The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-02-11
"TEDDY' TOO MUCH FOR MON
TANA'S SENATOR.
PENCIL TAPS PUT HIM OUT
Washington Corresp ondent's Racy De.
scription of Mr.. CIark's Inter
view With President.

The New York World of Sunday de-
votes a page to Kate Carew's account
of her interview with President Roose-
welt and a picture representing Sena-
tor Clark and the president. The part
of the interview Of interest to Mon
tana acquaintance of the senator is
as follows:
"Other visitors were waiting-per-
haps a score. Just as we entered my
escort had whispered, There he goes
but I had turned too late to see any
thing save the w%hisking through a
doorway of the skirts of a frock coat,
Enter, from the outer world, a bearded
man Of aesthetic aspect, wrapped in a
beautiful fur-lined overcoat. He ex-
changes bows with by escort. 'Sena-
tor Clark whispers the latter to me.
Clark of Montana, you know. He's
worth seventy millions, but you see
he has to come and wait his turn like
anybody else
S>AASt'l Ioi u plldy lllS
quite apart from the consideration Of
what else he was worth. A complex
type of civilization, with lingering sug-
gestions of the frontier. He might
have been a character of the Latin
Quarter, say tina t his clothes were
expensive. His hair and beard were
of the studios and his manner repro
duced the studied elegance of an early
Victorian dandy. But the eyes. deep
set under their shaggy brows, were
the eyes Of the western miner, and
the lean, powerful jaw seemed elo-
quent Of a western miners past. De
cidedly, the most picturesque million
aire l had ever SD en-.
with dandified deliberation Sena-
tor Clark stripped off his coat, dropped
it ove a chair and laid his shiny hat
on top of it. With his slender figure
revealed in a frock coat, whose every
fold said London, he sauntered over
to the fire and negligently toasted his
back. Then he exchanged greetings
with Mr.. Cortelyou. and in approach
Tag that gentleman placed himself at a
Y strategical advantage in relation to
the presidents door to the prejudice
of the earlier corners. And the dis
%couraging part of it was that he look
ed as if he meant to stay a fortnight.
His maneuver wa Is brilliantly success
full, for when the president next dash
face to face with Mr.. Clark of Mon
tana.
"Thtere. is something g~alvanic in
President ROosevelt's personality
which can be felt at a great distance.
His entrance communicated a distinct
shock to the occupants of the room,
and I'm sure that everybody, like my
self, sat up straighter and breathed
a trifle faster. 1t must be that bolts
of surplus energy shoot from him at
all angles so thi ok and fast that no.
body within range can escape. Even
the l~ackadaisical senator from Mon
tana was hit. The president threaten
ed to shake his arm out by the roots,
and l saw his intention of staying a
fortnight dwindle at every shake.
"The president had a pencil in his
right hand, and with this, when he
eddy in the breast-probably an un-
conscious way Of working off super
tiuous energy. No mortal could remain
lackadaisical with that round, muscu-
lar face thrust toward him, those
eager eyes boring into his, and the
presidential penci i'll prodding his breast
bone. The senator's lips moved with
a volubility which l felt was quite
foreign to them, and he backed rather
h%elplessly to the window, followed by
the relentless president.
"In a last effort to retain his van
ishing ndnchalence as I imagined,
Senator Clark placed his left hand on
the window ledge for support. An
expert of the prize ring would have
EsSa1d that the senator was going 1t
was an affair of moments. President
Roosevelt's voice matches his name
in energy, and everybody in the
must have heard him say: The best
thing for you to do. senator, is to see
the postmaster general. GOOD day;
DELIGHTed to see you!'
mrs
Senator Clark was disposed Of
time 60 seconds. Like a reproachful
shadow he glided to where his coat
lay. slipped into it took his hat and
faded away. And before the door clos
ed on him President Roosevelt had re-
ceived and dismissed six or eight
other visitors"