Humor Butler, Ellis Parker: The Cheerful Smugglers v1 24 nov 2008

[mtravellerh]

Ellis Parker Butler (December 5, 1869–September 13, 1937) was an American author.

Butler was born in Muscatine, Iowa. He was the author of more than 30 books and more than 2,000 stories and essays, and is most famous for his short story "Pigs is Pigs", in which a bureaucratic stationmaster insists on levying the livestock rate for a shipment of two pet guinea pigs, which soon start proliferating geometrically.

Working from his home in Flushing (Queens) New York, Butler was—by every measure and by many times—the most published author of the pulp fiction era. Amongst others he wrote twenty-five stories to Woman's Home Companion between 1906 and 1935. The stories in the Companion were illustrated by artists including May Wilson Preston, Frederic Dorr Steele, Herbert Paus and Rico Le Brun.

His career spanned more than forty years and his stories, poems and articles were published in more than 225 magazines. His work appeared alongside that of his contemporaries including Mark Twain, Sax Rohmer, James B. Hendryx, Berton Braley, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Don Marquis, Will Rogers and Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Despite the enormous volume of his work, Butler was, for most of his life, only a part-time author. He worked full-time as a banker and was very active in his local community. A founding member of both the Dutch Treat Club and the Author's League of America, Butler was an always-present force in the New York City literary scene.

He died in Williamsville, Massachusetts and was interred in Flushing Cemetery.

"The Fenelby Smugglers" was first published as a serial (Good Housekeeping (May, 1907)). This story was later published in book form as The Cheerful Smugglers.
SYNOPSIS -- The Fenelbys were facing the problem of saving an education fund which should be ample to put Bobberts, age nine months, through college when the time should come. Penny contributions were discouraging. Mr. Fenelby hit on the happy scheme of organizing the Commonwealth of Bobberts calling a family congress and adopting a tariff, ten per cent on all necessities and thirty per cent on all luxuries brought into the house. This would be an indirect tax for the benefit of Bobberts which they would not feel, argued Mr. Fenelby.


Oh yeah, illustrated quite nicely, too.

It still is great to read and lots of fun.

Got it from PG and gave it the MTH treatment (cover from PG, too)

Have fun!

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