The sun., 1918-07-04
JERE O'LEARY POEM
BREAKS OUT OF JAIL
Tombs Warden Chascs and
Gives 1t Rhythmic
Drubbing.
STEEL BARS LIBELLED
Oratorical Halter Of Albion
Promises Another Prison
Delivery.

oratorically annihilated the entire Brit
ish Empire nightly and therefore. 1t goes
without saying. even tackled the mightier
lob OF trying to raise chickens success
fully, went the limit yesterday and
broke out into poetry.
In writing his verses Poet O'Leary
employed-whether OF his own volition
or under pressure could not be learned
last night--the language OF dear old
England. Poet o'Leary turned out five
stanzas in all before calling II day.
thus making the poem he emitted I'm
measurably shorter than Oscar Wilde's
Ballad of Reading Gaol," but quantita-
lively, perhaps even qualitatively. far
superior to that other great classic OF
American calaboose life that runs:
1t was Christmas in the workhou,., 70,
And the prisoners all were there we
All eating OF their whites
And partakinE of their fare;
And the warden Whose appoin tment
was obtained through John MoCooey)
Holiered. Merry Christmas. prisoners;.",
But they merely grunted, blooey'
Copies Harrington Model.
In rhyme and rhythm Poet o'Leary
has taken as a model for his outburst
the lovely ballad by Newton Booth
Harrington entitled 'IThey Were Trying
A Old Lady For The Stealing OF A
Horse" which Moot wrote with his own
tears away back in his moro carefree
days-or nights-on the note paper
which Restaurateur Jack Dunstan sup
plies freely even now to Benjamin De
,Casseres and all other patrons Of Jacks
Battling Nelson Grill who can write.
There are exactly the same number
Of lines in Poet O'Leary's effort as in
the ballad by the vocally less fruitful
Moot Harrington of indianapolis and the
Lambs Club but in the matter OF titles
Poet O'Leary. unlike Moot, avoids the
language Of jolly old England as much
as possible. Poet O'Leary. In fact uses
cia,,en less English words than Moot con-
corentng himself merely with calling his
hsta,oem THE Tombs." Evidently, to Judge
nanL = the last two lines of Poet O'Leary
eat ballad. only an admirable sense
aesthetic repression restrained him
IN the obvious temptation to call his
~ oem Home Was Never Like This"
THE Tombs' shows TIE influence OF
modern realism. the poet even going SO
far--as may be seen by reading the
fourth line-as to get in touch with the
carpenter, or steam filter. or whoever II
is that builds the various Tombs apart
ments, In order II at the exact dimensions
of the cells. s feet by 10. may be rhyth-
mically wedged into the poem.
O'Leary Needed Il.
But, as Matthew Arnold pointed out
long ago. realism may at times, as the
mighty British critic put 1t, become so
great an obsession that the aesthetic who
pursues 1t too far is liable to fall right
down on his own foolish face" Doubt
less Mr.. o Leary needed the line Hold
- rlNx h
Ills gracefully beautiful line "In quar-
ters eight by ten"-a line. 1t may be
said in pa ssing more POLITICALLY lovely
than anything struck off by an EngIst,
poet since Tennyson's ravishlng rhythm
that ran "a clergyman. a Mr.. Carpen-
ter" or Spiffington or Mulligan. or what
ever the clergyman's name was.
But right in II at line away up at the
top of his poem that runs Hold fast a
thousand men" Poet OLeary's frantic
reaching for realism goes all gafooey.
Several reporters (who, as every local
Sim Fein orator knows. are all bought
and bound by dirty British gold") sub
mitted the line to the test by calling up
Warden Hanley OF the Tombs.
TIE O'Leary poem says Ike this
Warden" cried the spokesman for the
reporters after finding an American
nickel for the slot phone call among a
pocketful of English gold coins which
the reporter. as usual had received after
breakfast from a Sassenach agent OF
perfdious Albion. who pays tie report
ers every day so that they will keep all
pro-German stun out Of their writings
"This here. now. poem by Jerry reads as
follows in the first verse;
City of cells. whose iron doors
Hold fast a -
Iron stun a Misht.
'Iron?" interrupted the warden, or
whoever 1t was answering the Tombe
telephone where does he get thai
iron stuff? These doors up here ara
steel bars. one by one-quarter and
welded at intervals of -"
"Oh, ell right. warden" cried the re.
porter impatlently jingling a poclIetfu
OF dirty British sovereigns left over from
the bride money generally distributed
among all reporters during the noon dis.
tribution of Tuesday. But can the criti.
cism until l spiel the whole first chunk
OF the poem. Lissen: