napers published weekly. has largely
Increased In New York. The form OF illustra-
lion has similarly improved. and the use OF
ill In a arti At ia n
Hangar a novelty. But the corresponding i'm
proyement in the letter press Of comic weekly
800. .no the development OF new humor-
III reniuses have not been forthcoming.
There are In fact. no American humorists At
.n, oi tie comic papers Mir. Bunner, the editor
Of ItiCg. has gained q larger celebrity as a
writer OF magazine articles and short stories
Joseph Keppier. Mr.. Gregory of JUDGE has
nsyer set up as humorist, and prior to his
DF':'p ssfioas eSsrsotsT MT. Carleton, long
idsntinsd with LIFE. has found more profit In
the authorship Of stage plays than as writer
H. Hoyt one Of the pioneers of American
humoI in the paragraph for daily papers: and
Ell f SsN :sdsteIS ths tap
sshedules and the foreign relations Of the
ob hIoSr with With tho development Of American
humor and the large increase in the number Of
humorous or semi humorous newspapers there
has been. no corresponding addition 70 the
Is still the favorte OF the present generation Of
those who expect humorist to be . laugh
70 read than 10 hear Jokes. and are not preju-
diced against those which have done long aud
faithful service. still incline to accept Artemus
plsnstion OF the matter is to be found in the
fact that the art OF cartoon drawing. with colors
being new one within IN . the last Two
By emulating each other and improving upon
their work. to make a reputation for them
no better OF than they were twenty years
ago, having no new advantages and being
bsset ey many obstacles which did net not
occasional contributor" OF other days who
i sou on ' Slowly psssinr .sents has been
deprived thereby OF his most cherished oppor-
tunity. Jocnnd or amusing paragraphs to in
the editorial stan OF each daily paper; Again,
Was Known as Special eorrespondspce" sueh
Ward a ~ DSSE
Hsr.sii Hut and always popular Browne The
American humorist OF that day might visit a
readers, and might have much &c. say about its
people and its affairs which was diverting, but
NOWADAYS All matters OF Interest In every land
In some others. are covered bv telegraph. and
definite facts not jocose comments. are tho
Ii has been surprise to a great many that
the comic papers Of New York city have never
assisted in, developing any new American
led the more clearly It appears that there is no
special demand for this particular sort Of tai
ie TSs Sssfy and S14s DSpss: Of ol as cav.
writer's These articles were signed. and oc-
cupled. usually. about the same place In the
ma Sos
budding humorist very long to acquire Q rep
utation which he might afterward coin into
cash by lsctprlng or publishing his enusions-
Those were the days of long articles on
humorous themes. whereas nowadays the de-
mand Of the reading public 10 for short para
cd. The ability of the particular humorist
responsible for an especially coed thing"
does not make him known outside Of the
70 make no such reputation as would Justify
hlm In either going on lecture tour or en-
barking In the troubled sea OF literary publi-
cation. The Illustrated comic papers, so far
from Arresting this manifest tendency. have
done much to aRgrayato Il; not merely must
every comic paper be illustrated nowadays.
but every page. and almost every column, OF o
comic paper must be illustrated. too. This
Pas vislbly cut down In All these periodicals
me amount OF space which could be given
and as consequence the incipient American
humorists have turned their faces from
the sanetum to the stage, and have sc-
larger share sS oi this worlds sitts and Bigger
slice OF Its plaudits than they could have ex-
peeted by following in the beaten track OF their
OF bub6llnR American literature.
NJ; Bailey and Mr.. Keppler died almost
within few days Of each other. Both were
represented Important ideas in the field OF
american journalism. the one closing chap