The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-03-16
OUR LEADING MEN,.
How They Appear in The Eyes Of
the interviewer.
EDMUNDS AND THE REPORTERS.
Men Who Do Not nteryiew-Ingalls' Soap
Interview-An Adventure With Blaine
at Chicago-Leland Stanford.


Interyiew-An Adventure With Blaine
at Chicago-Leland Stanford.
WASHINGTON, March Is, 1S9O.-[Special
correspondence of THE HERALD. THE
tempest in the senatorial teapot which has
been raised as to the reporting of the secret
sessions by the newspaper correspondents
is by no means new. Every year Edmunds,
Harris, Wilson and other Senators make
WILD THREATS AGAINST THEIR BROTHERS
who give out the doings of the executive
sessions to the reporters, and the avenues
of news are so many that the executive ses-
sions are more fully reported than the open
ones. About three-fourths of the Senators
hold confidential relations with the leading
newspaper correspondents and every news
paper man in Washington has one or more
men upon whom he can rely to give him &C
curate information as to anything before
Congress. Many Senators give out news
without knowing it and an adroit inter
viewer is never at loss for the facts in
any case. Senator Edmunds position in
regard to executive sessions is so well
know that he is seldom approached by
any of the old correspondents. Young re-
porters now and then attempt to interview
him and he treats them politely, telling
them their mistake and asking for their ad-
dress, saying that if they will give it he
will send them document that they may
read to their advantage. The green re-
porter hereupon gives his card and the
next day he gets by mail copy of the rules
of the Senate with blue pencil mark
around the following paragraph:
ANY Senator. or officer of the Senate
who shall disclose the secret or confiden-
tial business or proceedings of the Senate
shall be liable If Senator to suffer eXpul-
sion from the body and if an officer to dis
missal from the service of the Senate and
to punishment for contempt"
SENATOR EDMUNDs
seldom submits to an interview upon any
subject, though he sometimes dictates his
| views upon certain questions before the
! Senate, and When he does the talk is al
ways worth reading. He often gives infor-
nation with the proviso that the matter
shall not be used in interview shape aud he
is in this respect much like number of his
brother Senators. ingalls, often talks in
this way and his conversations sparkle
with ideas graphically expressed. Heis full
of information, is up to the times on every
subject and if one can escape his prohibi-
ton to publish he is good for a column any
hour of the day. Senator Sherman though
he is said to be cold is always ready to talk
to newspaper man. He answers all ques-
lions put to him and gives interviews
whenever he can. He will not say what
| he does not want to and he is perfectly
frank and open in his expressions. He
sometimes dictates his replies to the inter
viewer and he is accessible both at the
| Senate and at his home. Leland Stanford
is another very accessible man and he has
as many ideas to the square inch as any
| other statesman in the country. His head
| is packed full of information of all sorts
and have never heard subject mentioned
in his presence upon which he has not
something new TO say. He is not afraid to
say what he thinks and his talks are al
ways readable. Senator Allison talks
readily but he hedges so much in his state
ments as to take the life out of them. He
is too much of diplomat and he roosts on
the fence
SENATOR HoAR OF MASSACHUSETTS
never submits to an interview. l remem-
Der my first experience with him. / was
correspondent for the Cleveland Leader and
l told him that had been sent by its editor
to ask him certain questions. He was sit
| ting i'll his dressing gown and slippers in
his library WueH L uldue UulS REMARK ana
he Strengthened himself up like shot and
shut his mouth like a clam as he chopped
out the words: ''Well young man, you may
put your questions, but warn you that
will not answer one word.'
then told him that did not expect to
interview him by force and that if he had
nothing to say there was no use in my ask
ing questions. He then told me that he
| had made a resolution to publish every
| hot frOr inf ba
over his own signature and begged my par
don for his seeming gruffness. He wanted
me to stay and look over the cartoons in
| Puck with him but / thanked him and left
l find that the New England Senators
are as rule afraid to call their souls their
| own and the most Snobbish man on the su-
preme court bench is Justice Horace Cray
He never submits to an interview and he
told me once when / asked him some ques-
tons about supreme court business that he
thought the country wonld be better served
| by his attending to the business of the
court than by saying what ought to be done
as to its improve nent. Not long ago
a lady correspondent of Washington was
preparing an article on the private libraries
of the capital. She wrote to the leading
statesmen who were known to have col
lections of books and asked permission to
call and see them. From every man of
prominence with the exception of Justice
Gray she got a polite answer. Gray's
reply was formal almost to rudeness and it
stated that Justice Gray's library had been
gathered together for other purposes and
that the public would be just as we'll served
by not hearing anything about it. This is
from the justice of the supreme court who
went down the river with the President in
an English hunting costume month or so
ago and who, when l called upon him, re-
ceived me in silk velvet coat, patent
| leather pumps velvet vest and light pan
| falcons.
| SENATOR DAVIS OF MASSACHUSETTS
is not averse to an interview and he talks
well. Speaker Reed now and then gives
sentence or two to the correspondents and
| Mckinley is a good friend of the newspaper
men. Joe Cannon is full of ideas and he
can grind out column in an hour. Sena-
tor Hayley is very busy but he is a news
paper man himself and he will talk freely
if you catch him at leisure. Wade Hamp-
ton never interviews and the reporter who
gets anything out of Joe Brown is genius
Cnshman K. Davis, of Minnesota, is al
ways ready to give away good thing when
he has it. | remember once calling upon
him about eight o'clock in the evening. 1
was told to walk up to his bed
room and L found him with his
head on the pillow and the bed
clothes well up to the neck of his friled
nightgown. He told me that he had had
hard days work and that he had gone to
bed early to sleep himself fresh He said
he could sleep at any time and that he was
good for twelve hours or could get along
with four as necessity demanded and he
gave me the information l desired while he
lay in bed. Frank Hiscock, of New York,
is poser. He seems to swell when he is
asked for an interview and if he has not
some AK of his own to grind he will say
that he is very busy Just now but if YOU