The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-03-18
HAL
BOYLE
20
SAYS
BY Hal BOYLE

NEW YORK R--IS the belly
laugh getting old-fashicled2
b One way to judge people is
st0 read what they laugh at. And
there are some who believe the
american sense OF hunlor is going
d0wnhill.
1 Many professional comedians
complain the nation is developing
an ulcer on its funnybone.
People are too tense" they say.
"People won't take the kidding
they used 10. They don't like to
laugh at themselves any more.
y An antidote To this trend in
tense political year is provided by
Editor Donald Day in book OF
selectionssfrom Will Rogers called
1''II0w We Elect or Presidents. ?
.It.is handy little guidebook back
IN sanity for both candidates and
slsiers who lake themselves too Sc
ri0Hsly
Looking back at these many
years after his death on an Alaskan
tundra, the humor of the gum
chewing cowboy still stands up
well. But the cutting quality of his
qnips stands out more clearly now
that the grin that went with them
is buried. Will drew his lariat
moose tight on a Ii. of nonsense
in his time that needed strangling.
One wonders whether the states
men i0f today could hold their tenn
pers il they were the targets OF his
artful tosss. Would the yhave held
still for Rogers, who wrote.
Amt it funny how many hun
dreds of thousands Of soldiers I'VE
can recruit with nerve? But we
just cant find one politician in a
million with backbone. .
Nominating himself for vice pres.
ident in 1874. Will said.
Another big reason why /
should be nominated is | am not
Democrat. Another still bigger
reason why should be nominated
is | am not a Republican. am
just progressive enough to suit the
dissatisfied. 9nd lazy enough to be
a stand patter. :
viii Rogers loved the circus at
mospherc Of political conventions
and described politics as ..the best
show in America.
Il love animals and l love poll
ticians, and | like to watch both
Of 'em play either back home in
their native state or after they
have been captured and sent to a
zoo CT to Washington"
Here are a few of his more re-
membera' lie remarks, some oI
them as seasonablc as ever:
"0hio claims they are due a
president as they haven't had one
since Taft. Look at the United
States, they haven't had one since
Lincoln. !"
Corruption has supplanted the
ariff as a national issue. It's
hard to get pcople To Deiieve !.
thing as corruption when it's some.
thing that has always been going
on...lt's like the poor, it's always
been with us.
"The more you read and oh
serve about this politics thing, you
got TO admit that each party is
worse than the other. The one
that's out always looks the best"
The Democrats take the whole
thing as joke and the Republ.
cans take il serious and run II
like a joke. So there's not much
difference.
Harding is sending out his |
speeches on the photograph. Well. |
MS public will have one consola- |
lion a record when dropped !
freaks easily"
with me was when
laowned nothing and paid no in. |
come tax. = 'f
What would Will have thought Of |
teleyision? Well, he wrote.
PERSONALLY. | think the camera
has dane more harm for politics
than any other one faction. Ev. I
erybody would rather get their
pictures in the paper than their
IDEAS. What does the platform OF
4 political party amount to com.
pared with a photograph?
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