The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-06-30
ON SECOND THOUGHT
By JAY E. HOUSE.
tFrom Philadelphia Public Ledser.)

We purpose yielding not single
proud tail feather to w. H. M. who
directs our attention to the fact that
SO long ago as March 22, 1919. Sam
Blythe picked Harding as the logical
candidates of the Republican party.
Sam gets paid for picking EN-; we dc
1t for nothing. Voluntary service sell
dom is SO accurate or farseeing as that
which is bought and paid for.
In other words. no amateur is as
good as a professional. When a man
is sufficiently qualified to perform as
a professional he becomes one.
However. since w. H. NJ. has paved
the way for it, we seize the occasion
to expose the Sam Blythe hoax sam
Blythe is myth; there is no such per-
son. Years ago, perhaps as early as
1906 or 1907. we had letter purport-
ing to come from gentleman named
Sam Blythe. There followed desul-
tory correspondence extending over a
period eff several years. A messenger
boy once routed us from a we'll earned
hour of repose to receipt for a tele-
gram signed Sam Blythe" But in
all the years that have come and gone
we have never met anybody who knew
Blythe or who could point him out to
US.
| In the Republican convention of
| 1912 there was, just across the aisle
from where we sat, a seat accredited
to Sam Blythe, but no such person
ever appeared to claim it. In the
Democratic convention of 1916 we sat
| just behind the seat assigned to Sam
Blythe but it was not occupied at any
/ time during the convention. In every
great gathering which we have been
unfortunate enough to attend in the
| ten years last past we have begged our
| friends to show us Sam Blythe. Al
the recent Chicago convention we in
which lasted from Sunday morning
until Saturday night, but without
avail. And yet stuff purporting te
have been written by him, appeared
every day in the newspapers!
We do not know who writes tbs
clever stuff for which Mr.. Blythe i:
given credit, but we are convinced
there is no such person. Mr.. Blythe
is a myth.
! But, Ooutside of That
Sir-I find you petty and superficial
right along. In conducting the column
you lose the idea of the column al
together. Its chief purpose should bt
to provide a homely and sympathetic
sort of humor for readers, to feel FOL
their hearts and soothe them in thu
/ InlQSL OIL Ln6lT WOTI1eS. WD6I 40 w
find in your column? Day after da,
it is nothing but personal abuse ant
! criticism, certainly not of the bes
| type. You seem to have a chip oil
your shoulder and be standing il
eyerybodys way. Your humor need
humorine. Understanding as 1 do tn
hardships of a writer who has to dil
up humorous bits every day, 1 would
not mind if the humor were worn GU
or in traces. But when all you do i
to show animosity in your common
place and self-satisfied manner 1 ma
| turally revolt. Your criticisms ar
1 mere platitudes and all you requir
to write them is a typewriter. In al
otherwise sedate newspaper it woult
not be out of place to have a humor
| Gus column-but I said humorous.
The Public-Ledger made a mistake
in hiring you. ISAAC FIYELI.
Mr.. FiveH assumes we are endeavor
ing to write a humorous column. w
are curious as to his authority TO
the statement. We don't recall havinl
said anything to that effect.
As to the idea of making the column
more humorous what as an instance
does Mr.. Fivell suggest? We've beer
writing a column a little less thai
twenty years. We don't know mucl
about it yet.
What more can / say?" asks MI
McAdoo. Well, he hasn't said h
wouldn't take it. He could say that.
But he won't.
In so far as his alleged offens
against his country is concerned, Hon
Dempsey has been exculpated at tn
hands of a jury. But the charge tina
he wears patent-leather shoes in tn
forenoon still hangs over him.
While the Declaration of Independ
ence generally is credited with tina
surprising performance, it was Messrs
Smith & Wesson and the other manu-
! facturers of small arms who mad
men equal.
The New York writer who cenfesse
his Familiarity with the West ends a
Pittsburgh may take it from us tina
he has yet to see the best part of it
No man can know the West, or reall,
appreciate it, until he has seen Beaver