Democratic Sentinel, Volume 5, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 January 1882 — Teutonic Jokes. [ARTICLE]

Teutonic Jokes.

A collection of jokes, conscious and the reverse, perpetrated in the German Parliament, has recently been published by “ Anoelmus Factus ”in Berlin. The collection ranges from 1867 to the present time, and if the quibs and cranks it contains do not always seem to be unreasonably waggish, they are at all events interesting as indicating the German idea of a joke. A portion of the collection consists of the naive, and sometimes oddly inconsequential, remarks of inexperienced members. Thus Dr. Schwartze observed on one occasion that “he had great pleasure in saying that the motives of this proposal, though unknown to him, were yet fully in accordance with his viewsand Herr Von Viacke expressed his agreement with a previous speaker to this effect: “I think jnst as he does in this matter; I am exactly in the position in which I am. ” Similarly, Dr. Ellissen once oracularly remarked ! “ The proposal of the honorable member has cither no meaning or it has a meaning.” On the other hand we should probably be mistaken if we ascribed a remark of one Herr Schraps to mere naivete or confusion of tongue. “I have supported,” said Herr Schraps, “Dr. Reineke’s proposal, and will vote for it, but shall be veiy much pleased, nevertheless, if the House rejects it” The jokes which are undoubtedly intentional are sometimes rather grim. Thus, Herr Dedecker, discussing a proposal for the complete insolation of cholera patients, doubted “ whether it would not be a surer preventive to kill off the first cholera patients at have hardly come to that yet.” There is a certain humor, too, of a melancholy sort, in the phrase of Dr. Schweitzer : ~ “We believe in a country where the police are always with us, before us, and behind Mall