The Washington times., 1932-01-28

it is interesting to that they not only exist but
play to average of patrons at any given time
Practically Saloons
The hachetng of half dozen speakeases in New
York was considered blow at the carriage trade. It
is quite true that speakeasies have ourshed to such
a point that some of them practically ndistin
gushable from restaurants with lots of modern furn
ture most of not good modern and Cupds Venuses
holding electric light bulbs and high stools and good
food. These the experts say, to be more; the
speakeasy is going to smaller permanent in
vestment-it will become simple the Odtlme saloon
predict that the price of liquor will not go down.
Jiggs and Maggie
The twentieth anniversary of the marriage of Jiggs
and Maggie has just been celebrated It at the time
of their tenth anniversary that the comic strip be-
ginning to be "dscovered as the always betn phrase
has it) and Bringing Up Father and Krazy Kat were
believe the first to be seriously considered by the
critics. They are, of course representatives of the two
extremes of the comic strip Krazy being entirely fam
tastic Jggs realistic Being curious about my past
I turned up the page had written about Bringing Up
Father in 1924 and found that had devoted most of
it to quoting from and dsagreeing with another critic
Social History
Mr.. Harold E. Stearns before he shook the dust of
this country from his heels had written that Bringing
Up Father would "repay the social historian for all
the attention he gives it. And he added that this strip
"symbozes better than most of appreciate the normal
relation of American and women to cultural and in
teectual values It's very groesqueness and vugarity
revealing" And what | wanted to know then and
still anxious to discover from the social historians
is whether Jggs is vulgar because he prefers Dntys
cafe to Swami's lecture Mrs. Jiggs is vulgar for
preferrng a piano recital to corn-beef and cabbage
Hard-Hearted Jiggs
For the anniversary drawing George McManus showed
the Jiggs home overowing with gifts of china showed
Jggs trying to stack of plates from the bed
because he didn't want to sleep in soup pate showed
the crash which inevitably followed and Maggie pitching
whole dinner sets at Jiggs who hiding behind chair
begs her. Please cup fer coffee in the morning"
The touch of humor at the end is what the social his
torian misses What he sees and is quite right in en-
phasizng is that Jggs and Maggie real characters
They haven't changed much in 20 years. except that they
have grown wealthy; they stick to their guns Maggie
still curries favor with the right people, but when some
at the anniversary banquet, says Jiggs g" SUD-
pose you'd like to live it all again." he onlv an
swers "Now who gave you a thought like that?"
Real Characters
- Compare Bringing Up Father with the sentimental
magazine story hand and the sour novel of
domestic disaccord the other and you will see the
source OF Jiggs popularity. People used to protest
against the violence of the comic strip just as hey COM
planned of the flying custard pies in the keystone
comics; they were the very people who would chatter
for hours about symbols" in poetry and fiction and
grand opera The violence of the comic strip is exactlv
right because it exactly expresses the emotions of the
charactersand they characters who do not conceal
their emotions, but act them. That is one of the
reasons we love them And it is also notable that the
comic strip has given heroes as the dime novel did
and as the movie since forgot the Keystoners has not
nRHnHI1hIIT1nRI IN