The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1893-03-18

you must understand that senators and
representatives are obliged to keep
many matters secret from their best
friends.
When he was speaker of the house OF
representatives 1T was almost impossi-
BILE to secure al interview from James
&. Blaine. 1t was not an uncommon
thing for him to appear on Newspaper
row evening after evening calling upon
his friends, the leading correspondents,
and giving them valuable items of i'm
portant news. But he was particular
to require all of them to assure him
that he would not be quoted in an in
terview upon any subject mentioned by
him. In the spring of 1884 Mr.. Blaine
was at the Palmer house for one day
and declined to respond to the card of
a reporter for the Chicago Times, al
though the faithful fellow sent his card
to Mr.. Blaine's room every half hour
during the entire day. The reporter
saw him several times in the corridors
going to and from his room, but Mr..
Blaine constantly sent down word to
the representative of the Chicago Times
that he was mot in" The reporter
felt that not only himself, but the pa
per which he represented, was not prop
erly treated by the distinguished states
man, SO he left the hotel and on his
way to the Times Office met an elderly
friend who looked something like MI.
Blaine, and interviewed him upon the
topics of the day.
When he reached the Times sanctum
the reporter wrote a description of the
days wait, how often he had sent his
card, the usual response, and finally the
fact that he had met upon the street a
man whom he took to be Mr.. Blaine,
and that man said-here he started a
long interview in which the man who
Cooked like Mr.. Blaine was made to
say everything which Mr.. Blaine ought
not to say. About noon the next day
Mr.. Story, the proprietor, received a
telegram from his personal friend,
Blaine, who was then at Racine, Wis.
protesting against an interview which
never occurred. Mr.. Story glanced
over the interview, called Managing
Editor Snowden, and directed him to
discharge the man who had written
hat interview. When the reporter
came in Snowden said: Mick, you are
fired by order of the old man" Nick
thereupon explained the situation and
how badly the Times had been treated.
Snowden Immediately conveyed that
explanation to Mr.. Story, who, upon real
izing that Mr.. Blaine had not treated
his representative with becoming court
esy, said: "Snowden, what is Nick's
salary?!" To this Mr.. Snowden respond
ed that it vas S25 per week. Mr.. Story
then said: keep Nick on the paper and
give him $50 per week"
President Garfield, when a member of
the house of representatives, was so
easy to interview that to visit his house
was more like calling upon a sweet
heart than upon a statesman. Every
reputable newspaper man was as well
come as the flowers that bloom in the
spring in the home of James A. Garfield.
Roscoe Conkling was almost unap-
proachable. George c. Gorham, Frank
the only newspaper men in Washington
who could talk with him on a familiar
basis; but even they were not permitted
to interview him for publication. Will
liam It. Villas as postmaster general
could not be interviewed; but as a
United States senator Col. Villas is ac-
cessiblc and affable to newspaper men
Knute Nelson, now governor Of Min
nesota, when completing his first term
~ tho IO,ca of o,rororf,ro co.l 70
me: "When / came here / regarded
newspaper men as my natural enemies
and | avoided them. / would not talk
in the presence of a newspaper man
upon any subject whatever. Before l
was renominated for a second term,
however, l discovered that I needed at
least one good newspaper man in my
business. | commenced to hunt the
boys and ascertain the best fellows in
the crowd and carried news to them. !
soon found that my congressional work
was being reported and my people were
informed of my doings, % that all the
reputation l have made has been due to
the fact hat / got in with the newspa-
per men and kept on the right side OF
them. No reputable newspaper man
in Washington ever betrayed my conf
dence."
Senator Vest, of Missouri, says that
he never had any misunderstanding
with newspaper men, but that they
have been his best friends. He is franli
and free in conversation with them and
will give an interview at any time upon
any subject with which he is familiar
Congressman Holman, the great OBJ.
%jector; William NJ. Springer, of Illinois
Julius Caesar Burrows, of Michigan
and Tom Reed, of Maine, are about the
aaSiaSt mamhnrS of the hn,1cn Of ,onro