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The Commoner
; , VOL. 15, NO. 9
30
i
Personal Glimpses of George Fitch,
Humorist
From Tho Literary Digest.
"A bit of old earth's salt, too soon
dissolved, and never to bo replaced.
Poaco to his luminous spirit!" Thus
Bort Taylor, paragrapher of the Chi
cago Trlbuno pays tribute to George
Fitch, of "Homoburg" and "Siwash"
an American humorist, whom, all
sopm agreed, wo could ill afford to
lose, and whoso death, on August 9,
has left grieving a host of his admir
ing readers., Gcorgo Fitch never
enjoyed quite the prominenco of Fin-
Inv Potnr Ilimnn nnrl Onnrcro Ado. and
vnt mniiv mucin nnnfllflnmrt him the ! something to make the world better
- . . ' . . m.
the productions of American humor
ists. In the stories about the char
acters and doing of a little town
typical of thousands of others ho
was agar'at his best. They have an
under-current of reality and a sug
gestion of universality that make
them really worth while.
"As a citizen George Fitch had
convictions and tired to live up to
them. His brief political career il
lustrated the familiar fact that a
genuine gift of humor is seldom
found apart from a real desire to do
peer of any living humorist. These
as well as brighter. It was not given
,.,. nnt,imr.ni.ni.iaa np hin htnc'cnmoH to him to become the scourge of
forth a decado earlier than he, and; wanness and pettiness and other
that fact perhaps accounts for theirlbad qualities, as some great humor
far wider recognition; for the lnst'ts have been. But the will was
decade of American humor has been : there to help and serve as well as
a Wind nf runic luxuriance, in which amuse, and this will found its ex-
no norfect flower could reign 8u-j Pressioir In uis political affiliations."
preme. iew popular magazines oi
tho present ,day are complete without
their tamo humorist, lurking some-really began, as a writer of "Tran
It was in Peoria that Mr. Fitch
was best known, for here his career
where in the back pages, making al
most painless tho reader's transition
from the dull, matter-of-fact reading
matter to the symposium of art and
wit comprised in the advertising
pages. Few newspapers wiU risk
publication without a liberal frosting
of humor, whether it be in the dig
nified vein of the old-style paragraph
ed the impertinences of the "column
ist," or tho slap-stick "comics." In
all this welter of mirth the quiet,
slow drollery of a George Fitch
passed unnoticed by many who might
have been its friends. But perhaps4
they will have another chance, for
there are many who believe that Mr.
Fitch's work will live. The Chicago
Herald (for which ho was for many
months a contributor) finds his great
est value 'for permanence in "a cer
tain democracy of humorous appeal
which strikes one as a typical product
of tho middle west." And o his
activities it remarks that
"It remained for him to discover
the humorous possibilities of the
small American college itself one of
the most widely disseminated and
typical of American institutions. And
the thousands who have laughed, not
without a touch of reminiscent
thoughtfulness, ,at his Siwash college
stories will feel they have lost an
old friend. For pure and infectious
fun his tales of the "Demon Motor
Boat" would be hard to match among
scripts" on the Peoria Herald-
Transcript. Thus it is only natural
to find the Peoria Journal declaring
that, despite his popularity as a hu
morist, his qualities as a man were
of vastly more importance. We
ICUUi '
'"George Fitch was above all an!'
hone3t man. His convictions were'
established only after deliberations,1'
but when he reached a conclusion
that a man or an institution deserved
either support or strenuous opposi
tion he was too honest to be changed
by minor circumstances. Naturally
gentle and friendly, he instilled this;
spirit into his writings except at the
times -when hio convictions told him'
than an evil should bo attacked j
and then he would fight this evil with1
tho weapons which were most effect-'
iVe.
"Thfi crreat. Iiiirrinrtaf-. xvna nrlmnrllv
serious as are all great humorists.
Ho was also well rounded as are a
few great humorists. 'His keen inJ
terest in the welfare of Peoria and
her institutions is well known. His
interest in stato and national polit-j
ics was evident. His information on
subjects of widely different character
was remarkable. His popular para-f
graphs, filled with wit and philos
ophy, did not prevent him from writ
ing serious articles and substantial
editorials. In fact, his famous liter
ary products include serious stories
ji
By WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
MESSAGES FOR TIIE TIMES ,
i'Jmo, boards; each, net, 35 c.
Pour eloquent and picturesquo deliverances by one oftho great masters
of English spqech. They aro lucid, suggestive, practical, and present a
real and accessible standard of both national and Individual living.
THE MESSAGE FROM DETIU,EIIEM
A plea for tho world-wide adoption of tho spirit of the angels' song
"Good-wi'l to Men." Tho context and import of this great principle haa
never been mbro understanding set forth. Net, 35c
THE ROYAli ART
A lucid exposition of Mr. Bryan's views concerning tho alma and ideals
of rightooun government. Net, 35c.
TOM MAKING OF A MAN . . . .
A faithful tracing of tho main lines to bo followed if tho crown of
manhood is to bo attained. Net, 35c.
THE PRINCE OF TEAOE
Mr. Bryan's famous locturo delivered ero now in tho hearing of tens of
thousands. In its present form it enters, on an enlarged sphere of win.
fulne&s. Net, 35c.
THE FRUITS OF THE TREE
"Either for tho rolnvigoratlon of tho faith of tho religious man or fn
the dissipation of tho doubts of tho Irreligious man, this llttlo volume Is
a document of power." Continent. Not, 35c. 13
Ncvr York Chicago
FLEMING n. REVELIj COMPANY,
Loadon and Edinburgh
Toronto
,-
and serious magazine articles, as
well as his more widely read humor
ous articles and sketches.
"To know George Fitch tho jour
nalist was not as inspiring as to know
Georgo Fitch tho man. Endowed by
his parents with honesty, industry,
and exceptional talent along widely
different lines, he developed character
and qualities which not only made
him a truly great man, but which
guaranteed his success in the field in
which he chose to work and for which
he was so peculiarly adapted."
His humor was not tho sort that
lends itself to quips and cranks and
like conceits. It was a slower s.ort,
to be consumed in generous portions
and leisurely fashion, rolled under
he tongue, clucked over. It is,
therefore, difficult to sample ade
quately; but a few. portions are sub
mitted by the Chicago Herald, culled
from the "vest-pocket essays" that
appeared for some time in that pa
per. A few of these follow, in the
form of observations upon a variety
of, subjects which, quite possibly, the
majority of us take altogether too
serioiisly. There is, for example, the
affinity of the hen and the advertiser,
expressed in terms' of duck-eggs:
"The duclc's one talent is swim
ming. It swims graceliy and easily
asf a life-preserver. Where the hen
would yell for help and drown, tho
duck floats gaily off, doing nine knots
an hour by paddling with its webbed
,feet. The duck lays an egg twice as
large as the hen's, but it is no sort
of a press-agent, -and the price of
duck-egg's is never quoted.
"Straw hats in December are not
,as out of date as a battle-ship by the
time it has been launched. It costs
$11,000,000, and is the most power
ful thing on earth except, perhaps, a
United States district judge. But the
nation which has just dug down for
it can't take any pleasure in it, be
cause the country next door has just
completed plans for a ship which will
make this one look as foolish as a
rowboat with a hoop-skirt for a tuf1
ret.
"After a good journeyman hater
has spent a few years on the job he
gets so much acid into his thoughts
that it eats large holes in his dispo
sition, and people begin to climb hast
ily for, the other side of the street
when they see him coming. Many a
man has hated himself out of a job,
out of his optimism, and out of his
friends, while the object of his hate
has gone on gaining weight and hap
piness each year.
"Hans Wagner is an old man, as
baseball players go, and has been
batting around Pittsburg for a good
many years. Sometimes he bats .400
and sometimes only .300, but he al
ways bats enough to make himself a
pest in New York, Chicago, and else
where. Wagneritis is a common and
very distressing disease among pitch
era. ,
"Getting mad consists of cutting
out the muffler and taking the hands
on tne steering-wheel mentally.
When a man gets mad he stops think
ing with his brain and turns the job
over to his fists and lungs. Then he
produces a mess of ideas as a child
produces art with a pail 6f red paint.
A bank account is not a thing of
beauty, but it is a very present help
in time of trouble. A bank-account
is an insulation between misfortune
and hunger, between no work and no
shoes, and between old age and the
poorhouse.
"A vegetarian is a nRrATi -mi -mm
not eat his fellow animals. It is easy
enough to be a vegetarian if you are
a European peasant. All you have to
do is to eat what you can get.
Comfort is an era of good feeling
on the part of the human body If
a man has comfort no part of his
body haa any complaint. His neck
feels as Rood tin m i,ni, !, cc
legsjeel as well satisfied as his di
gestive plant. .He is at peace win.
the world, and the man who tries o
pry him out of his armchair to mako
a speech before a political ward
meeting is as likely as not to be sued
for damages.
"Millions of golf-balls are made
each year in this country, but the
visible supply does not increase in
fact, there is nos visible supply of golf
balls. After a ball has gone into use
it is invisible most of the time. Some
day, thousands of years hence, arch
eologists, digging around the United
States, will find vast deposits of golf
balls in various spots. These spots
will represent the golf-courses of to
day. "There is much to be said on the
value of swimming. If a man knows
how to swim he mucb safer while on
the water in .steamers which are
equipped with cast-iron life-preservers.
When a man has traveled
a mile or more through cold water
by kicking his legs like a frog he be
comes overconfident, and some day
when ho is greatly in need of land lm
is unable to discover any except that
an;ectiy Beneath him.
"Bowling is the best-natured game
in the w;orld. The good nature in "
bowling comes (from the fact that
there is nothing to disnute over. Tho
game doesn't even need an umpire.
ttLiLei- a muu uua uuwiea ien games
with a total stranger the two are
life-long friends.
"A financier is a man who can
make $2 grow for himself where one
grew for rome one else before. If
the financier had a dollar and needed
two, he would use the dollar as first
payment on a $10 bill, and he would
then bond the bill for a $20 cold-
piece and would charge $5 for doing
this. - Then he would sell an option
on the $20 gold-piece at $17 for $1
tb forty-five people, and then would
dispose of a half-interest in the en
tire transaction for $150, $2 down
and the rest payable in short-term
notes."
ADOPTING A MOTTO
Elsewhere in The Leader will be
found a "friendly" attack by the Lin
coln, Neb., State Journal on Hon. W.
J. Bryan, in his homo town, follow
ing which is Mr. Bryan's reply in his
paper, The Commoner. Mr. Bryan is
an honest, honorable, upright, Chris
tian gentleman, who is working zeal
ously for the moral uplift of the
world. His detractors oppose him
either because they can not compre
hend the high moral plane on which
he stands, or they prefer ono infinite
ly lower. In tho scriptural word3
quoted by the Nebraska State Journal
with a characteristic sneer, The Lead
er adopts as its motto: "Whither thou
goest I will go; and whither thou
lodgest I will lodge; where thou diest
will I die. The Lord do as to me and
more also if aught but death part
thee and me." The Journal hits it ex
actly in the above quotation. Millions
of honest people, who believe in the
moral uplift of the nation, pin their
faith in William Jennings Bryan.-
Shelbyvlllo (111.) Leader.
. s
"VODKA"
The liquor interests of America are
spending a great deal of money ad
vertising a statement of the Russian
minister of finance that the suppres
sion of vodka has cost in tho loss or
revenue 900 million dollars the pasc
year. .
They fail to say that the report ot
the finance minister also stated tnat
within the same period the savings
banks of Russia had increased de
posits of 900 million dollars.
They also fail to say what tnw
former liquor revenue used to cost i
misery, in loss of character and ju
unemployment and. in crime. K-an
sas City Times. .
& .urtA aCy
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