Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-06-27
DICK AND A DEPUTY.
HOW THEY FOUGHT AND SETTLED A
ThiLOR'S BILL.
The Birth of q Good Comic Idea and How
tlic Event Was of Benefit to the Artist.
How to Make the Most of q Good Idea.
A Valuable Heritage.

thc Event Was of Benefit to the Artist.
How to Make the Most of q Good idea.
A Valuable Heritage.
'iow often, " remarked the old edi-
tor ''do our seeming misfortunes result
in our final good. Take the case Of Dick
Morley, the comic artist, a few years
ago. Dick, being a true genius, of course
never worked till he had TO, and some-
times not then. Naturally he was al
ways hard pressed for money. Dick
once lived for a month in the back room
of a pawnshop because his last suit Of
clothes was in hook there-the suit he
had on, you understand. At last inspira-
lion came; he drew a comic picture of
a needy artist, tended shop while the
proprietor went III and sold it and so
redeemed his clothes and got away.
AT another time a tailor sued Dick
for $40. Of course he didn't pay any at
tention to a little thing like this, but
| went right on resting. The matter final
ly got into the sherlff's hands, and a
deputy came around to the studio to put
an attachment Oh the things. 1t hap
pened that Dick was pretty cross that
morning, having lost his easel some
where in the confusion of the place.
Not that he had any use for the easel.
of course, but he had a theory that a
studio ought to contain an easel. Gen.
orally speaking, all that Dick really
needed in his studio was a pipe, a chair
and a visitor to whom he could tell Of
the work he was going to do next day.
well, as l say, Dick couldn't find
the easel and was a good deal upset in
consequence. The deputy was a kind Of
loose jointed, stumbling sort of man,
with waving ears, a large nose, an ex
p%ansive mouth and a rowing eye, this
last no doubt resulting from years of
search for personal property, usually
fruitless. He came in, leered at the
things a moment and told Dick that be
had al attachment for everything
Dick was still cross and replied by
throwing a small plaster Venus de Milo
at his visitors head, biting him on
the jaw. The deputy bad seen similar
cases before, SO be just closed in on
Dick, and they had it pretty lively all
around the studio. Dick relied mainly
or the plaster casts and kept smashing
them over the deputy's head, now a
Venus, next a Diana, then a modern
example.
"There was a Hercules on the man
tel, and Dick had a good deal of faith
in that, having a fanciful notion that
as Hercules had been a pretty powerful
fellow in his day a cast Of him slammed
down hard on the head of a deputy
sheriff ought to do something toward
upholding the rights of a plain citizen
sued by a grasping tailor. Perhaps the
fact that the Hercules was the largest
and heaviest cast in the studio may
have strengthened Dicks faith in it,
The deputy, Notwithstanding his wide
experience, was unaccustomed to cast
fighting, and the dust got in his rowing
eyes and confused him considerably,
but he held his ground we'll, and when
at last he got hold of the Hercules and
banged Dick over the head with it the
artist went down on his back and the
deputy planted his knees ON his chest.
Dick looked up and saw that the mans
hat was crushed, his clothes torn, one
eye discolored and that he was general
ly demoralized. 1t struck Dick hat he
was the funniest man that he had ever
seen, and an inspiration seized him.
"'Leggo my hands!' he cried.
The deputy did SO and Dick wriggled
around and grabbed a sheet of card
board and a quill pen from among the
wreck and confusion on the floor.
"'Keep just So went on Dick.
'There-so-don't move, now, and he
began sketching the man rapidly, hold
ing the cardboard in one hand. In Is
minutes he had the funniest picture that
he had ever drawn. Now femme up
and we'll go and sell this, said Dick,
and the mar complied. They headed for
the nearest comic paper office, where
Dick disposed Of the picture for $40, and
passed the money over to the fellow. 1t
was the turning point in Dicks career,
and be has never been hard up since"
II don't exactly see how such a little
thing could amount to so much, OBJ
served a listener.
"You don't know the comic business
as we'll as l do or you would see. When
you get hold Of a good funny idea, you
use it one and shortly after you use it
again. After which you use it a few
times more, and then make further use
Of it, subsequently, employing it a num-
Der Of times in addition. You then re-
peat a few times, after which you can
turn it around a little and go through
the whole process again. Then, a really
good comic idea will stand several turn
ings, by which time people have forgot
ten the original thing, and you can
start new with a fair field and a clear
conscience. When death overtakes you,
If you have a son in the comic line, you
can leave the idea to him. Hayden
Carruth in Chicago Post.