Evening star., 1919-09-22
FINDS COL. HOUSE !:
EASY TO APPROACH.
=
Correspondent, Expecting.
"Man of Mystery" Is Agree
ably Disappointed. I,
BY HENRY J. SMITH. 4
By Cable to The Star and the Chtca9o
Daily News. CODyFtghts 1918.

bx HENRI
BY Cable to The Star and the Chsessss
Daily News. Copyright. 1913. = ],
PARIS, France, September 3o.--a
There is no mystery about the man
of mystery" I went to ind him Az
the Hotel de Crillon, expecting eithers
to discover him in some ancient In q
quisitorial chamber OF the Boufoon. :
or to encounter i've anterooms ana Z
seven secretaries. But 1t Is not near.
Iy SO hard to reach Col. e. M. HOUSE.
as it is to interview one OF the lead-c
ing bankers of Paris. There Is just . !.
door on the third floor of the CriIlon. !
and the door Of the room is no more !.
conspicuous than that Of q room . !;
travelling salesman would occupy nj
the Palmer House. An American eol-s
dier sits yaaEAtifk In front OF 1t. He
opens the door . crack and speaks - ,
an affable man named Fraser. tempo.s
rarily acting as Col. Houses secro.
tan. Besides Mr.. Fraser there are :
one small table and i've chairs. "a
Gentle Rap Brings Col. House.
One still supposes that this is only
the outermost salon. but a gentle rap
on the white painted portal leading
within and Col. House himself ap-'
pears. One steps inside and Is aston
ished to find that thi. is really the
sanctum. There seemed to be no
guards, bouncers or secret service
agents. The room Is not more than
twenty feet square and IL un0tstin-
xuished save by the customary scar-
let and gilt trappings OF Pars no.
tels. The colonel sits at table
smaller than Mr.. Fraser's and smtless
q rreetine. he has not even the Gus.
tom Of making the visitors face the
iirht with his own face in the shsds
ow, He sits in broad daylight his ine
tense but kindly blue eyes mirroring
the mind within. His expressiou
seems to say: well. here am. the,
Col. House you have read about Do
I look it?'
The fact is that while Il 10 the
fashion to write about Col. House -
though he were q sort Of secret agent
travelling almost furtively from capi-
tai to capital. weighed down with In .
ternational secrets and incased In en
impenetrable reserve. found that this
picture was a product Of fancy. Col.
House is neither sleuth- like. unap!
proachable nor self-important in
possession of knowledge greater than
the average. He 10 well informed,
formed, for to his tiny suite In the
Hotel de Crillon comes Information,
carefully guarded in embassies ana
palaces But that Col House wsare.
his knowledge as . kind OF badge OF
honor and that he deserves the ad---
proves.
Does Not Grant interviews.
It is q fact that Col House does
not grant interviews. One diBcovsroT
that soon after sitting down. ! am
confirmed in the opinion that he con-
ceives Of himself as an American citi.,
zen . ,etinE purely in n private .ss,sp s.pa.s
office, burdened with no title and
therefore one who could not with GOOD
taste publish statements OF his opin.r
ions. But when ft comes to tmpartin6
what he has learned to people who
cial access. Col. House is not reserved.
What Col. House thinks Of the, pio--
ture Of him fostered in the minds Of
the people OF two continents 10 some.
thing Of which he does not talk. but
we may assume that he does not like
1t. Recently he is reported to have
said to a caller that he was surprised
and displeased to find that his move.
ments caused 80 much speculation.
mainly distracted. He remarked,
MY trips are descrfbsd - though
each had an enormous signldcance
although the occasion for most Of
them il Of no great moment ana per-
haps even commonplace. I an at G.
loss to understand this. Ought pPos
nounce my departures and arrivals
with q blare of trumpets from press
agents? That is not my way"
Evidently Not His Way.
One knows. indeed, studying this
quiet figure incongruously surround. :
ed by scarlet and gilt, that Il would
not be his way. He has his own
means OF accomplishing his ends. ana
Il IL not the way Of the lecturer or
political candidate. What was It he
talked about the day I saw himr
% not remember, except at the emu
he remarked: Paris @ sploAdld s&
this time OF year" ~
We shook hands aaA fn th1Fev -
QA0D I mAde way Tor tAA AAst 1AIlliE