Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-04-28

HE sense of humor Is found in
strange places and in men In
whom it would be least ex-
d pected. When Shagbark Jones,
In the houseboat Euripides. with Black
Pete. the big negro Grew, ana or-
Iando, the dried-up little cook. and
Alice, the daughter of the hairy Ola
medicine faker. arrived at the levee
at Meotock, Ia, the town was still
chuckling over the card HinJin &
Horth, the jewelers.. had placed In their
window the morning after the burglary.
The burglar-it was known he was
Sims Tudd-had broken into the store
through a barred rear window, and he
had had practically the entire night for
his work. He was an amateur, and the
safe in which Hinjin & Horth placed
all their valuable stock every night
was an imposing affair: but Sims Tudd
working patiently-had, opened 1t
and taken its entire contents-$2O.O00
worth of jewelry and unset river
pearls.
Hinjin (the Mississippi valley is full
Of strange names) was seemingly the
most serious and unhumorous Of men.
unless Horth, his partner. be excepted.
Hinjin was tall and lank, and sad OF
countenance. He looked as one sup
poses an undertaken should look; but
nndertakers often are plump and jolly.
Hinjin was the saddest-looking man in
Meotock. Horth. on the contrary. was
short and solemn. His fatfaced SOL
emnity had stupid habbiness that
yoI g.
trate him. Hinjin was the sort OF
man you would have sworn would not
Joke, and Horth was the sort you would
have taken oath could not joke. None
the less, within two hours after the
burglary was discovered they put in
their window a card:
CONUNpRUM
When il a safe not a safe"
IS reward for the correct answer.
HINJIN & HORTH.
The loss Of $4,000 was a severe one to
sense Of humor The two men had been
in business together thirty years-Hinjin
usually waiting on customers, and Horth
at the low shelf Of the window. his watch
ding rings or manipulating the innards
Of watches. They had accumulated goodly
fortunes They had accumulated also
reputation for humor.
the city laborers had scraped the mud Of
Main street into piles. but had not re-
moved it for week. and Horth daubed
sign-Pike's Peak-and stuck 1t on top
Of tho especially large pile of mud before
their shop. In an hour every merchant
on Main street had a sign-Mount Ever
est Mount Washington or the like-on
the pile of mud before his establishment.
That night the city laborers worked until
midnight. but the mud heaps were re-
moved. and Hinjin & Horth had won fame
az humorists.
In those days there was a particularly
hideous woodcut kept in stock by nearly
every American newspaper for the use Of
advertisers. 1t bore the words And don't
you forget it," and showed an extremely
tall man. bent at right angle over an
exceedingly short. fat man. laying down
the law to the latter with a raised fist.
with which he was always about to strike
the palm Of his left hand. To Hinjin &
Horth this cut seemed excruciatingly
funny. The first time ths<' saw it Hinjin
actually smiled and Horth chuckled this
was equivalent to roars Of laughter from
other men,
YOU" said Hin,in. pointing to the fat
You" said Horth. pointing to the tall.
thin man.
They bought the cut outright from the
nsw;psp.r and D. use; ed it to head their ad
town. with "Hinjin 4 Horth" underneath.
followed BY whatever message they wished
to give the public. 1t added greatly to
their popularity; 1t was considered
good Joke. And it was good advertising
1t had personality. Hinjin & Horth had
a stencil made and had the "Dont-you-
forSet-it" men daubed on fences and
barns
For years Hinjin & Horth used the
fat man and the thin man to advertise
themselves. Today you may see the
large tin posters they finally used
tackled to trees. barns and fences for
miles around Meotock. and here and
fi.ere the roads in Illin0iS