Courtesy of the @ClassicStrips Twitter and my husband, who pointed it out to me, here is another episode of The Outbursts of Everett True about bum walks.

According to @ClassicStrips, this comic ran October 13, 1917. So-called artificial stone sidewalks were plentiful in my part of Lansing by then. I’ve found walks dated back to 1907, and 1910-1911 stamps (mostly Minnis & Ewer) are common around my neighborhood.

The previous Everett True strip I talked about was from 1908 and the drawing made it clear that the sidewalk in question was a boardwalk. I would have thought that by 1917, True’s city would have installed artificial stone walks, but I’m not so sure. Six hours isn’t very much time to get concrete poured and finished. It feels more plausible as a span of time for getting loose boards replaced.

While neither strip is an exemplar of subtle wit, I think the earlier one is superior. The silent second panel is a better punchline and a funnier drawing.