The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1900-04-10
CHAT AND CHAFF.


Fifteen or twenty years ago when
the" Detroit Free Press man. 1.-THE Dan
bury News man" and the Burlington
Hawkeye man" were competing az
national laugh makers. Peck's Bad Boy
burst upon a delighted world in the coll
umns OF J'eck's Sun.
The Bad Boy survived for a number
OF years and at one time achieved dis
tinctlon as stage productiors
We saw him at the old san Souci
Gardens. You remember.
Peck went into politics.
He was the original OF the Bad Boy
az well IA the chronicler OF the Bad
Boys carvings on.
But when he went into politics he be-
gan TO take life very seriously.
Most men do, I lind. when they go in
10 politics.
| So Peck's Bad Boy waned and the
nation lost a pet subject of amusement
while the grown UP bad boy won a
lesser distinction as governor of
| Wisconsin during brief Democratic
era.
-Of all papers that used to make fun
| for us only the Detroit Free Press sur
wives in that capacity today."M. Quad"
| otherwise Charles II. Lewis. who was
| the original Free Press man" no long,
er writes jokes for that paper. / belieye,
but he is still professional funny man
and the Free Press has one or more 9TH
ers who keep up the pace he set very
fairly well so that the joke editors Of
other papers continue to clip from their
Detroit contemporary.
Bailey. the "Danbury News man." Is
dead.
longer in journalism, humorous or
otherwise, though occasionally run
across a contribution from his pen
which is in quite the old time spirit.
But neither the Danbury News nor
the Burlington Hawkeye is today in ev-
idence as popular funny paper.
Their jokes brought them fame and
wealth in their day.
But to maintain a reputation as a
joke producer for any length of time Is
far more difficult than to keep UP any
other department of a paper.
Meantime Bill Nye and the Laramie
Boomerang" have come and passed
away and know no paper and no hu-
morist who takes the place of any of
these old-timers today.
of course there are John Kendrick
| Bangs of the Harper house, "Mr. Doo-
ley" George Ade who writes Fables
| in Slang and George Il. Hobart who
writes criticisms OF men and measures
| in Dutch dialect. as "Mr. Dooley" does
| In the Irish. for the New York Journal.
But somehow these do not seem the
same sort of article for all the brilliant
| spurts they make.
Perhaps as we grow older we are
more discriminating in our laughs.
Real old timers claim for instance.
that the equals OF Artemus Ward and
Petroleum v. Nasby have failed to ap-
pear since these WORTHLESS ceased to De
| OF earth.
Josh Billings" too. was inimitable
| and so was MRS. Partington."
And bask of them and their contem-
poranes was a long line of wits extend
| ing to classic days.
They would all have their supporters
| today. I suppose. In a debate as TO
their relative qualifications for making
you laugh.
But really the funniest thing to me
| now "A days is an occasional serious ed-
| itorial in the Providence Journal.
i suppose 1 am getting to be dyspep-
tic and don't relish the things that are
4, meant to be funny so much as I do
some of the things that are not meant
| to be.
| Speaking of resurrections reminds
| me of the Judge.
The Judge has his doubts about res
| directions.
| Here Is his argument:'I am dead and
buried. ! crumble up and am resolved
into my original constftuents--dust to
duse and so forth. Some of these con-
stituents tend to contribute to the cul-
tivation of the grass and the daisies
| over my grave. The grass and the dais-
| les grow NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. of the
fertilizer from me. Thew contain some
thing of me. Don't they? a stray COW
strolls into the graveyard and munches
the grass and the daisies. The COW
wakes fat and gives milk. The farmer
milks the milk. Cream rises on it and
the farmers wife skins off the cream
and churns IL into butter. The farmers s
daughter makes UP the butter into nice
little pats. You buy the pats and spread
the butter on your bread. In other
words you spread some OF me on your
bread and proceed to eat me. Now
where do 1 come in?'
This soulless argument, needless to
say. does not convince.
But not being an expert at theology
] am constrained to silence until | re-
Il -. a. l.a q