The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-31

Copyright. 1918. by Frank G. Carpenter.)
Mr.. ". J. Bryan, not of Mr.. Bryan,
the premier of this administration,
who is to steer our ship of state over this
, turbulent sea of International diplomacy.
nor of Mr.. Bryan, the silver-tongued lee
turer, who sways his audiences by his
rounded periods and melodious voice. nor
of Mr.. Bryan, the politician, the blessed
and the damned of two great political par
ties; but rather of William ]. Bryan, the
man, away from the department. away
from the platform, outside his editorial
sanctum. face to face-and 1 might almost
!. say heart to heart-in his own home. I
! have known Mr. Bryan casually for many
years. ] met him When he first came 20
Congress, at the age of so, now almost a
quarter of a century ago. / sat beside
him as a fellow newspaper correspondent
six years later at the st. Louis conven-
tion where Mckinley was nominated. and
was astounded two weeks later to see him
nominated as the democratic candidate
for the presidency. at the close of that
wonderful speech which ended with the
now historical phrase: you shall not
press down upon the brow of labor this
crown of thorns. You shall not cruelty
mankind upon a cross of gold.''
have had many glimpses of Mr.. Bryan
since then, and, looker-on in Vienna as
I am, L have never been able to regard
him as the saint and only possible sa-
vior of his country, in which light he is
viewed by many of his party. nor as pos
sessing the hoofs and horns of our ma
tional destruction so graphically cartooned
by the artists of the opposition. At times
he has seemed to be a demagogue, at
other times an honest patriot but always
he has been interesting. So much in the
way of my preconceptions.
And now for the impression. It's mere
1y that of an evening spent with Mr.
Bryan, alone, in his little den of libra
ny at Calumet place. The Secretary of
State lives a mile and half away from
the White House, on the heights which
overlook Washington, lying as it does In
p little basin on the banks of the Poto-
mac His house is the Stone mansion,
bought as speculation by John Sher-
man, sold by him to John A. Logan for
y $4,000, and remodeled by the latter and
his wife as comfortable home. 1t stands
right on the edge of bluff with the cap
itol, the monument, the silvery river and
the emerald hills of Virginia plainly in
view. 1t has long porch. opening out
from a hall so wide that a hay wagon
could be driven through without grazing
the paper On each of this hall are par
1ors carpeted with Oriental rugs and fur
nished with old mahogany, while upon the
wall and scattered here and there about
the rooms are eurios gathered by Mr.. and
Mrs. Bryan from the four quarters of the
world
Passing through the parlors at the right
you reach the den of the secretary, a lit
tie library at the back of the house, in
which, before walnut desk about three
aat n o.aA ff,.a 60
of his literary work. The library is hung
with portraits of Washington. Jefferson,
jackson and Lincoln. 1t is walled with
books and it has easy chairs upholstered
I'm morocco, in one of which the secretary
sat in comfortable neglige as he chatted
with me. He was dressed In black with a
coat OF silk poplin and an unbnttoned
vest. which showed a wide expanse of
white shirt His manners were as easy as
his clothes and his personal magnetism
was such that ! came to the interview
tired and went away rested and fresh as
daisy Indeed, this was to me one of
the remarkable features of the evening.
] had had a long and hard day in my IL
hrary, and had been compelled to do an
other big newspaper interview when |
received the information that Mr. BRYAN
would see me- / was mentally so fa-
tigued that wanted to postpone the ap-
pointment, but dared not risk doing so
NeNertheiesS that tired feeling seemed
10 disappear almost as soon as | shook
hands with Mr.. Bryan, and after two
hours conversation I came away a new
man.
The interview was not one OF cut and
dried questions and answers. 1t was not
an Interview at all. but rather a running
chat about this thing and that, drifting
from Dan to Beersheba as the stream of
talk flowed. I did not care to discuss the
tariff. foreign questions. nor the new
schemes of the administration for banks
and what-not; for every one knows how
the Secretary of State stands as to them.