The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-01-24
AN INTERVIEW
WITH 6. F. TRAIN
John W. Pike Tells of His Many
PecuIiarities.
&
KNEW HIM IN NEW YORK
DISLIKED NEWSPAPER MEN,
BUT LOVED CHILDREN.
KNEW HIM IN NEW YORK

John W. Pike, .stenographer for Judge
/ William Q. Hall in the civil and probate
division of the district court, IS prob
ably the only resident of Salt Lake City
who had a personal acquaintance with
George Francis Train before ne made
that famous independent campaign for
the presidency, and later achieved such
notOriety for the number of times he
had been in jail. Mr.. Pike met the man
in his official capacity as a newspaper
writer, and had the pleasure of secur-
ing more than one interview from him.
| In those days-lS7S-the country was
much interested in the greenback cur
! rency discussion, and one of the inter-
views which Mr.. Pike secured from Mr.
Train was on the currency question. IN
those days Mr.. Train was a famous
man, and had as great dislike then
as at any time IL his wonderful career.
for interviews. He prided himself. upon
never giving one-he always wrote L
himself, giving he reporter the manu-
script. While recalling Mr.. Train the
other day, Mr.. Pike said:
Was Very Fond of Children.
It knew the man away back in TIE
| '10s, in New York City. I was working
as a reporter on the New York Gazette.
It was the official organ of the green
back party. In 1878 it was assigned to
me to get an, interview from Mr.. Tram
on the greenback question, which was
then at its height 1 found him playing
with some children in Madison Square
Mr.. Train was very fond of chill
dren. and for two reasons-he loved lit
tie ones, and he was a firm believer in
the theory that IL an adult would min
gle with the young he would absorb
their vitality, and in that way prolong
life. For that reason you would almOs.
ALWAYS ind the old man romping with
little ones-except in the winteT-Out n
doors, His favOrite haunt was Madi-
son Square Garden.
ION the day in question found him
There surrounded. as usual, with a Lei
Of little ones. 1 might add, as a bit Of
diversion, that although Mr.. Train be-
llieved in youth giving of vitality, and
he was wont TO take advantage of il
whenever the opportunity afforded. ne
was too conscientious to play with TIC
children too long and rob them toe
lmuch of the secret of life to prolons his
own indefinitely.
A Very Eccentric Man.
st remember distinctly that on th'
day on which I got his famous green
back interview, he said to me that il
ladults would mingle more with children
than they did, and imbibe freely q
their vitality, that they would never Gle
And he honestly believed it, too.
Mr.. Train. even in those younger
DAYS OF his. when 1 knew him SO well
was very eccentric. He had an especia
aversion to newspaper men. He would
never trust himself TO one Of their in
terviews. He said he had been mis-
quoted too often in years gone by. 81
when YOU wanted an interview you max
TO tell him the subject and let him write
it out for you.
ION that day I told him / wanted az
interview on the greenback question.
told him the questions ! was TO aei
him. He said all right, to come bacl
again in about an hour and half ant
he would be ready for me. That wa!
what he always said to every news
paper man who went to him for an IN
terview: Come back at a certain time
and he would have it ready.
A 1e-Foot Interview.
Mr.. Train always carried thret
things with him-a memorandum book
a long roll of thin tissue paper and Z
bottle Of nueilage. On Inc leaves of hi
memorandum book he would write al
interview. Then he would paste TIT
leaves, torn from the book, on the stril
of tissue paper. When they were al
pasted together you had a take j.
length in proportion to the length o
the interview I remember the inter
view I got from him that fan day h
1873. when pasted together by him Of
that roll Of tissue paper was about SIX
teen feet long
There was usually a riot in the com
posing room of q New York paper Whei
one OF Trains interviews was received
Pie was an awful writer, and few of tn
typesetters could make time on II, s,
8 they had to stop and study it out some
times word for word. It was. really
very hard 10 read unless you were YER
!. familiar with il, and even then an Oc
casionaI word OF sentence would be dir
. fcuIt to decipher.
THE man had a most wonderful min
for figures and faces. He never forgo
either The interview 7 speak of, whel
set up, made over a column and hal
in the Gazette. It was full Of figure
from one end TO the other.
Had a Remarkable Memory.
'eThe day I got it, I found Mr.. Trair
. as usual, playing with lot Of childrei
! in the square. told him what l wanl
! ed. and he told me to come back q
: about an hour and a half. ] did SC
and there was my interview all writte
out When I left him first, after tellili
/ him what l wanted, he sat down on or
} of the benches and wrote IL. Just 1
show you what a mind he had, nav
but to state again that every figure j.
that column and a half article he car
! ried in his head. He did not have to g
: home and consult books or reference
! for them. They were in his head, an
! all he had TO do was 10 write then
I down when and where he wanted Their
in the interview.
81 met Mr.. Train once early IL til
, '7Os. I had a talk with him for abou
l two minutes. There was nothing spe
! cial about the conversation. l was
t newspaper man and getting an inter
= view or facts for q story. About tire
years later 1 met Mr.. Train again.
said To him that I had seen him before
and he said, yes. that he remembers
my face, but could not recall where.
ali came back to him. however, when
mentioned when and where it was
Made People Stand Aloof.
Another very remarkable thin
, about Mr. Train was the fact that n
disliked very much TO have an adul
come within six or seven feet Of hin
He did not ike q crowd because
brought him in too close contact Wit
grown up people. If il could not b
avoided, however, he made haste [
close the conversation or terminate tn
situation as quickly as possible, II pee
pie insisted on standing close TO hin
he did not hesitate 10 ask them 10 ste
q little ways from him.
Mr.. Train was a quick thinker fas
+, talker and rapid writer, He was so tas
OF speech thar il was impossible for
stenogrspher to take down one Of hi
r.tlhlic lara mos He was the nni