The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-03

meal expression Of the trade. Here is a
sample of the Conversations joke:
Smlth-What would you do II you knew
positively that you were going to die twenty
four hours from now?
Jones-I'd drop dead at once.
Infinite variations are possible to the
conversational joke. Sometimes the con-
versers are merely He and 4She," or
Hubby and "Wifey," or Hobbs" and
'Nobhs"; but now and then, since the birth
Of the Oliver original, other joke writer's
have created certain characters, using them
again and again as the vehicles through
which to spring upon the unsuspecting
world any Joke that lends itself to the con-
versational form Of expression.
Mr.. Oliver, for many years, has used
certain character couples which nave be-
come household words. Notable among
these are "Mr. Crimsonbeak' and yeast
Church" and Gotham and Patience
and 4Patrice.'
1t would be difficult to find in the United
States a person who has not read in some
newspaper q. joke credited to the Yonkers
Statesman. Mr.. oliver is responsible for
all of these. He has written from six to
ten jokes a day, six days a week, for twenty
nine years, with very little vacation. His
annual output avera ges $500 jokes.
o Mr.. Oliver does not resemble the funny
man Of more or less popular tradition. He
shaves regularly and pa~tronizes the hair
cutter at brief intervals. He dresses cor
| rectly, not f1ashily.
When he attends the annual sessions OF
the American Press Humorists he takes his
trunk. At Baltimore three years ago oliver
had a steamer trunk hauled to his hotel.
| Strickland w. Gillian, then of the Baltimore
American, he who wrote OFF, gin. on agin,
gone agin, Fnnigin," observed the porter
| carrying this baggage and turned to the
Yonkers man.
"Oliver," he said, what in the world did
you bring that steamer trunk for?"
well" replied Oliver, "they odd me that
Baltimore was a hot town, 50 l thought
I'd bring my steamer trunk and let it do the
steaming."
1t was at this same Baltimore meeting
that Mr.. Oliver was acknowledged as the
Father Of the conversational joke"
Father" Oliver does not reveal his age
in plain figures, nor in looks, for he appears
to be about 40, but he has confessed that he
was Just of age when the conversational
1Oke was DOID, dlu liz iitc VI III 1Ouk6TB
Statesman show that this joke Is now
twenty-ni ii years old.
At the Inside Inn in st. Louis during the
| convention Of the humorists at the worlds
fair, a young man from the st. Louis Star
approached Mr.. Oliver, pad and pencil
poised m~enacingly.
sMr. Oliver said the REPORTER" / nave
been assigned to interview you. Ah-uh-
what do you consider your best joker"
The author Of $4,000 jokes, who had for
gotten all Of them but the one he was then
| terminating, staggered slightly under the
impact of this query and looked blankly
at the form Of the young reporter. Then
he replied, solemnly:
1You-yourself.'
Pressed further, he asked the reporter:
Where was Moses when the light vent
out?"
in the dark replied the young man
promptly.
swell, so am ], > said Oliver.
He consented TO be interviewed q few
days ago, however.
How did you happen to become a joke
writer2' he was asked.
when I was a very young boy" said
Mr.. Oliver, my father got the Western
fever and talked Of moving to Kansas. l
was rejoiced at the idea and one day
dropped into poetry something like this:
Away. away to Kansas!
Then youll see
Us dance the lanclers-
But not to Tennessee"
THAT may not be epoch making poetry,
but it made my father and all the household
laugh. MY father looked the stun UP in his
desk, and It was shown to everybody who
hanpenad in. -