Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1885-12-16
Chilly grfss mud 9akotaian
.IHE PUBLIC BE D---D,
Alleged History ofthe Famous Phras.
of the Dead millionaire.

EUHN.s9E Ey
Alleged History ofthe Famous Phrase
of h Dead millionaire.
Chicago Mail, 10: The history of the
unhappy slip of the dead Vanderbilt,
1.-THE pnblic be id is known to not
above a,half-dozep people and has never
been printed" The interview In which
the sentence occurred was had with the
millionaire rRilfoader on his private car,
by Clarence +. Dresser and his Journal
istlc partner, Bennett, of Hyde Park.
These two young fellows were running
the Hyde Park Herald, aud covered
their suburb for all the Chicago papers.
Dresser Is well known to newspaperdom
as an industrious but cratic youth,
whose nerve is unsurpassed. He has
never yet met anybody whose private
room he hesitated to invade, OF whose
busy moments he feared to lntrude upon.
He has been the fellow above all others
IL this country to get at people. For
this he has times without number been
used by the different newspapers. After
the interview with Vanderbilt was sent
broadcast, ard after "lhe public be
id" had been carried on placards
in the streets OF New York, the million
aire, speaking of the incident, said:
THE two bows got on my private car at
Hyde Park, and their industry and cheek
struck me as commendable. l granted
them an interview because I wanted to
do them a kindpess."
When Dresser and Bennett. bis part
ner, got into Va%nderbilt's presence the
former asked questions and Bennett
who could imperfectly write shorthand
L tnnk 1nvun tho aprpuarc - UNba rracftov
which drew out the famous reply was a
damphool one. but characteristic OF the
amateur reporter, who wanted to keeE
on interviewing although he had
nothing valuable to ask. MIR. Wander.
bilt," was the question, "do you u
your railroads for ths good of the
publicw Really the reply WAS just suci
as anybody might have made off hanG
under the circumstances. Vanderbilt
was surrounded by his railroad associ
ates and and admitted good naturally
q couple of raw suburban reporters
partly, no doubt, to have some fun Will
them.
AS it was, the expression narrowl,
missed %obscurity. When the privat,
car reached the Lake Shore depot the
two reporters hurried to a newspape
iokhuO w lOI bhlts IL whS Hb OuCl
accepted, not because anybody kney
what IL contained, but simply because
1T was an interview with the great rail
roader at q time when railroads ant
their ways We're taking a great deal o
space in newspapers. Dresser wrote i
out as Bennett dictated it from his i'm
perfect shorthand notes. When it wa
finished Dresser said: "There is some
thing else here which MIR. Vanderbilt
said that I've not put in" He was asket
what 1T was, and when tho expression
was read he was told that IL was wortl
more than the rest of the interview; blu
he was cautioned to be very sure tn,
"public be ID was the phrase tn,
millionaire used. Mr.. Benefits note
ware produced and read, and the sen
tence found there. The sentence wa
incorporated, and then sent broadcas
over the country by the young man VIII
bad advised the famous defiant sentenc
incorporated, and who controlled q larg
correspondence. There was only on
newspaper in Chicago which publishe,
the interview with the ''pablic be id
incorporated. The associated press d1
not send it out, but did send out the on
as originally prepared by the boys, VIII
took and who regarded the vehement ez
preston as too naughty for public ears