New-York tribune., 1921-10-23
YPRODUCTS IN THE LIFE OF AN INTERVIEWER

INTERVIEWING famous folk for publ
cation is wasteful department Of news
paper enterprise. 1t takes no account
Of the by-product
Conditions and circumstances under which
viewer, odd characteristics of the interviewed,
may be interesting but are not important All
that is 'back stage" stuf--not for publication.
Get news" says the editor-nobody cares
how you get it.
The interviewer however, reviewing his ad-
ventures in high life, recalls circumstances
under which he met important personages
rather than the words they uttered or topics
they discussed. For instance, the late J. Pier
pont Morgan, his private car invaded by news
paper emissaries at Chicago, remarked that
Anne must have admitted us. Anne had. Miss
Morgan is friend of the press gang always.
Mr.. Morgan dismissed with lordly ges-
ture the absurd" declaration that Wall
Street.. e., Morgan---had tried to scrap his
railway, but commented with undisguised in
terest on morning paper story anent the
theft of a famous painting from an Italian gal
iery, and with that incident as his basis talked
twenty minutes on Italian art, topic concern
ing which his guests were ignorant. No Won
der therefore, that hard-boiled city editor
later snorted disdain when informed that Mr..
Morgan talked three columns about fifteenth
century Italian painting under the influence
of the Renassance-of Leonardo da Vinci,
Raphael and Correggio, with perhaps half
column more about Halls, Rembrandt, Van
Dyck and other famous Dutchmen, but not
line about Wall Street.
ELINOR GLYN, scintillating Elinor, writer
of "Three Weeks" and other tales, touring
America with several youthful scions of Brit
ish nobility, exclaimed in dismay over hotel
telephone that she positively could not and
would not talk about love at a. M, and, in
fact, didn't comprehend how any sane editor
could expect her to do such--provided he knew
anything about love, which, being an editor, he
most likely did not.
When reminded that afternoon newspapers
must needs emulate early birds she hoped on
that unfortunate simile like a hen robin with a
hungry brood, retorting that she refused alb
solutely to be anybody's worm, and, anyhow,
would not discuss love until after dinner. She
never did, on principle. 1t was positively in
decent to propose topic like that in the pale
gray of Chicago dawn, but IL the press gang
would inform her where she might obtain o
rasher of real Irish bacon fit for regular
crinkly curl papers" served in American ho~
tells she would be everlastingly grateful and
later on might be induced to deliver a homily
on love-
What the lady really talked about when at
last she consented to receive newspaper COM
pany was Belgian hare breeding, at that period
popular craze. Every poor family, she said,
could become independent OF Swift and
Armour by having Belgian hare hutch in the
back yard, because so amazing was the fecun-
dity of those admirable creatures that a few
pairs would keep the average household busy
devising new ways to cook hare.
CHIEF JUSTICE WILLIAM HOWARD
TAFT, visiting Chicago shortly before the
Presidential election in 1908, had to make an
early start one morning because of an an
pointment to speak at indianapolis the same
day. He denied himself to interviewers over
night SO the afternoon newspaper men, in
duty bound, albeit somewhat dubious Of re-
suits, approached the distinguished states
mans bedroom door at :45 a. nl The tran
som was atit, and through it billowed basso