| Show I It OK I t I IJ BY E J D r COW AN EV j 0 LV 1 I ON O F E U G E N E F I E L D TIl PEOPLES POET 5 1 I I 11 i iBY 1 1 1 1 0 reporter on tho Denver D r own n a Joe Field was as ns e when en r has hal exhumed tram from Its Is s or ot verse which should I d fl 1 m June d to 10 merciful nl critic and reviewer of th the lon 0 compilation It I Is a 1 tribute to the theA I t A sen A spirit of ot the ti times elli regard for tor Fields reputation Id I have dictated dictate Us It suppression suppress I on onIs KU Is only fair to say sn that Field him It never would havo hn 0 sanctioned such his Indeed In anticipated with dread I e f r rs 1 Ie oten akin tin to II horror the future appearance In Inthe I his earlier column stalls of ot ik k earler the t be lh er Of Ot all al the tho tonta tenta ho he hegan the live he wrote time work In Bt 61 Louis an n na gan report r under Stanley Stalley a author f t the ii h took his own measurement on he Ch HBO News six six years later ho hod five OVe productions worthy deim d m 1 only und and one of or those was on un onn aie of r n Field on his newspaper r levity was coming care I elre into OKU Murat Halstod sneer had n any Imitators cal cai klI and hu l keen Jeen witticisms were Bors models for tor the leavening of ot the editorial I page Field was Wil peculiarly qualified by b temperament experience for work wor In a lighter vein Ho enjoyed life le as ni a ac comedy 1 He had drifted through Co Columbia ColumbIa c lumbia Ie colleges on iv n single Latin all Mathematics was crypto to him He le hall had reveled In no Ho nonan Homan nan man rhetoric Chaucer Spencer and Saxon folk lore Everything dl him lie He delighted in Inh I Mi own Irresponsibility Irre gao full tul play pIny to h the Instincts of ot the practical Joker I and d was ashamed to disclose the fund fundor of or with which he hI was en endowed endowed I I dowed In a 1 romp around Europe Field bad wasted to the last penny a moderate ate ite hd patrimony Rescued Hescue by his uncle te had returned to tl the sweetheart who te became his wife had hal taken e at some ti tiling criticism she he her fd and hart han presented to n a girl ac acquaintance r a diamond ring ho he bought it Paris for tor his hil betrothed preserved from a the Mont while In dire lien The day he was married he caused a tearful panic nt the home of ot the bride byi falling to put In nn ap op appearance at the appointed hour On the way hI had paused to decide a dis dispute rute between boys who were playing a game rae of ot marbles and unconscious of oC the figure ho cut In his dress suit Joined them in the pastime The he third thin day r Field began re reporting rea porting he was waa advanced to the al pace M I a I Then came camen camean an n executive n ute experience as n city editor edior tit nl St St Joe and nn III managing editor with wih Dr Mumford on the tho Kansas I anas Jm Field first began to gain n 1 reputation tation as a humorist comic versi versifier fier Ills personality had hal much to do Ith lh the spread of ot tam fame He wan wao a 1 of the highest order a I passable a fine vocalist a n capital teller Convivial to tho thu lost de deree ree he was U the most sought and amI the but bul known man town by b that dais of ot admirers who though sincere in tn theIr homage to talent hurry hurr It down hill at the fastest possible pace Life Lite a made mads to t seem to him Iko a 1111 of t champagne ne In n which tho ef effervescence eta re never was to dip die The most accomplished recognized In him tho at attributes tributes of ot a great geat comedian vain vainly ly y urge him to adopt the stage It I was iS at this point In his career that Field met 0 O H I through the mutual acquaintance of ot Frank Frak the artist in the of ot the Denver I Tribune was by all 11 odds Os the cleverest writer mier west of ot tho Missouri The two mm were of nn age and of ot kindred They The conceived n warm arm re retard rea tard md for tor each other at It the outset Held Feld a n I two to years contract en M the Tribune staff as ns as aR late with wih the executive functions of at managing Inna ln editor Instead of ot escaping the environment nt h repressed or misdirected his hil Field FleM now noW plunged the deeper Into I Denver nt at that time was n 1 western Hernia ant the other min minis is ng camps of Colorado were ere pouring m out of ot treasure much of rt which Its Is way wn to the capital habits habis or Infirmities outside in e court court were not considered I proper subject for tor serious criticism Ni 81 morality was on a vacation nu nd th hl art of at conviviality were w t ed a by b everyone eron who ho desired Influence or newspaper recognition It I was tho th of d the I a HI fellows and nn In e out of ot which Field coined sueh words word as to the memory of ot which his hla Inkt tUnk k of ot the Ice in 11 the pitcher many man s In his paraphrases of ot Horace and Mn r bibulous verse abundantly tes tel Abl nence was as not so BO much a P t of or the will i power at times ns n it iti I i 1 a of ot tactical escape I Ire re reI I J f tOIl r example the appearance one j iJ 7 by a 1 special car lr of two railroad magnates one of ot whom has been prom prominent promInent for years In the management of oC the tho Pullman system Field 1 lell and IU Roth Holh acker aker took to the tho woods Finding the editorial rooms room vacated the riotous railroad Inspired by a luxurious 8 sense enee of oC humor pro proceeded proceeded to demolish everything In night Not oven een the early arly copy cOll on the hooks was Later In h the th night when wn they could persuade no one on to go town pointing with them theIn they the tore n a to pieces in street and bombarded the editorial windows with tho staves the All this was an n expensive Joko for Pullman Al company When the tho Trl turo subsequently convened the demanded a reduction of ot the Pullman rates r tel and a 1 drastic bill h was ns ant Introduced In tho house by the tho chair man of ot the railroad committee who was a party to tho conspiracy The Tho worst vorst I of or the two vandals was hurried to Denver Dener with n grip full tul of or annuals annual and boodle In hl odd gossip Field I noted boole the as follows noet Mr Ir of ot ofIs otIs Is occupying n suite of ot rooms at tho Windsor with hi hil beautiful niece Miss Vore Vure de dl Vere VereA A marked copy of ot the Tribune con containing conI this paragraph para was Wa mailed to I the wire wife and nearly led lell to tonn tonn nn action In the divorce courts Tho legislative visitor was Wn pointed out edi editorially II everything as n convict Ril mean under the sun Ho 10 begged b pile chain for or quarter took to buying suffered lt by v the basket to bo be heM held up right and a left and when the bill bi was Wn finally bottled bole In the rail railroad road committee ns al wan Wal its Us prearrange cd ed tate fate he h left lott for tor home a n wreck The he two years In Denver tried FleWs Fields capacity two endurance and character to the tho utmost Poor loor brilliant found the generous but bUl erratic never again nm glided swiftly flown to on an untimely at Omaha with the pictures of or those he h loved best beat wih turned to the wall wal while ho he ex expired He was a n literary encyclopedia novelist and a poet He left verso a le let 1 worthy of place on a classic shelf and wrote epigram with wih the felicity of oC Hugo Ills JR reply reilly to Ingersoll Ingersol In which ho he embalmed the tho great American agnostic as a moment brawling at It I masterpiece of ot de defense eternity was a n for tor Christianity com complimented him In nn an autograph a letter Jetter letteron on Its force torce and effect an af an answer This IR little work was No 1 In the Trib Tribune une literary series of at which Fields primer was No 2 and the last The cross road raal of ot Fields career came when he was stricken with wih nervous nerous dyspepsia Wn He was acutely attacked le and for tor a period suffered the tho contemplative 1 horrors of ot suicide and death Drugs having failed to bring him re relief reler toled lief his latent will power asserted It Itself hil wi self ler he be set aside nil ni stimulants nl together II with tobacco and alI coffee For Fora a vear ar he restricted himself to an nn In Invalid valid 1 diet working constantly constanty tho th vald white Often h he would woul write hu hil dally daly stint Oten his head crowned wih Ie Ice wrapped Jn In a n towel When his digestion was apparently restored ha ht resumed IS Chi Chicago Chicalo the tobacco and conce habits habis at cago calo though he tie never lever again touched nl lt stimulants save lwe for tor a 1 spell In London While there for his health In his hil physician persuaded him to tip sIp of oC Bordeaux at It meals but It wan wa unpalatable ho be soon Boon abandoned It I as Da a dietary aid all The u excessive uso of at tobacco and am coffee and an nn unconquerable appetite coree for tor mince pie and together with an aversion averion for physical exercise shortened ni Fields life Even In his suf sUI sufferings he found Inspiration ton much of ot humorous prose and verse and some his hll best work was done don nt at London In Ina living on a hot a while he was n milk and cracker diet cooked by him himself self mik lt three times a a day dar 1 When hen Field Joined tho Chicago News staff in he was broken In health star destitute and pursued by b a 1 horde of oC creditors ant His family was as large responsibilities Hs would havo taxed the stoutest heart No visible worry affect affected ed him however until tho th friendship between I en himself and was violently sundered While Field was wa attached to the Denver Tribune Gen General Genrl eral at that time Ume rated ratel as a u rl a mining millionaire and one of ot the He publican lenders of ot Colorado Colordo owned a 1 large interest In the property He was wason WIS on an exceedingly liberal man and for tor any ono one he esteemed always held an purse among the the open paper fraternity was una especially his hla Field having got Into a taw flew of ut trouble over oer a U ro 0 furniture th General In debt eM telegraphed tele mountains asking him for tor an Immedi Immediate Immel ate loan toan of ot that amount He was IS re requested r quested to visit vial the th general generl at George Georgetown Glorge town when he would bo be accommodated Field l took look the th train but upon Illon meeting lel General W as Informed that It was wal Impossible Hami to let him have havethe hl I Fields disappointment was the thu money mono his disgust greater General Genral great change chango of oC front could bo be ex explained only by tho assumption that somebody to whose ho c advice he h would woul listen had warned him by wire against trusting Field Not many months later the tho Tribune parsed into the Junk room of ot Ameri merl American can Journalism was U editing Opinion n I weekly literary and po political for tor which supplied the capital and Field was WIS writing the tnt Flats nonpareil column of ot the Chicago News Those of at Fields panegyrists who have hn tried to clothe his character with wih the tho attributes of ot and do him a maudlin Injustice He Il was IS In Intensely Intensely tensely human I 1 with virile virie nn almost theatric contempt for con can conventionality canI I and a n strong appetite for tor revenge where he thought he had hd been deceived or Injured I Bo So when the Colorado senatorial I campaign came camo under discussion slon and General was 18 ns na a a I Field made a 1 at attack tack on him pointing ns Illiterate ler I II I ate boorish and unscrupulous Tim contained not a word of ot truth wholly devoid of the tle humorous or and att fairly oozed malice malce Field haa guilty guit of ot similar departures I from the path of ot Journalistic rectitude without having suffered a 1 check This I he wan waK administered one severely by the last person from whom ho ha haI I have hi e expected It I i In II despite of their Inti InU Intimacy InUI I macy lacy the fellowship In Which the i h hll id lived and worked landed on Field ferociously in Opinion Ho le denounced Field ns lS n a dishonest and poured upon him a I volume of ot mucky that is not worth wo th while pick pickIng pickIng Ing over hare mr As Field neglected nn opportunity to goad or satirize a a contemporary the Chicago press retaliated by reproducing de defense tense of ot General Hami Field I lell was pil pilloried 11 as a Journalistic ghoul The rho blow was wal n a one ana would have Jarred Jarr d many man aman I off 0 the track Field felt It keenly ani over n er it In his moods of oC resentment his hi design would woul manifest Itself In Inthe the tho awful threat I 1 will wi live le to write obituary The fhe two meu mCh never spoke to each other again Fields leh premonition that he would outlive was satisfied but the poet and satirist broadened and by b that time forgave In Il silence Fields physical breakdown I simultaneous transfer to tl the tho Chicago of ot journalism was the combination tion ton of causes that made for tor his better betterment beter ment Naturally Industrious once olee he ment emerged from tho environment thai must mURt have soon warped and sapped him motive Ind method came Into his Ite Ho He found himself admired und and BUS U by brainy and well wel trained co coworkers coworkers workers who took themselves I duties seriously serious and who discovered Jutes their keenest keene t enjoyments In Intellectual I pursuits Ills Hl managing managing editor John Johl Balantyne afterwards his law gave him the blue pencil In allo allopathic alo doses though kindly The treatment was wal new and proved cura curative cum tive could not tolerate the tho trick doggerel and vulgar verse sur surprises lur lurI I rises that Field used to frame with wih such luch facility racI t Still Sti a n more potent Influence ence enco In Fields growth was WIS Thompson hompson the chief editorial writer of oC the News Newl now of or the Chicago Thompson had hal fine In m literary taste discernment His reputation was wal established us lS a I cd tc As Ala a playwright he hl had produced In collaboration Sharps Flats for Crane Ils Holson pa a twelve part comedy for tor the veteran John Howson He had hd glen given to the tho literary world that entertaining compilation The Humbler Poets Ho lu was an honest frank companion an with wih a I surplus of ot the vitality and anI health which Field 1 envied He le was lit opposite of ot Field In the sanity ot or othis his habits habis and the of ot his man manners ners nerl and therefore attracted him In a I brief Unit Ur Thompson the men mentor mentor tor of ot the twain He Je Is now nOI writing for tor Scribners a life le of ot Field that t will wi be bethe bl the first fair estimate of or the genius and character of ot the poet pot the tho humorist and the man Fields style of ot composition on the tho News quickly A deeper sin min sincerity began to pervade his pathos his sentiments were encouraged Into more enterprising play piny his hla prose humor and versatile vow or developed technical accomplishments acquired by unceasing study His father tather had be bequeathed him a I library of ot 50 volumes never explored until now He Je became a adaly dally daly visitor nt at the McClurg house louRe and established there the famous Saints Sinners Cor Corner Corner ner among tho OO worth of ot rare amonG editions presided over by Geo An unorganized literary society grew out of ot this Invention and for Its mid midnight night delectation once olce Field l wrote and read his hll Ghost Ghost To this mys mystic mI tic corner he led lel many a victim and tc him Into II to the mysteries of ot Bibliomania only to make satirical copy CO of at him later Inter He Je round found food Cod for tor fun In fads even en hla hil own Unable to save money mono on Ing to his In Incurable curable he took tok to laying |
