The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-09-05

Washington. Sept. "a book that de-
scribes Intimately the Official and per-
sonal life OF a United States senator.
throughout the war and six or seven
work of great interest now, and OF
constantly increasing value as time
goes on.
Such a book, unknown to the public
and even to many members OF the SEN
ate, has been written-and ID still be-
ing written--by Senator Henry Foun-
tain Ashurst. Of Arizona one OF the
OF congress. And this senatorial diary.
which already fills two enormous bound
volumes, In not the dry and tedious al
fair that anyone might imagine who
was familiar with the general run OF
senatorial utterance. The diary 10
written In q bouncing. humping rhetor-
ical style. full Of color. energy ana
human. II Is a book which will prob
ably be read in the future, not only
because Il contains historical data, but
also because, like the deathless diary
OF Samuel Pepys. It IL the picture of a
man.
Extremely Modest.
Senator Ashurst Is extremely modest
about his diary. and refuses fatty to
be interviewed on the subject. He Is
said to have refused an offer Of 10000
for the manuscript, and to have no
plans for publishing 1t. But he has
allowed his friends to read the book.
and the contents Of 1t and the facts
about its origin and growth are pretty
well known u a sveRfl circle.
Senator Ashurst spent his boyhood
andAyouth In Arizona in the pioneering
days. He knew what 1t was to hide
in the brush from wild Indians before
he wore long trousers, but he didn't
know what a railroad train looked like.
When the Ashurst family became at
fluent enough to buy cook stove. II
took six months to get this luxury. and
cost more than 5000.
Lives In Memory.
Senator Ashurst lives. to a most I'M
usual extent, in the memory Of those
early days. His diary is full of refer
ences to them. And his diary keeping
habit derives from them. for In those
days nearly everyone kept a diary. The
senator's father lost his life while pros
pecting In the Grand Canyon and the
senator then very young man. was
a member of the party that found the
body. When they reached the camp OF
the missing man and found that no
entry had been made in his diary for
three days. the son knew at once that
his father must be lost for he had
never before known him to miss max
ing his daily entry. A little later they
found the body of the elder Ashurst.
The senator began his own diary
keeping at the age of 9, and has been
at 1t more or less regularly ever since.
He has not missed day in the last ten
years. The senator has admitted that
he always had an ambition to be
writer, and in this diary his itch for
the pen has found expression.
During the war, the senator wrote
about little except the war. His diary
becomes a history Of the war in WASH
ington, with some very good character
sketches of notabes and vivid descrip-
tons of exciting days. But the most
interesting parts of the journal are
the personal touches, which reveal the
man.
For example. on Friday. Sept. 10,
1918, the senator celebrated his forty
fourth birthday at dinner party. Not
only is 1t an unlucky day. as the SEN
ator gleefully points out to his guests,
but the i'll omen is intensified by the
fact that he has thirteen letters in his
name. When. in addition. It is dis