St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-05-16
SOMETHING ON INTERVIEWS

An interview is ordinarily supposed
to depend Oh the persun interviewed
for its Interest or its value. Whether
this is the case or not depends on the
interviewer. Unfortunately, there is
no art with its defined limits ami laws,
and the public has to depend on the hit.
and-miss selection of reporters. in which
a good many other factors than that of
fitness may enter and control. In fact,
he may be given such an assignment
because he is fit for nothing else, as
younger sons Of England's nobility are
drafted into the service of the church.
interviewing is fine.i underlined art.
A retentive memory is essential, but
there must be faculties capable of some
thing more thar literal rendition CT the
thoughts of the person interviewed.
Some knowledge of the person or of the
topic with which he is identified is
requisite, and with it an Intelligence
which can grasp the subject of the tai k
and give its points their true perspect.
i've. Something OF the techno logy Of
the subject is valuable to prevent alb
surd mistakes being made.
But with it all there must be desire
to report fairly aud honestly what is
said. The temptation is strong for
quick wits to exploit their own fancies
under cover of an interview. aud to
make their victim say what the reporte T
thinks he should say, OF even what he
would himself say were he the hammer
and not the anvil. If more or less of
malice is mixed with this spirit, the in
terviewer is capable of giving the inter-
viewed many bad quarter hours. So
rare is the really capable interviewer
that no man who has been there" now
adays consents to be interviewed with
out either writing out the report himself
or insisting that it be written down in
his presence, and read over to and cor
rected by him on the spot. This, of
course. is the fruit of their experience
with the smart Alecks Of the profess
siou.
Probably no man has suffered more
from the versatile but conscienceless
reporter than has Henry Watterson.
Henry was out on the Pacific coast re-
Gently on a lecture tour, and we lind in
the Tacoma papers lengthy interviews
with him. To the reporter of the
Unions request. he responded: Ger
tainly; but do you want to interview
yourself or myself? If you want to in-
terview me. and will let me interview
myself. am willing. But Il you want
to interview yourself and 20 away and
write it up from memory at second
hand, and print it in the first perso
singular, with quotation marks, making
me appear to be you, am not. You see,
young man." he added. II have been
there"
He also took occasion, much needed
one. to give the young man who repre-
scented the Ledger lecture on inter-
viewing. in which he said: 1T does not
do to talk to man and then go away
and interview yourself. Putting your
own words in his mouth not only mis-.
represents what he said, but often
causes him infinite embarrassment"
The lecture did no good, however. for
day or two later this same veracious
chronicler, after casual conversation
with the writer in which the name of
the president was not mentioned. re-
ported him as saying that cleveland
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