The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-08-13

I never see Norma Kopp, who, in
private life, is Mrs. William Danforth,
as, no doubt, you know, without re-
calling a time when the zeal Of a
press agent over-reached itself. 1t
happened several years ago when
Miss KOpp was in q company headed
by Frank Daniels. For months the
press agent had been weaving mar
velous romanCes about everybody in
the company, and when Boston was to
be played, he simply let himself go.
He told the story Of Miss Kopp's sum-
mer vacation. She had been in South
Africa. he said, and he related a num-
Der Of hair-breadth escapes which had
befallen her while she was the guest
IF her uncle, the celebrated Gen.
Spion Kopp." To give the thing
praisemblance, he threw in a touch
OF two abou her cousins. "the little
Kopjes," and, pleased with his merry
jest, sent his manuscript to the dra-
matte editor Of a Boston paper. The
company arrived in Boston, and nat
urally the manager looked UP the pa
pers to see what the advance notices
had to say. There were paragraphs
about everybody but Miss Kopp. The
omission was brought to the attention
Of the press agent, and he went airily
to ask the editor, to whom he had
intrusted his masterpiece. about it.
wasn't that a good story, I sent?"
ne asked.
yes" admitted the dramatic edi-
tor.
Funny. too, wasn't it,"
Then why didn't you use it to-
The editor squirmed in his chair.
MY dear fellow he said, at
length, 81 left it out because-well. I
didn't want people to laugh at you.
~
take. but I had a little delicacy about
mentioning It to you. You ought to
know, though. and you can trust me
not TO let the thing set out. Spion
Kopp isn't a man. It's a town"
Unless the air ship speedily be-
ZONES more of q actually than It
IS ct present, times are going to be
hard for the professional joke writer.
Within the lest twenty wears the stock
supply of Joke material has dwindled
rapidly. For generations the bootjack
was always a winning card-that and
the lightning rod agent. To get off a
joke based on either now. you'd have
to accompany II with a fOOtnote ex-
planning what n bootiack or a light
ming rod is. We had the bicycle a
little later. but there's no more hui
NOR in the bicycle now han in the
Congressional Record. The boomer
girl and the new woman simply evap-
grated. The automobile was 2 regu-
lar sold mine for a year or two. No
comic paper went to press without a
picture of a man lying on his back
senring himself as visiting an asylum
for deuente1 motorists. found them
all under their beds tfnkering with
the Stats. That was the high water
/ mark of the automobile Joke flood.
It's ct lowest ebb now because auto
- n - 4I@-1- 49, $3.50
nobody hos 70 crawl under them They
don't break down in a thousand-mila
run. They have been done to death
in the funny papers. Nothing is left
the humorist but the calendar jokes.
the New Year swearing off. the sweet
girl graduate. the maDless umrer re-
sort, and the rest Of them, all sad
and stale. I don't know what will
happen unless the air ship fills the
growing want. The future looks very
black. indeed, for the professional
funny man.
owe come upon a new surersti-
ton" says a woman who lives Of
Tens Church. Last Monday ! hal
II do some shopping. and - avoid
the heat. 7 caue n very ea~l-. IN
deed 7 go into 2 street Just as the
clerks were going t. work. was the
first customer Of The week in one
shoo. and 7 had r,ore trouble getting
waited on than If Id come in ten min
utes before closing time or Saturday.
There wee three girls hehind I've
first counter I went TO. and the min
ate thew saw me they began to he
desperately busy ARRANGING goods.
They did~'+ see ne at I'll. and when
7 smoke. the first one turned ne over
to the next one. and she passed me
on to the third. I was that way all
over the store. Nobody who could
possibly get out of it would wait on
me. 1t seemed so odd, for you'd |