Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-24
A Friend Of Tolstoi.
Regretted in Washington.

The news or Josiah Flynts" death will
be received with regret by many people in
Washington, where he was well known. He
had been here frequently in connection with
his. work. studying at tho Congressional
Library and working up the mass of statis-
tics and facts wherewith the many stories
of his personal experiences on the road
were illuminated and made the more valu-
able. He was known to many of the news
paper men here and in other cities, some
times calling on his friends in a conven-
tional way, but more often crossing their
trails on. their tours through the under
world, where Flynt mostly lived, moved and
had his being during his working hours.
He was a born tramp in way with a
genius for mixing with the police and the
criminal element and yet with a keen ap-
probation of the refinements of life. He
knew how to order a good dinner and en-
joyed doing it, but he would get just as
much satisfaction out of loafing, unknown
to his audience. in the lowest sort of grog-
gerry and swapping personal experiences
with the A'Pfefessionals" from the road.
using the facts afterward in some keenly
analytical story.
man who had been thrown In close con-
tact with him in several countries was dis
cussing Flynt's personality with a Star re-
porter soon after the news of his death had
been RECEIVED. Said he:
II knew F1ynt or Willard pretty well. and
had met up with him in various quarters
of the country. But the most unexpected
don. l was there on business and had to
call on a man. rather a straight-laced per-
son from the provinces who was stopping
down in one of the clean, cherries and
very proper temperance hotels that front
on tile British museum. There are a lot
of them right along there and they are
the most correct and unlovely resorts In the
whole of Bloomsbury.
Wanted a Smoke.
Il was waiting in the smoking room just
below the level OF the street to see whether
my man was in when 1 heard a familiar
and plaintive voice behind me say: For the
love of, heaven, old man, il you've got any
decent tobacco, gimme a smoke.
II looked around and there in the depths
Of a big. chair Josiahwas curled up, one
leg stretched out on the top of the orna-
mental coal scuttle and an appealing twin
kle in his eye Oh, no, was not surprised
to- see, him.. would not have been sur
prised to meet him In the reception room
at the winter palace or eating chop-suey on
top OF the great wall of China 1 merely
asked what he was doing and why he was
out of tobacco. He explained that he was
working. The attitude suggested the way
Josiah always seemed to be working. He
turned out an Immense amount of stuff, but
no one saw him when he was apparently
doing anything but loafing.
He. Xas.. making study of the police
system of London, being then just on his
way back from Berlin, where he had been
making observations on the German hobo
In his ,-natdvs,,lair. and prior to that had
been taking a little tramp around Russia,
making friends with prince and peasant
alike. was his habit. He told me one
OF the several things 1 did not know. and
that was that there were tramps in
in the real acceptance of the term,
the government not fostering that sort OF
existence ana making 1t more pleasant for
any one who did not want to live in the
workhouse to hit the road somewhere over
the frontier.
But that was aside. The immediate
mead was.tohacco. Flynt having run out OF
the American sort and having been exist
ing for. several days on the so-called mix
lures dispensed In the average London shop.
1 asked. HIM how he happened to be stop
ping at q temperance hotel. for though he
was a nephew of Frances Willard. prohibit
tion was not his long suit He explained
that he was'~orking, making the statement
rather reproachfully, as though 1t were a
over which he ought to have
control, but didn't. He said that so long
as he was In a temperance hotel 1t was too
much trouble to go out and get a drink
and he had his whole time uninterrupted
while he was in the house writing.