New-York tribune., 1910-11-13

NnlCn lament none 1Ol1leQ more loudly
or sincerely than editors, publishers,
managing and assistant editors. and
readers of the fifty or more magazines
whose ten million copies each month
supply the reading public of the
country with the major part OF its
light literature Not one of these
purVeyors of literature that does not
profess himself anXiOuSabove all things
to secure good line of high class
original wit; not one that does not
read eagerly and hopefully the first
page, if not more, of every manuscript
bearing the most distant resemblance
to humor that comes his way; not
one that does not live on from day to
day, buoycd up by the hope of dis
covering a new Mark Twain in some
unexpected place.
They are all very much in earnest
too, these dealers in letters, and |
am quite willing to admit that they
know their business, especially when
| consider the enormous sales of their
periodicals, but the fact remains that
during the last quarter of a century
not one of them has developed a
humorist of the first rank, while the
daily press of the country, although
unable to offer anything like the COM
pcnsation or the fame that may be
obtained from magazines, has given
us all our fun makers.
1t is true that a humoriSt has no
sooner proved his quality in the
columns of the paper of his town than
he Is flooded with invitations to con-
tribute to magazines; but it is always
newspaper editors who discover him
first.
Artemus Ward was a newspaper
writer in Cleveland, Ohio, long before
he came east to take charge of ''Vanitv
Far and win international fame.
Bill Nyc was also a newspaper writer,
and remained one, as the author of
weekly syndicate letter, until the day
of his death. Eugene Field made his
reputationtirsti in St. Louis and Denver
papers and then on the Chicago press,
as did Peter Dunno, George AIDE, and
that rare and original artist and writer,
John /. AlCCutCheOn, whose Bird
Center, first published in The
Chicago Record-Herald, is one of the
finest examples OF gentle, native humor
that this country has produced. ScWcll
Ford, whose inimitablc Shorty Me
Cabc and .Torchy stories put all
your readers into good humor every
Sunday morning in the year, is another
graduate from neWSpaperdom, | am
told. George 7. Lanigan, the latter
day -Esop, was on the night desk in
The New York World " office when
the cablegram announcing the death Of
the Ahkoond of Swat was announced.
1t was in the columns of that paper
that his fables were originally printed.
Frank K. Stockton was a newspaper
writer before he went to st. Nicho-
las, and although Bret Harte first
made himself known as writer of
serious stories in the pages of The
Overland Monthly | am, sure that
his early humorous work was printed
IN newspapers. o. Henry and VIII and
Wallace Irwin also did their first work
Besides these there are scores of fo
writers, like Burdette of The Daily H
of " The Danbury News, Lewis of 4
Press, White of The Chicago Tribu
Hoyt of The Boston Post" each one
serves a niche in the Hall of Humorou.
Indeed, to give a list of graduates fro
daily papers would be to print dircc
humorlsts; for, with the exception q
Kelly, | know of no writer of humor wi
have sprung, armed cap-a-pie, from tn,
ern magazine, and am sure that. unlc,
some radical change in methods of mag