Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-01-13
Hoppe Jury Requires Three
Ballots and Thorough
Discussion of Principles
of Limerick Writing
Miss Dorothy Gerson Fin
ally Wins after Most
Careful Consideration of
Many Good Competing
Lines

Lines
The limpin' lin rick award announced
today was made by mixed jury Oi
employees Of {. j. Hoppe & Son, 11i7
Chestnut street. A photograph Of them
will be found on the back page.
Tomorrow we will announce the
award made by the jury picked from the
audience Of the Orpheum Theatre, Ger.
mantown, on Wednesday night.
That young lady in Wayne who
couldn't keep away from the movies
certainly did stir you fans up. And, in
turn, you sure tied the Lim'ric Editor
in knots.
We never had such a tangle to un-
tangle. Ninety nine out of every hun
dred fans sent in last lines composed
almost entirely Of puns on the names
of we'll known movie actorines and such
job as we had to decide among 'em
Probably the story of our struggles
and the basis on which we came to our
conclusions will give the fans lot of
information that will help them in fu-
ture contests. So here goes:
First, of course, we eliminated those
which had incorrect rhyme and rhythm:
Many fans tried to make Wayne and
"refrain'' rhyme with game"
dame" blame and other words with
IN" in them instead of n Obviously
that is wrong
Then othcrs-and it is well to bring
out this point-made their last line
rhyme with the third and fourth lines
of the verse. This is always wrong.
The last line must rhyme with the
first and second.
More than half of the answers were
thrown out Immediately because they
contained too many syllables. The last
line must have the same number OF
"feet" as the first and second. The
tendency Of most contestants seems to
be to make the line too long-to crowd
too many syllablcs into it. Others make
il too short.
See that your last line has the same
swing, or rhythm, as the first and sec
ond
After this, there is another test to
apply to limerick. Does it read with
a good, free swing? :.
To make this test, read your line
aloud. II you find II hard to pro-
youl phho
tongue twisters that make you halt IN
reading tit is probably not good
limerick line.
Must Carry Out Idea
A very important consideration is,
"Does the last line carry out the ldea
of the first four?" 1t was on TINS
consideration that the Hoppe 3uGasess 3uGdsess,
on the third ballot, made today 8
.u.o,J Tho winner
MISS DOROTHY G. GERsON,
3413 Race street,
Teacher; Sartain School
Miss Gerson's line contained two
very clever puns, but so did several
other lines. The final test was as to
how we'll the lines carry out the idea
laid down in the first four lines ana
on this Miss Gerson won. Her COM
pleted limerick was:
Limerick No. %
There is q young lady in Wdyne.
Who from movies can never re1rdm'
She goes night and day,
And the doctors all say
"Her trouble is heart and ptonin1He"
(Hart and Tom Meighdn).
Now. in order to make these distinc-
tions perfectly clear, we'll print the
other lines submitted to the jury, mum
ber them and tell you just how the
voting went. Miss Gersons hne, on
the ballot, was No. 0. The others
were:
No. THAT her heart Moran and
Moore shows the strain-William D
Savage, Room 544, 1421 Arch street.
No. 2-It's a reel cinema (real sin
her maj don't complain-Arthur Hop
kins, 3027 North Bonsall street:
No. 3-From readin' Reid in) the
films. she's Ince ane-Mrs. Is. H.
Reeves, 1888 Spruce street.
No. 4-Lyttell Sweet = Hart, you Bara
reel strain-John Il. SWAIN, ofo N"rth
| Fifty sixth street.
10. st Is brain storm-a Gall
raising Kane-Ernest II. Peterman,
Main street, Spring City, Pa, and
Jefferson Medical College.
No, 8-She can't live on serials
(cereals(. that's playin' (plainJ-
| Charles Vesper, AIS Cherry street,
10. THAT'S all right, she's an
usher-quite sane--John Iarouck' -ll4
West Estaugh street: I'm ,o. ,1
No, S-SOme night she'll forget and
she'll stay in.-Clara A. Kelsey, 80
Mechanic street. Camden.
No. lO-The pictures film. mania
(aII many az girls brain:-Anna n
schlittIer, Philadelphia Electric Co.,
1000 Chestnut street.
No. 11-Her Hart's. Murmring,
'Doug's Mary'cd again - Emma
GicrSch, % Warner avenue, Bryn
Mawr.
These eleven lines were picked out
by US as being the most representative
among all those sent in. In making our
choice, we try to get each thought, or
idea at least one chance on the ballot.
For instance, several contestants used
the general idea of No. 2--the word
''cinema" used as pun on sin her
ma" We went over all of these cure
fully until We had eliminated all but
this one and
It's a cinema (sin her ma can't
make her stay in-Winifred NJ. Lang
don. 2917 Poplar street.
Finally, between these two, we gave
the preference to No. 2 because it con e
tained the added pun reel. Incl
: dentalIy, we hated TO exclude Miss
Lnngdon, because we remembered her
: as one of the jury OF girls at the y. y.
White Dental Manufacturing Co. who
decided one of our limeriCks for u.s.
and anybody who wants to know what
we think of these girls has only to look
back in the files Of this paper-or watch
l us walk slowly past there in the evening
hoping TO see one of 'em come out.
: It is in this same way that We try tC
G find one representative Of each sep
arate thought. so If you fans see, among
the ten or more submitted to the jury, Q
line almost exactly like one you sent in
don't think you are being overlooked
because yours is not there. This ex'