Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1899-08-24
CHAMP qARK'S LETTER
He Writes About the
Jokers of Congress.
DOES IT PAY TO BE FUNNY !?
He Thinks Jest Often Saves a
Situation.
STORIES OF SOME WITTY REPLIES

STORIES OF SOME WITTY REPLIES.
Statesmen Who Have IA Sense of Hu-
NOR and Some Who Have Not-Why
EckeIs Always Reminds Him OF Joe
Bailey - some New Anecdotes OF
tsPrfvate'' John Allen. Who Is said
to Have stopped Telling Funny
storiea--JOked the Honse Into Pass
ing Bill.
Especial Washington Letter.I
Recently I lectured at Crystal
Springs, Miss, before Chautauqua
assembly on Picturesque Public
Men" 1t was not only profitable, but
delightful SO to do, for that is the little
town in which that lion hearted young
Texan, Joseph W. Bailey. was born
and grew to manhood. He is an An
drew Jackson Democrat. and the Mis-
sissippians are proud of him, as they
ought to be. Coming home | read
Hon. james H. Eckles latest elucida-
ton of the political situation. Now,
from Joe Bailey to Jimmie Eckles is a
far cry, sudden drop from the
sublime to the ridiculous, and yet,
strange as it may seem, never see or
hear of Eckles that do not think of
Bailey.
When / was callow youth attend
ing Bethany college. West Virginia.
took lessons from Professor Kidd, the
great elocutionist. Hecontended that he
could tell what state man was from
by his pronunciation. | am not so GER
tain about that; but. however that may
be, / believe one can tell what section
of country a man is from by the flavor
of his wit or humor. 1t is racy of the
soil
My civil service education was sadly
neglected | have an old fashioned
idea that when the Democrats carry
the election they are entitled to the Of
fees, and when the Republicans carry
believing, in 1854 I besought Mr.
Comptroller Eckles to bounce Repub-
lican bank examiner in Missouri be-
cause he was Republican and to ap-
point Democrat in his stead, but
Eekles was a mugwump, mugwumpish,
and wouldn't do it, One awfully hot
morning in August he and l locked
horns about it and lost our tempers I
went over to the house, and the first
man / met was Bailey. "A thing of
beauty is a Joy forever" and | always
like to look at the great Texan. said.
"Bailey, did you ever see Eekles r
yes. he replied, ''and for the size of
the bell he wears he Is the smallest
calf ever saw" Nobody but a man
from the cattle country, and the long
horn cattle country at that. would ever
have used that particular sinile The
foregoing tale is why | always think
of Bailey when / think of Eckles. A
more fitting comparison was never
made SO this little calf is rattling his
big bell and believing again. Let him
rattle and below
On the Value of Hum0r.
Being in Mississippi caused my
thoughts to turn to Private" John AL
len, who has about lost the senator
ship, and to write of him is sort of
rest from politics.
Many people who never had bright
idea in their heads or generous i'm
pulse in their hearts. assuming an air
of owlish wisdom, affect to disdain
wit and humor and to be vastly SUI
perior to the practitioners thereof, for
getting or most likely never having
heard of the great truth enunciated by
Charles Lamb, "A laugh is worth a
hundred groans in any market"
In most instances it is case of sour
grapes. 1t is natural for jealous souls
to endeayor to belittle those qualities
which they do not possess. This is 4
mean sort of egotism and a vainglori-
Gus pride which is very apt to have a
sudden fall. Pope says:
OF all the causes which conspire to blind
Mans erring judgment and misguide the mind,
What the weak head with strongest bias rules
Is pride, the never failing vice OF fools.
But as the nonhumorous and unwitty
chaps constitute the vast majority they
have pounded it into peoples heads
that mental dryness is Indicative of
wisdom and that wit or humorist is
lacking in the more substantial quail
ties of the mind, all of which is pure
moonshine and was originated in a de
sire to get even.
No sane person would like to be
cooped up continually with another
who is witty on humorous ON all occa-
sions any more than he would desire
to dwell in land of perpetual day,
but sunshine is a good thing neyerthe-
less. So is wit and its cousin, humor.
solomon says, There is a time for ev-
erything under heavena time to
laugh and time to weep"
Laughter is the sweetest music that
ever greeted the human ear. and the
chief end of humor is to produce laugh
ter
1t hath been truly said:
man may grow to weigh ton
Who feasts his mind with pungent fun.
But he who seorns its simple sway
OFT yields to crime easy prey.
Tom Corsvsn's sally.
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