The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-06-18
DANGER LINE OF HuMoR.

great man may be funny but not too funny
He may be gay. but not necessarily for publication
In fact. publication Is the bette noir of those upon
whom beats the fierce light of political publicity
1t is for this reason that late advices from Lon
don are ominously portentous. A crevasse has been
discovered in the substructure of American diplom-
acy Responsibility for the fracture has been laid
at the door Of prominent representative of Uncle
SAM After considerable diplomatic fence and parley
our duly accredited ambassador to the court
OF St James, Mr.. Joseph Hodges Choate has
succeeded in having suppressed, in the London book
stalls. unauthorized volume Of his post-prandaI
and other jokes. While this is strictly in line with
modern ideas of press censorship the awkward in
c1dent serves another and rather benecent pur
pose. 1t points moral and adorns tale 1t proves
emphatcay that, while humor is, per se the safety
valve of carping care the heart bowed down and
marrying discomfort it is not at all times appropriate
or strictly business. The brilliant bons mots and
sparkling eplgrams of Minister Choate. tossed right
and left among the perfumed courters in the paneled
banquet room of Windsor castle are all right enough
and duly appreciated, considering time place and
quality Of the audience. But that they should be
compiled and edited by cheap skate Of a booksell-
ers hack, and printed and sold to the canaille OF
London town at shilling copy, why that was al
together another story 1t demanded prompt, de
termined action Minister Choate had not touched Off
mis- humorous fireworks for the mental Illumination
of all Cockneydom and Whtechapel. Hence the Legal
intervention Our minister promptly put the kbosn
On Joe Choates Joke Book" and the thing is out OF
print He has Kplingized the whole edition
There is danger line for humor beyond which it
should not be permitted to rise; beyond which it
cannot extend without serious injury to diplomatic
and aristocratic levees. The right Of man to be
tried by jury Of his peers is involate than
the right Of truly great to shed the efrulgence
of his humor solely his social equals. He may
pose as a wit In the drawing and with his legs
under royal mahogany But should he condescend
to join the ranks of 1.-The ID literary fellers' the
Jig is up He may easily work off az an original skit
some bewhiskered joke from A. Ward or Bill Nye in
private, among the obtuse, the inane and the unre
Elective. When they appear in cold print the BALD
pagiarisms are likely to excite comment. And here
in lies another plausible the autocratic sup
preston of Joe Choate's Joke Book" The risk of
humiliating exposure was too imminent Besides
this, en- passant, the royalties WERE by the unscrupu-
lous London publisher DETECTED from the Choate ex
chequer.
There is niche In the temple of fame for each
American humorist from Q. c. Phlander Doesticks P
B.. down the long and honorable line to Mark Twain
in chronological order they range about as follows:
Doesticks Shillaber, SAKE, John Phoenix Holmes
Orpheus G. Kerr, Max Adeler, Mark Twain Frank R.
Stockton, Bob Burdette Bill Nye, George w Peek
and Pete Dunno with his original conceit of "Mr
Dooley"
And from this bright galaxy Of American wit and
humor, unexcelled and unapproachabIe throughout
the world-in the concert of powers"-some of our
American post-prandal and occasional orators con-
slider 1t great peccadillo crib and paraphrase and
dstort and assmilate and steal for the edhcaon of
those who, through sheer ignorance of current tera-
ture, accept the stolen skt as original humor
Small wonder that the fear Of publication makes
towards of them all.