The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-02-15
Something About the
 Men Who Make You Smile
The New Crop of Humorists of the Year 1920 and Few Original Reflections, by One of Them
 Professional Jokesmiths
nr rHnMAs U. MAssoN

constantly asked to analyze humor, vel
 this is something that no one has yet
 been able to do successfully. Geogra-
 phy has a lot to do with it in a way
 We have all glanced at the fun" of the
 coming papers of Europe. It seems in
 conceivable that it can make people
 laugh; it is certain that it doesn't cause
 a yank to smile. This was illustrated
 many years ago by Mark Twain when
 he described pompous and silly tour
 ist striding out of hotel in the Orient
 to mount A demure and diminutive
 jackass. The fat tourish with. wild
 west flourish sprang upward and east
 ward for the saddle with such fore
 that he shot clea rover the donkey,
 back and went sprawling on the sane
 on the other side. The American.
 roared with delight, but the Oriental
 gave a tender grunt of sympathy ant
 picked the tourist up. So. you see,
 depends on where the American trie;
 to be funny At home is the best place
 America is about the only countr.
 where the humorists arc professionals
 exist as class by themselves aho
 have no means of support. Occasion
 ally they break away from their ex.
 elusive occupation and become other
 things. George Ade, from the purveyo of remarkables fables which established
 his reputation as a professional hu.
 morist of the first class. blossomet
 into the architect of delightful comb
 operas Peter Dunne has abandoned Mir. Dooley for the editorial chair though it is pleasure to announce tha a new Dooley book is on the way. Eu gene Field was professional humor f ist; but he was also poet and so wal Whitcomb Riley. But these are the ex' captions. long line of professions humorists have stuck resolutely tt their lasts.
 These include writers from Samue' Halliburton to George Fitch. Among them were Petroleum V. Nasby, whom 1 Lincoln delighted to read; Artemus I Ward. J. NJ Bailey, Stanley V. Huntley Bill Nye, Eli Perkins, M. Quad, Phi Walsh, and many lesser lights, whe achieved no other reputation except a. l professional humorists. They Wer. 1 Americans and humor was their stoci in trade They did nothing else. Now in English literature you will note tha'
 the humor is incidental. Shakespeare was humorist but he was also | Shakespeare; Dickens as great mas ter of fiction also threw off enough bumor. to make a doben porfessiona humorists. De Maurier left a reputa- tion as a novelist and artist that to- 1 tally eciipsed the fact that he onc' wrote Jokes for Punch. AS rule the writers who in many generations ol lunch have enhanced it's literary work Thackery being the most notable ex-
 ample.
 The newspaper daily humorous column now usually spelled 'colyum,' is an ex- elusive product of this country, out or | hundred million souls about hai1' a ct ing a column of this sort every day ana tbis has had the result of starting news paper writers turning out these columns in countless hundreds and thousands ol papers through the country. It sl drears stuff when produced this way. It mas pe- come evident that a man to sustain 2 column of humor day must De llueeu a man of parts. And 1t is work or the most exhausting kind. The only success fnI "column conductors" as they like to call themselves with very attractive modesty, are workingmen in very truth
 They go to their newspaper offices ana l literally work like slaves for ten ano l twelve hours a day. The drain is severe | and persistent Only the little handtui oi l persistent workers win.
 | In our more recent history thls typo graphical fountain of mlrth was pc | 1iava first originated by Bill Wye in the | Laramie BOOInefdilSs IooS i'SAA was undoubtedly the fountain head. Ills almanac set the pace, and nthe lone | line of his successors none had equaieo lh,m. The necessity for specialization forced upon us by the compiexity ol modern life, makes it impossible for oul professional humorists to become any 1 thing else And in their chosen field they perform an admirable service.
 | Professional humor- is in realty no humor at all-nor intended to be. To giv' ! definition of humor is not my presen purpose. I am much too wary for that
 Many writers from Cero to Bergson have tried it and failed. It is enough tt 1 say that what most educated people | recognize as being humor is not alway' the sort of thing served up to the puoii' by the so-called professional humorlsts IL is something peculiar to American lie 1 growing out of the soil and which Il l Mark Twain reached it's highest expres | sion. Of course MT. Clemens was gen l uine humorist, but being greater than hl environment, he rose above it into th'
 universal; for a certain proportion Of hi work is sure to take it's place with th' immortals.
 With certain exceptions and mitiga