Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-11-23
Ehrntttg Gt1at

of q man who does not live here now
but who has some recollections of
newspaper work in Harrisburg years
ago. They deal with the reporting
end of visits of famous men to the
State Capital Also they show that
the really big men of fifty years ago
were just as approachable as the
statesmen of to-day. Abraham Lin
ton as Theodore Roosevelt or William
II. Taft. This man tells the story of
how when President Johnson visited
Harrisburg in company with General
Grant and Admiral Farragut, they
were given a great reception and after
the people had departed and the big
men were taking it easy a Harrisburg
Inewspaperman went to interview them.
They interviewed him and he did not
get home until after midnight. Cen
eral Grant, who visited here on MS
way home from his trip around the
world, was a guest at the Executive
Mansion and told scribes any number
of fine stories about his trip, including
some amusing incidents in which
crowned heads figured, but the gen.
eral refused to let any of them be
printed.
President Mckinley was the most
anable president anyone would want
to meet and while he would talk freely
TO newspapermen he never let any
.hiS pe pupllSneu unlesS IL came out
In typewriter form. Major Mckinley
used to travel great deal on the
pennsylvania Railroad and when his
train changed engines here he would
get out and walk around. He would
gather newspapermen about him and
| tell stories, but there is not on record
one of his visits here that produced an
| interview. Yet on his return from a
| trip West after the Spanish War when
he went to sound out the sentiment of
| the West about the Philippines he said
some things in chat with newspaper
reporters in Harrisburg which would
| have made 'scareheads' in all the
| papers If they could have been printed
| then. The news did come out, but it
came out in Congress without the
| White House figuring in it, Probably
the shortest interview given by
President here was to a newspaper
man who in his day was the leader of
them all in Harrisburg. He had
| telegram to ask President Roosevelt
about something. The Colonel was
| having one of his usual receptions with
everyone shaking hands and he stop
ped, read the telegram and replied in
an explosive mo" for publication,
| later on inviting newspapermen into
his car to tell them why. The Colonel
was great on shaking hands with all
| the kids" that could get to his car
when he went through. One evening
he saw four babies in arRs of fathers
or mothers and chucked two under the
chin and shook hands with the others.
| On one occasion a little girl, now Il
pretty young lady and a member of a
well-known family, threw a kiss to
him fom the arms of her father. The
then President kissed his hand back
and said "Ah, there, petty" Then to
the crowd he said: You ought to see
the bunch have at home"
| Snaa king a hort ir1torvieus Of JTpiop
station also brings to mind how two
scribes endeavored to talk to the Span
ish minister as he was passing through
| this city on his way to Canada right
after the breaking out of the war in
| 1898. In some way they got into his
private car. 1t was the next to last
on the train and the United States
secret service men detailed to guard
him and his own staff were all in the
rear car, probably expecting that
would be boarded by some dreadful
patriotic hothead. The minister was
getting ready for bed. Indeed he was
almost ready when the newspapermen
walked in. He was shown a telegram
asking for statement, but before he
could reply an adjoining berth grew
a gigantic porter, a valet came in
through a ventilator, two wildly
gesticulating Spaniards seemed to
have flown in through the windows
and secret service men sprouted from
| the floor. The two HarriSburgers
were hustled out of the car and when
| they eXpostulcted at their treatment
one secret service man whispered,
Say, what do you think'll happen to
us? How did you do it anyway"
Charles Warren Fairbanks is an
example of the newspaperman in pub
lie life who is not afraid to talk.
When Mr.. Fairbanks was vice-presi-
dent he had to stop here many times
to change trains and was always will
ing to talk, guardedly, it is true, but
| to talk on important matters. And
| he always had something worth while
to say. 1t happens that in his younger
days Mr.. Fairbanks was the represen-
tative of the Associated Press in In
dianapolis and Pittsburgh.
William Jennings Bryan who is the
champion interview granter, is an
other former newspaper worker. He
still writes but he does not go at it
as hard as in the days when he used
to chase political stories for Omaha
newspapers. Once he stopped here on
some trip that was attracting much
attention and newspapermen were
awaiting him with kilograms ordering
them to ask the Nebraskan various
things. When Mr.. Bryan left his car
he walkeS up to the group and said:
Now, boys, l want to find something
out. Inen ne asked pFoDdDly ndll
q dozen questions about what news
was on the wire and what was going
on at Washington and so on. Then.
turning around, he said, Now, you
fellows, take your turn"
Two of Pennsylvania's most noted
United States Senator's had a few
questions very much like those of Mr..
WI. Only, they knew about everyone
in the State and they did not ask the
questions to parry as did the adroit
Celestial. They wanted to place" their
questioner. The two men noted for
questions were Matthew Stanley Quay
and ]. Donald Cameron. About the
first query many of the newspaper
men who went up against them for
the first time got was where do you
live?" or who was your father?"
And If you came from this part of
Pennsylvania nine times out of ten
they knew whence you sprang.