Stomach Ache

ETHER AND ME--Will Rogers--Putnam's ($1).

"Now Irvin Cobb--bless his ugly old frontispiece--not only gave us many a laugh with his classical Operation Book but he showed us the practical side of humor by making an operation pay its way. . . . But if mine's not humorous, why, don't blame me. It's hard to be funny when you know the check will only pass through your hands.

"This story opens on the bank of the Verdigris River in the good old Indian Territory, four miles east of a town called Oologah, and twelve miles north of a town called Claremore--best Radium water in the World. The plot of the story is a pain in the stomach. The stomach was located amidships of a youth who was prowling up, down, in and across said Verdigris River."

Author Rogers does not follow the adventures of his stomach to the exclusion of all else. He finds time for numerous side-quips at doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, politicians, his wife, and other people.

Two notable facts about Funnyman Rogers: 1) his' quips are always clean; 2) he is "worth" two million dollars.