The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1916-02-05
mark TWAIN" said Thomas
DAILY. was not a humorist.


The poet who discovered the liter
airy value of the Italian immigrant was
sitting on the porch of his German.
town home, not far from the pleasant
shadows of Wister Wood. We were
discussing American humor-what it
is and what it is not.
Our humor," said Mr.. DAILY, lis
considered by some critics to be a
thing based on surprise and horrible
exaggeration. That is an idea for
which Mark Twain and other writer's
of his sort are responsible.
Il object very much to having this
coarse, violent sort of fun called char
acteristic American humor. Mark
Twain, Josh Billings, the Danbury
News Man; Philander X. Doesticks-
these people formed school of slap
stick and seltzer-bottle humor before
seltzer-bottles were invented. They
were the Charlie Chaplins of their
time"
would you class Artemus Ward
with these people?" asked.
0"Not at ALL" said Mr.. DAILY. "Arte
mus Wards work does not depend on
vulgarity and violence for its effect
Artemus Ward was much greater
humorist than Mark Twain. In fact
Mark Twain really was not humorist
at all.
Il. cannot separate Mark Twain's
humor from that story of his about
the corpse and the limburger cheese
that at any rate, you must be quite
sure he is dead story. And I don't
like to have a man who could write
such story as that called a represen
tative American humorists."
What great humorists, beside Arte
mus Ward, has America produced?"
asked.
Dunno the Greatest Of All.
WELL" said Mr.. DAILY, II believe
that Finley Peter Dunno is the creates
of all American humorists. E., S
Martin Is great humorist, his essays
are full of keen observation ant
shrewd wit. And admire greatly thu
work of the late James jeffrey Roche.
James Jeffrey Roche and Finle,
Peter Dunne," said. Then the bes
American humor is Of Irish descent?'
Mr.. DAILY laughed. American
humor," he said, "is a mixture, {
blending of the humor of the man,
races that have populated this cont
nent. And it changes, as the country
develops and the people change; it il
not stationary through the centuries
like English humor. And of the mix
ture that makes up American humol
60 per cent. is Celtic.
What, for example, have the Ger
mans contributed to American humor
People may say, Hans Breitmann'-
but the Hans Breitmann ballads hav,
not contributed to American humol
in the slightest degree. Charles God
frey Leland wrote many things more
WOAIAy VI p1SoSA SdtAOu Iudu IAo 11dAl'
Breitmann ballads-'El Captain Gen
eral, for instance.
Nov, l don't want to give the i'm
preston that think American humo
is purely Irish. There are goot
many dull Irishmen; l know lot o
them. But here is one absolute fact
| Ay1,o + TO
Highest Form Of Humor.
81 hate the term Ango-Saxon, any
} way And certainly it is ridiculous t.
apply it to American humor. 1 thinl
of all the nations that have mad'
their contributions to civilization
How could our humor be Anglo-Saxon
There is the wit of the French, fo
instance; that certainly has played it,
part in the development of our sens,
of humor. The French wit pierces, i
is like rapier.
But the Irish wit is like the fiasl
of sunlight on the rapfer's blade. l
menaces, but it seldom harms.
And this is true of the highes
form of modern American humor.
is true of the chronicles of the i'm
mortal Mr.. Dooley. Finley Pete
Dunne does not need to club a foible
he merely makes his blade flash owe
it. So he has the reputation of being
kindly humorist, when as matter O
fact his delicate satire is most effec
tive weapon"
How" asked, Would you define
American humor?"
Il cannot define it," said Mr.. DAILY
"but it might be typfied as the oh
servant idler on the street corner who
laughs, but with kindly eyes, at the
blunders of the newly arrived immi
grant, but is quick to direct him te
the place where he can take out his
first papers,"
Irving TypicaIIy American.
Il don't suppose" he said, placing
his hand on a fat brown volume, "that
you'd call Charles Brockton Browne 8
humorist. And certainly there is nc
humor in Cooper. But Washington
Irving was humorist. He was typi
cally American, too. a shrewd and
kindly observer of the way in which
l