George Ade
George Ade (February 9, 1866 – May 16, 1944) was an American writer, newspaper columnist, and playwright.
Ade's literary reputation rests upon his achievements as a great humorist of American character during an important era in American history: the first large wave of migration from the countryside to burgeoning cities like Chicago, where, in fact, Ade produced his best fiction. He was a practicing realist during the Age of (William Dean) Howells and a local colorist of Chicago and the Midwest. His work constitutes a vast comedy of Midwestern manners and, indeed, a comedy of late 19th-century American manners. In 1915, Sir Walter Raleigh, Oxford professor and man of letters, while on a lecture tour in America, called George Ade "the greatest living American writer."
(wikipedia)
“Whom are you?" he asked, for he had attended business college.”
“In the city a funeral is just an interruption of traffic; in the country it is a form of entertainment. ”
“A lot of smart young people have come out of Indiana. The smarter they are, the faster they come out”
“After being turned down by numerous publishers, he decided to write for posterity.”
“Whom are you?” said he, for he had been to night school.”