Los Angeles herald., 1905-10-22
MAY BE NAMED by
DEMOCRATSFOR
GOVERNOR
Record as a Fighter
of Grafters
Says Money Grubbing Is
Root of Evil
Believes Reform Must Come
From Heart
"choose Higher Class of Men as Legis-
Iators"-"So Much Talk Of Graft
ing Has conventionaIIzed the
Crime"-Strong Man,
Says McNab
BY WILLIAM HAMILTON CLINE
SEEING SEYMOUR

"well, I'm not going to be inter-
viewed"
That's the greeting given me by the
Hon. Arthur M. Seymour, dictrict at
torney of Sacramento and successful
boodler punisher, one day last week.
Not especially cordial either, after I
had come 600 miles just to see him,
had forewarned him of my arrival,
and introduced myself by some of the
strongest letters a man could present.
1t was a little discouraging, especial
ly when the interviewee, so to speak,
has been so frequently mentioned late
ly as vry probable Democrat nomi-
nee for governor-under such circum-
stances, men are ordinarily more APP
proachable.
But the Hon. Arthur M. Seymour
really didn't propose to be inter-
viewed. Had I known him as well be-
fore 1 met him-yes, it's a bull, "
but let it go-as 1 do now, he wouldn't
have been asked. But 1 didn't, so at
him I went.
yes" he replied, "I see your let
ters"-and he tossed them aside on a
great pile of papers on his huge desk.
"But you bet if I'd been here when
that telegram came, I'd have wired
you not to take the trouble to come
up-that I wouldn't see you. 1 don't
want to be interviewed, and I don't
propose to be-
Not even had been asked to take
q seat. I stood beside the overfiowing
desk, twirling my hat, while he tilted
back in his desk chair and put his
knees against the table and scowled,
up and down between his keen, pierre
ing eyes, lines formed, and his mouth
formed another one-straight across.
His small black "crusher" hat was
atop his mat of black hair, just edg-
ing with grey, and he left it there,
as If in a hurry to have me gone.
Rather Embarrassing
1t was rather embarrassing. for a
moment. Neither of us spoke. I
walked to the side of the desk and
sat down. He accepted this as sign
of determination and the scowl deep
ened. Then we eyed each other.
He jerked open the left upper draw
er of the desk and extracted therefrom
the bowl end of a brier pipe. Then
he reached further in, drew out a long
lean, black, church-warden stem and
fitted it to the bowl.
Now, a proper church. warden pipe
Is clay; a man has no business smok-
ing brier unless he uses a bulldog
pattern of the drop-stem German sort.
A two-foot stem to a brier is shock
ing-highly improper. However, little
Seymour seemed to care for the eth
box of plug cut mixture and loaded
that nondescript sort of pipe,
fshed up a match and finally lighted
it.
"If you don't care" I ventured to
say, "Ill borrow bit Of that tobac-
co myself"
The scowl faded. The tin box came
my way. / dug up from my pistol
pocket a very proper cutty-shaped
brier, loaded and went at it. Clouds
of smoke wrapped both of us in a grey
haze.
Don't you print it that smoke a
pipe" came a voice from the far be-
yond. my wife doesn't approve Of
pipes"
"Neither does mine," replied.
And we smoked on.
I'm sorry 1 didn't make note of the
brand of weed Seymour and I smoked
all that long afternoon. 1t brought me
one of the most satisfactory interviews
I ever had. And that is the Genesis of
it. I knew it was coming when he
warned me about that pipe.