Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-11-13

fame. That is mere newspaper humor; nothing short
of what magazine editors call literary quality will
do
He has long wanted to write series of satircal essays
certain schools of modern fiction and his eye kndes
with enthusiasm as he outlines his scheme. He knows
what has been done in England by Bernard Shaw
H. Belloc, Max Beerbohm and others in the way of
intellectual SATIRE and is patriotic enough to believe
his heart what everyone of pretends to believe;
namely, that our own reading public is not less Guilt
waited and appreciave than that of England. Trained
in newspaper Office he is of conscious of the
value of timelness and he argues that with theme of
current national interest, he will succeed quite well
when writing in his newspaper, he confined him
self to the narrow limits of the town.
The editor listens to him attentvely and then shakes
refusal he says, I'm afraid Our Readers would
scarcely for that. You see, they seldom read
books, and they never care to read what is printed
about them We four pages of book chat some
years ago. and stopped because could find that
anybody really liked it. Go with your suggestions
What! Rdicule society and social snobbery? My dear
minute! They're all crazy about society, and great
many of them actually have friends in the Four Hun
dred. No! What we want is satire that does not run
contrary to the popular taste"
Like others of his class, this editor does not know
what known in "The Atlantic Monthly Office
forty years ago. that wit and wisdom almost synon
ymous terms and that satire must against the
rent and not merely float along with the sluggish mental
tide that call public opinion or it will be absolutely
worthless.
After the visitor has exhausted his list of intellectual
themes the editor propounds what he thinks idea
and what have no doubt is an idea, because at
least twenty editors have suggested precisely the
thing to me since the Dooley papers became popular
What think you could do, says the editor, speak
ing solemnly and after the manner of who be-
holds vision trance, is to character
German, perhaps, or negro, Swedish, -anyhng but
Irsh that's been little overdone lately,-and write
about all sorts of topics in dialect that will be easy to
read and understand
"How would it do, says the humorst after mo-
ments reflection to start off with something about the
big strike? That's sure to last six months longer at
least.
Don't touch that strike says the editor warningly
eve can't handle any such topics the labor union,
religion, politics, or anything like that. Some of
Our Readers would be sure to take oense And be
full what you say about any of the big of the
try, except Rockefeller and Carnegie. You might say
something funny about Carnegie starting libraries or
Rockefeller being able to grease his way through Europe
but be very good natured about it. Our Readers
very good natured lot
"They must be-, remarks the humorist with some
acerbty eff they'll stand for that comic automobile
story you printed two months ago."
"That hit them Just right, says the editor cheer
fully "And do you know, laughed myself sick when
read the manuscript! Don't you think it was funny
where he crawed under the machine and out with
oil dripping from him. Why, we got pretty thou
sand letters from Our Readers asking for stories
of that sort!"
The young writer returns to his native city much
cast down in spirit, but determined to make final
effort to reach those readers who dom care for anything
about books politics religion, who unable to
appreciate any form of humor that of physical
catastrophe, who camor for school of satrca writ
ing that praises everybody and everything and
able to contain themselves for JOY when they upon
the fossil remains of old joke clothed in modern
dress and exposed the highly coated pages of
a magazine
Betsy Mkweed to Life Again
MEANWHILE, in the quiet of the pretty country
A~A home that he has earned with his pen humorist
of quite another school is busy with his winters work