The Press: Idea Man

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The Baltimore Sun was backing John W. Davis for President, and needed a political cartoonist with punch. From the Brooklyn Eagle, the Sun borrowed young (25) Edmund Duffy for three months. That was in 1924, and the dapper Duffy never went back to Brooklyn. He now shares the record (with Rollin Kirby) of winning three Pulitzer Prizes for cartoons. Last week Duffy decided to quit the Sun. He wanted a vacation—and would spend it mulling over some better offers that had been waved under his nose.

At 15, "Duff" Duffy, son of a Jersey City cop, was barred from a life class at the Art Students League in Manhattan because he was still in short pants. He went to work on the old New York Herald and the Evening Post as an illustrator and left, at 22, to sail for Europe with only $150 in his pocket. He studied art and sipped vermouth on an empty stomach in Paris, then came back home to the Eagle.

It takes Duffy only an hour to draw one of his bold, blunt cartoons. He spends the rest of his time in the office sharpening his wits on the staff. When an editorial writer complained that the cartoonist wasted his valuable time, Sun Editor (now emeritus) John W. Owens replied that Duffy was worth his weight as a "fertilizing agent."

With his grease crayon, Duffy worries mostly about politics (he is not fond of politicians of any variety), peace and the plight of the poor taxpayer. The rest of the time he worries about horses. On almost any good afternoon Duffy can be found at the track. As long as they're running at Pimlico, Baltimore does not expect to lose Duffy for good.