The San Francisco call., 1907-03-17
By Will Scarlet

tiSEkcu IOhes Al Wa q ANo4As
funny 3oke ana made people
laugh. II was so very funny
that the people who heard il
told it 10 other people. so that al
Rome had 81 or by heart. Incidentally
St came to the ears OF the Emperor Ii
l,erius. But when he heard the Joke
The Emperor did not laugh. II was
q funny Joke. a very funny joke-but il
was Oh his, imperial Majesty. SO IT,
berius just frowned and asked who had
started that little pleasantly.
so and So" an attendant informed
him.
VERY good said Tiberius, quietly.
''ON with his head"
And fror that day forth, whenever
the Wis Romans swspped funny ste-
dies in t.,e Foram. they took care that
the joIzc was never on Tiberius.
In the yoar 81 grace 1906 an Aneri-
can humorist wrote a book. Il was
really humorous book and made men
laugh. ---s so very humorous that
zen advised Other men TO read it. In
c.dentally some Of them left the book
lsimg about the Eouse. and their wives
dipped into it, But the ladies didn't
laugh ~ was q humorous book. a
very humorous book. but it was on the
ladies-somc of them. So the ladies Just
frowned and turned back TO the title
page end found the name OF the man
who wrote II.
VERY good" they said, quietly. or
with his head
The man who wrote that book is liv
ing yet. But it's not his fault Tn
doubtediv. were he allowed TO have
his way he would now be across the
styN exchanging condolences with the
Roman wag. But he can't get across.
The ladies have executed-or rather
are executing-the summary sentence
they pronounced a few months ago
and that the humorist's head is Of
or coming Offs an undisputed fact
Methods of decspitation are different
nowadays. that's all
The Roman wag had cracked jokes
some OF them probably very funny
3okes-before he tried that one about
Tiberius Ellis Parker Butler had
written stories-some OF them indis-
plItably humorous-before he wrote
"rhe Incubator Baby" For instance
there is Pigs Is Pigs" That is
humorous book. indeed a very hunor-
Gus book. and when they read it the
ladies-ail OF them-laughed But. alas.
like the unfortunate Roman wag. Mr..
Butler has been humorous once too
often. The Roman wag got the AK
literally: Air. Butler is getting IL too
ngurstively.
Accounts differ as to just what the
Roman wsgs joke was, but every ~er-
sion---and lAerc are a good many ver-
sions--aerce that. besides being funny.
IL was sstirical. Aye, there's the rub.
Tibefius was certainly TOO wise ruler
TO chop of q mans head just because
the man had said something funny.
The difficulty was that Tiberius saw.
not the fun Of the Joke, but its satire.
SO he didn't laugh. for the excellent
reason that he saw nothing 10 laugh
at: and he turned down his thumb be-
cause the satire meant--llim.
In like manner. besides being hui
morous after the fashion OF Pigs Is
Pigs" THE Incubator Baby" Is ss-
tiricaL once more. there's the rub.
Ladies are certainly too Judicious TO
oecapitste an author because the au-
thor writes book that IL humorous.
The crux OF the situation is that they
perceived. not the humor OF the book.
but fts satire. So they dent laugh,
not because--oh.- oft-exploocd calum-
ny.-that woman lacks a sense OF hui
zaor. but because many OF them see