“Now and then an innocent man is sent to the legislature”
Kin Hubbard (1868-1930) drew the popular “Abe Martin Says” one-panel newspaper comic. Many sayings became widely quoted.
“Now an’ then a innocent man is sent t’ th’ legislature” was first printed on March 15, 1913. In the compilation book Back Country Folks (1914), an extra “n” was added to become the saying: “Now an’ then an innocent man is sent t’ th’ legislature.”
Wikipedia: Kin Hubbard
Frank McKinney Hubbard (born 1 September 1868 in Bellefontaine, Ohio - died: 26 December 1930 in Indianapolis, Indiana) was an American cartoonist, humorist, and journalist better known by his pen name “Kin” Hubbard.
He was creator of the cartoon “Abe Martin of Brown County” which ran in U.S. newspapers from 1904 until his death in 1930, and was the originator of many political quips that remain in use. North American humorist Will Rogers reportedly declared Kin to be “America’s greatest humorist.”
Wikiquote: Kin Hubbard
Frank McKinney Hubbard (1 September 1868 - 26 December 1930) was an American cartoonist, humorist, and journalist.
Sourced
Now an’ then an innocent man is sent t’ th’ legislature.
. Back Country Folks (1914)
.. Variant: Now and then an innocent man is sent to the legislature.
.. As quoted in The Dictionary of Humorous Quotations (1949) by Evan Esar, p. 105
Chronicling America
15 March 1913, Washington (DC) Herald, pg. 14, col. 4:
ABE MARTIN SAYS:
Mrs. Tipton Bud’s nephew got married yesterday t’ git his ring back.
Now an’ then a innocent man is sent t’ th’ legislature.
Google Books
Back Country Folks
By Kin Hubbard
Indianapolis, IN: Abe Martin Pub. Co.
1914
Pg. ?:
Now an’ then an innocent man is sent t’ th’ legislature.
Google Books
The Best of Kin Hubbard:
Abe Martin’s sayings and wisecracks, Abe’s neighbors, his almanack, comic drawings
Edited by David S. Hawes
Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press
1995, ©1984
Pg. 14:
Politics and politicians frequently take their lumps in Abe’s sayings:
(...)
Now an’ then an innocent man is sent t’ th’ legislature.