The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-10-01

great military reformations of this CEN
fury, those Of Prussia and France were
the consequences of crushing defeat and
national humiliation. How is ours to
come about?
''NO patching up of our military estab-
lishment will satisfy earnest and intelii-
gent reformers. The radical changes
which should be made in our war depart
ment will never be instituted or initiated
by the department itself. The impulse
thereto must come from without and it
viii not come until the essentials of mill
tary policy and institutions are taught in
our colleges and public schools or are
brought home to US as they were to the
Germans in 1906 and to the French in
1910"
The work is published by Harper and
Brothers, New oYrk, and may be secured
of the Goldsmith Book and Stationery
company, Wichita.
Eventually We may become Iaughless
race. John Kendrick Bangs. an eastern
humorist who has written a number of
worthy things. is introducing to the hu-
morous world the genteel smile. His
latest work is THE Dreamers: A Club"
1t is full Of genteel smiles. The Dreamers'
club is made uu of a number of young
men who eat a number of things and
dream number Of things Each member
must relate his dream. 1t happens, by in
nocent design, that each man relates
story in the style of some one Of the pop
ular authors-Davis. Hope, Dunno, Will
lam Dean Howells. the genus magazine
poet and others. all the efforts being
piQuant eXaggerations of the original
There is throughout the whole book. a
quiet. orderly. persistently decorous smile.
one turns the las hy-leaf OF the book
with a sense of vague pleasure and intan-
gitle satisfaction over the Whole Of it.
without being able to quote any part
of it,
If the reader could assure himself that
Mr.. Bangs was earnestly ridiculing these
popular authors. the work would ar once
increase in humor. But as the idea grows
on one that he is travestying them good
naturally and for humorous effect only,
there Is a relapse TO the senteel. smile.
The haud-me-down heroiSm of Davis Van
Bibber never needed a burlesque TO make
il ridiculous The authenticated, wire-
manipulated staggering OF William Dean
FoweIrs dialogue puppets and their easp-
ing inanity are funny without the touch
% exagEeraUion: the magazine poets and
their mental spasms and domino arrange
ment of the English language are deci-
dsdly funny. if YOU Will dismiss the pre-
sumption that they are 10 DE taken Seri-
ously.
But thar Is not TO the point The
Dreamers' club sells we'll II supplies a
public need. She public need of painless
meuiment There is only ooe deposition
in history that Samuel johnson was Of
unsound mind He thought Gargantua
funny. Laurence S,erre, WITH his ex7ur-
eating asterisks. s,ill has following. but
ne remains impolita, y liberal reward
could safely be offered Cor any one who
would conscientiously confess that Steele
or Addison could compel g Taught from
him. Artemus Ward. Josh Billings. Pc
Jroleum V. Nasty were OF the obs5reper-
Gus kind in their day as was BIZ Nye.
No one now reads them Bob Burde5te
leetures-in churches. Mr. Dooley is the
vogue. and that covers him.
Ceryantes. Thackeray in "TeIIowplush''
ana The Rose and the Ring and Dick
ems can bring a roar
But their tribe is gone We nov have
the senteeI smile. M Bangs induces 4
sd-cstly and dextrouSly avoids coaxing
anything which would be boissereus, hence