Frederick Hudson, in his History of Journalism in America, credits the
Boston Post with having originated the column of funny paragraphs which
are now seen in nearly all the leading newspapers of the United States.
The All Sorts column of the Post was started when that paper first
appeared, over half a century ago. It was in this department that Mrs.
Partington and her son Ike were first introduced to the humor-loving
public, and scores of writers have sent forth their wit, during the
fifty years past, through this same medium.
George F. Babbit began writing the All Sorts for the Post seven or
eight years ago, but relinquished the position a few years later.
Babbitt was a graduate of Harvard college, and his witticisms in the
Post were of a very brilliant character. The present “funny man” of the
Post is Charles Hoyt, better known to his Boston friends as Charley
Hoyt.
A well-known Boston journalist in a recent article says of him: “He
is a well-proportioned man, lithe, active, and nervy in physique,
a broad forehead, an open face on which candor is written in every
feature, bright, restless eyes, firm mouth and chin, a clear, ruddy
complexion, and a voice not loud or strident but clear as a bell in
its enunciation. His column of All Sorts in the Post is a fine example
of conscientious paragraphing, where neither time nor diverse labor
interfere to distract or hurry the writer. It is enjoyed by thousands
every day, who laugh at his quaint conceits and genuine wit.”
Hoyt is a native of Vermont, and comes of good, old Puritan stock. In
early youth he held a public office, being page in the State Senate. In
this school his intellect was sharpened, and his naturally retentive
memory gathered together and carried away much which has been useful
in later years. His knowledge of, and acquaintance with, public men,
is wide and varied. In his personal address he is both pleasing and
attractive. These are both admirable points in his favor, considering
that he is a bachelor, and young at that.
Hoyt’s Ragbag stories are very entertaining: