The Washington herald., 1908-06-14

and the public has kept Ade writing his
unique fables long after he has longed to
close this literary chapter OF his career.
Though most humorists, when they
make national reputation. take up their
headquarters in New York City, Mr.. AIDE
has studiously refrained from doing so.
lie goes 10 New York frequently at the
dictates Of business. but his home is on
farm In Northern Indiana, his acres
being one result Of his creation Of the
slang fable. BY thus returning 10 his
native State he controverted his own
clever slur on Indiana, made when
woman. who wanted TO be real nice to
him, said:
Have you ever thought. Mr.. Ade, how
many bright people come from Indiana?"
Yes, replied the author. ~and the
brighter they are the quicker they come"
Another bright man who has come from
Indiana is George Barr McCUtcheon, the
novelist. When George was still work.
ing on a small Indiana newspaper he
wrote his FIRST novel. He sent the man.
uscript on 10 Chicago for his brother
John and Ade. a college friend, TO look
over. The two found n publisher TOR II.
Then Ade devoted a lot Of time 10 get
ting UP all sorts Of freak schemes 70 ad-
vertise the book The publisher made
use of them with avidity, and IN sur
prisingly short time Ade's chum George
Barr McCutheon had a national repu-
tation. Ade and McCutcheon, when they
were boys together in Lafayette, Ind,
collaborateG in writing patent medicine
advertisements, out OF which they made
their first good slice Of money.
Ade "A LIkenbIe Chap.
Ade is q most likeable chap, and as
modest as he is likeable. In appearance
he is strikingly boyish. and what men
would call good looking and women hand
some. He is an entertaining conversa-
tionalist when occasion demands. but he
prefers to listen 20 the other fellow talk
Though he is now on what some pessi-
mistic folk call the wrong side Of forty,
he has not got out Of touch with youth.
Only lately he wrote q play for produc-
ton by the dramatic club OF his alma
mater, and he takes delight IN gathering
with college boys and other youthful
spirits, devotees OF the art Of spontaneous
fun.
Another prominent humorist, who. like
Ade IS Just now devOting most Of his at
tentlon 20 the stage. is Jerome X. Je-
rOIrl5, who recently said In an interview,
when he was IN this country. that he
couldn't write another book like Three
Men in a Boat II he tried. The reason
he gave was that at the time he pro-
duced that laughmaker humor was spon-
taneous with him. In other words,
Jerome K. thinks he's getting serious,
whatever else the world may think
about t. John Kendrick Banks Is an
other humorous writer, who. after he
had a reputation as such, turned toward
the stage but 10 put II mildly, with moth
ing like the success Of Ade. Jerome, as
a dramatist, has been fairly successful
Jerome first got interested IN the stage
when he was struggling TO exist in Lon
don. AS already stated, he was a theater
attache and at one time an actor. one Of
his duties in those days was TO let himself
Oe killed twice in the same performance.
After he had taken 70 newspaper work
and got tired Of free lancing. he applied
for and received the post OF dramatic
critic on a paper, his salary being $50 q
week. He was thirty when his first pOpu-
lar humorous book came out; that was IN
lSS9 The previous sixteen years had been
exceedingly hard and frequently discour-
aging ones TO Jerome. who had to support
himself from the time he was fourteen.
when his parents died. But since Three
Men in n Boat appeared he has had easy
sailing financially. To-day II is his ambi-
ton 10 do something serious that will
give him fame, and II Is through the stage
that he hopes 10 accomplish this dream,
which not !nfrequenuy lays its spell on
the funmakers Of the nation, whether OF
the written. spoken, or pictured cult
Dreaming n Long Dream.
Tom Mason is another specific example
OF a humOrist who longs 10 accomplish
something serious. His dream is 10 give
the world a monumental and definite
work on the history OF humor. He has
been dreaming this dream ever since he
began trying 70 get his jokes into print
To this end he has collected a large ref
erence library and. when he is not en-
gagged in his bread-and-butter work he is
pretty sure 70 be found working on his