The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-05-06
! LEW D0gksTlDER 4. /
PICK [ W|NN \ ! ! STORY ! !. 1 |.
NoEHD MINSTREL PREsIDEs IN
& sffss JouRNAL CONTEST.
Man Who Has Been Joker In Ordinary
to. American People for Years Con-
SCENTS to Award Prizes " Something
About 'eBest Stories Submitted
Weekly in Competition.

Lew Dockstader, merry monarch Of
niinstrelsy and story teller from fsway
up the creek is to offciate as judge
in awarding, the prizes for the 90 best
story you ever heard in next: Sundays
JtournaI@ He offers as prize~a box
for any of the four performances of |
his company at the Metropolitan opera
house the first half of next week, in
addition to the. cash prizes offered by
The j. urn a X. The, competition will
the stories will be sent to Mr.. Dock
stader. who will be at Duluth, to pass /
Judgment. The result of his decision
will be published in. next Sundays
j our n a /. 5Aa% : s';t,FE>--- .r
Nineteen weeks ago, Dec. 81, The
10 urn l.; began its competition for
Sthe best story YOU ever heard, ;" offer
ing So as first, So second, and So third
prize each week: Since then over 10, 900
stories have been submitted, about 500
Of which have been published. II h e
j Journal has devoted about three col
umns of space on an average each Sun
day, the aim being to publish about
twenty five stories in each installment.
49, = Stories Pour In. = ..
That the competition has been popu-
lar is shown by the circumstance that
there has been no diminution in the
number Of; competitors. After the sec:
ond week, the: number Of stories sub
mitted has never fallen below 400, and
has been as high as 1;248 in single
| week. The stories have come from all
| over the country Single mails have,
brought in the same story ffomza dozen
The offer, Of: Tire J ournalais "a
| M no m
has been simply. for the "best story you
ever heard, ~ regardless as to whether
it had been published or told before,
altho stories 'Ntrue and new have
| been given the preference IN awarding
the prizes. ~[,i2 5..r..::-;!~: :. go -
| Only stories. hoary with age, stale
with repetition or I'm pleasant coarse
ness e7heen" barred: The award Of
prizes71has been "a difficult task, for
some were good5 stories badly told, bad
stories Welk told, stories equally funny,
! altho of: Totally q different character,
stories doubly interesting because they:
/ gave glimpses off the character of ia
nous men : stories dealing with the fun
nyisms, of the different dialects Of our
ings. Of, little folks;i always appealing,
: and particularly to a ri fond parent;
stories preserving famous: .jests in repair
tee;a adroit :puns, ridiculous mishaps,n and
absurdities Of the geptler sex, as viewed
from a, mans standpoint; jokes on the
clergy, drives at religious and national
! prejudices. All have: come under the
head Of, the 5ahest story you ever
4 heard. ,-.StYer. Il 1884, re=r "-r !:
y ~"tz:- Editor coalapses. i; j.:
! NJ, wonder thHatta T hssdJ Urn IS
4 tIfunhy story edit4r began to have 3
doubts s IT,, t .i iR4fsllibility of his
8 iecturer, ,of loeal fame, Was: called into
seryige and FOR q while he gave the
I Fsb. 5t25 Marshai P: Wilder,s the: man
who has joked with princes, took a hand
q atSSpicking out the best. storyI' from
oEHf e 4{at h hsaared contributions
i spirit Of fairness March i8 the read
ers of TIL Q Journal were asked tc
ID select the three prize: winners on, the
q merits Of stories published the previous
s Sunday, and to- add incentive TIL {
J. oari n a offered to give. as a. present
i to all who named the. three stories thai
Il received the most votes large, we'll
:. mounted, Gibson pictures, not. the kint
j printed On wrapping paper With che che q
4 cast. -
aOf the twenty:six stories submitted
$ to The test every one Of them received
!; some votes as being the "best,'' thu
= highest, 2S1 votes and the lowest, 9
! 4 The aggregate number Of votes receiv
:! eT BY the three prize winners was 696
= and the whole number Of votes cas-
y 1888 so 2,1S7 people disagreed will
; the decision. e
t Up tocDockstader.z
Now It's up to Mr.. ,Dockstader to se
if he can perform the phenomenal fea
" of. pleasing every one. There's NJ
=, doubting: his possession of, al sense O.
J Ihumer that is sharpened to: a. fine point
y OF all entertainers before the publ
! he is the most spontaneous and enter
" prising. He is not content to have on
q set Of jokes, last him a lifetime, lik
J., most monologue entertainers; bu
e changes his jokes, not with each sea
e it's In his burlesque limitations: o
/ great statesmen, !. trips in balloons an
IS automobiles, he springs jokes wit
n timely local. application that show in
Is dustry, if not always marvellous inger
l. uity in collecting,aer creating.
= Although hespopular vote mentione
vi showed a wide divergence Of opinion
II many :peoples do,agree as tot 9 hes
r.. story they ever heard. - There ar
y about twenty stories. that are sent
e the Journal week after week by con
re petitors, many: of swhom have probabl
u wondered why their favorites have nc
- appeared worthy Of at least honorar
~ mention. They have been Withheld
~, 10 from publication simply because every
y, 10 body else has heard them before.
" -. - The Best Of All. y
: The story that. is the favorite Of fa,
. orites. which days mail seldom omit
lie to bring, is one told by Mr.. Dockstade
IN ON one, Of his visits to Minneapol
or about five years ago. It is the story
to the man whoshad@ Invested himself <
ne his trowsers that his wife might men
Id them in the ladies dressing room an
who, at. the. approach Of some. Peep
hastily opened 8 door and stepped, I
he supposed, into a closet, but four
- himself on the floor Of the ball roo
a.. and the. cynosure Of all eyes, while h
wife refused to let him back into. Il
= dressing room because there are Ia
- les in here. 49,.
q minstrel men, comedians, mono1ogist
and entertainers of all sorts, both pr
"a fessional and amateurs, and it is St
!, gifdling the earth, but SO far as t
- memory Of man rhnneth Mr.. Docksta
+, er. told it first, at least first in this me-
~ 4 of the woods. ~ s, s Is
That was Ave Years ago, and &C
II sti1lNin the running and still leads the
~ ali FOR The Nchestntit y stakes. passil
~, each we'll known favorites las the C
VI 1,Cl n