The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-07-01
SIDE LIGHTS ON QUAY
Pennsylvania Senator's Method
Of Outwitting Reporters.
AN INSTANCE OF HIS BRAVERY.
How His Presen..e Of Mind stopped
a Panic In the civil Wharf.-The SEM
atOr's Mythical Namesake-An Ex-
perience with . Coach Driver I'm
the AdirOndacks.

49, ~ s-afH EHN
The late Senator Matthew s. Quay's
ability to give newspaper men the slip
is shown by the following incident,
says the Philadelphia Telegraph.
Senator Quay reached the Stratford
House in Philadelphia at Z p. m n
night. His arrival quickly became
known to the newspaper men, who
planned to bottle" him, to the end
that he might not escape them, as he
had frequently done before. A bold
dozen reporters stood watch at the
Broad street entrance to the hotel, two
others from the Press and Times
standing guard at the Walnut street
exit. All agreed that the senator was
bottled sure. An hour passed, and the
Press mar funbled in his vest pocket
for a cigar, but could find one The
Times man also fumbled with a like
result. The night was cold and the
vigil tiresome. A smoke, they agreed,
would greatly relieve the tediousness
of the watch. They finally decided
that it would be safe to leave their
post long enough to cross Broad street
and light up at the Bellevue. They
hurriedly crossed and returned, putting
c~ontentedly, to renew the watch.
Another hour passed. Then a Pitts
burg correspondent walked up to the
group Of writer's at the Broad street
entrance. "What are you fellows do
ing here?" was his greeting. waiting
for Quay. Got him bottled up was
the reply. Their confidence, however,
gave way to chagrin when told that
Quay had left the hotel by the Walnut
street door. The group as one man
fastened to the watchers at that point
to demand al accounting. The latter
scoffed. "Quay gone; impossible!" But
the truth could not be suppressed. The
guilty pair owned up to a dereliction
Of two minutes duration. Quay had
slipped out in those two minutes. A
long and fruitless search for the sena-
tor then ensued. At IL p. IN. the "old
man. returned to the hotel. The re-
porters were invited to his room, when
Quay stretched both arms above his
head and yawned, ooh, I'm so tired!"
That was the extent of the interview.
Then it was that a reporter briefly de-
scribed the offense Of the two %faithless
watchers, closing by saying:
"How would you punish such a de-
linquency, senator?" There was a mer-
~ light in Quay's eyes as he answered:
elm the army they shoot a sentinel
who deserts his post"
"a great many persons do not know
that Senator Quay won a deserved rep
utation for bravery in the civil war;"
said DR.. Edward Bedloe at the Wal
dorf-Astoria hotel to the New York
correspondent of the Philadelphia Pub
lie Ledger. cit was in the charge up
on Marye's heights, where Quay was a
volunteer aid-de-camp. When an eff
fort was made to rally the breaking
line he noticed a backward movement
among the men.
I'D it, boys he cried, what are
you lodging for? If I can sit on my
horse and the bullets 60 owe my head,
they certainly can't hit you! His pres
ence Of mind stopped the panic"
Quay was once riding from Cleveland
to Toledo on a train to the rear of
which were hitched two immigrant
cars, says the New York Press. At 8
o'clock in the evening q man entered
the Pullman car where the senator sat
and said:
- Hs.E.I - A
Ladies and gentlemen, a child has
just been born in one Of the immigrant
cars. It's a boy, and, though we are in
1 Ohio, l am a Pennsylvania. As Sena-
for Quay is or the train. it is proposed
to name the baby Quay Cobeleski and
that we all chip in and raise a purse
for him."
They Clipped. Quay contributed So,
saying he was proud of the honor. The
man passed on into the next a with
$50. An hour later it was learned that
no child had been born on the train
and that the fellow had raised $50 and
dropped off at a way station.
Mr. Quay and a shrewd Adirondack
native once figured in the following in
cident, says the Philadelphia Public
Ledger. When the senator went to the
Adirondacks some time ago to prepare
for the return home of his family, he
rode up the mountain in a coach that
was distressingly tardy and which was
following after another that, if pos
sible, was even slower. He chafed for
a time at the pace and then hit upon
a plan he thought would serve to speed
both teams. He leaned over to the
driver and offered dollar if the latter
would get ahead of the team in front.
The driver smilingly agreed and then
raised his voice to say: "Hey, l say,
Bill! Bill! Turn yer rig to the side
lof tho rood will vor9 Thoro,c a 011v