REX STOUT'S FIRST INTERVIEW
Long before
there was a Nero Wolfe and an Archie Goodwin,
their creator, Rex Stout, was front page news.
That was on 13 January 1907 when the Topeka
Daily Capital ran a story on Rex (complete with
photograph), under the headline "TOPEKA
BOY CRUISES WITH PRESIDENT." Nor did that
headline exhaust the ingenuity of the copy editor.
Five subheads followed: "Rex Stout is on
the Yacht Mayflower"-"Is in the Paymaster's
Office There"-"HE AUDITS THE BILLS"-"Decides
Who Shall Pay for the Drinks"-"Sees
Much of the Roosevelt Family."
More than a decade ago, thanks to the graciousness
of the renowned Kansas historian, John W. Ripley
(now still vigorously writing as he nears his
tenth decade), I was made aware of this interview
and provided with a copy. In my biography of
Rex I touched on its highpoints. Few readers,
however, have had the chance to peruse the piece
in its entirety. Since it was unsigned we shall
never know who it is we are indebted to for
this first glimpse of Rex Stout as, having just
entered his twenty-first year, he stood on a
threshold of a remarkable career. That he looked
with benevolence on Rex is clear. That he was
credulous is likely. That he was indiscreet
is certain. When, nearly seventy years later,
I showed the interview to Rex he was nonplussed.
His great basso laugh thundered to the far reaches
of his catherderal-ceilinged living room. "My
God," he said, after a moment, "what
a damn fool I must have been. Why did I say
those things? I was still in the Navy."
Now here is the interview. Judge for yourself:
* * *
Only one Topeka
person, so far as is known, has had the pleasure
of cruising with President Roosevelt and his
family on the Mayflower, the yacht which the
government maintains for the President's use.
The person referred to is Rex Stout, a Topeka
boy, who has been spending the holidays with
his family in Topeka. Mr. Stout did not go at
the invitation of the President but as a member
of the Mayflower's crew. The Mayflower is a
part of the U.S. Navy and Mr. Stout has served
most of the time since he enlisted in the Navy
two years ago on duty on board the President's
yacht. He enlisted as yeoman, which is the naval
term for clerk or office employee. He is in
the paymaster's office on the Mayflower and
is known as payclerk. He audits President Roosevelt's
bills incurred in giving parties, receptions,
and banquets on board the Mayflower and decides
whether the government or President shall pay
for the champagne the latter drinks on board
his yacht. Mr. Stout is the ranking man on board
the Mayflower and has jumped over several stages
of promotion to his present position. [Editor's
note: The look of bulldog determination Rex
has on his face in the Biography's photograph,
which is, otherwise that of a little boy in
a sailor suit, makes this latter claim seem
probable.]
The Mayflower is the second ship that Mr. Stout
served on since he entered the Navy. As with
all new recruits, Mr. Stout had to serve a period
of instruction on a training ship to become
acclimated to salt water. After serving some
time on the training ship the battleship Illinois
wanted a yeoman for a short time. Mr. Stout
was sent and served a short time on the Indiana
[sic], afterwards being returned to the training
ship to await further assignment.
On the sleeve of his naval jacket Mr. Stout
wears an embroidered gun, the insignia showing
that he has qualified in marksmanship as a gunpointer.
Mr. Stout had but brief acquaintance with naval
ordinance when he went to the Illinois. However,
during heavy-gun target practice he employed
his friendship with the officer in charge of
the practice to get that person to give him
a trial. He was allowed to aim one of the six-inch
guns and surprised himself by making four hits
out of five targets, a percentage of eighty,
which entitled him to the rank of gun pointer
and to wear the embroidered cannon on his sleeve.
Shortly after returning to the training ship
the captain of the vessel received a hurry-up
call from the paymaster of the Mayflower for
a yeoman. The call arrived when most of the
boys on the training ship were on shore to attend
some kind of festival, leaving only four of
five yeoman on board. The captain lined these
men up and marched down the line-not a long
march-and asked his orderly to tell him the
name of each one. When Stout's name was reached
the captain remembered that he was the one who
had jumped overboard and rescued the captain's
dog when the canine fell overboard. To show
his gratitude the captain ordered Stout to pack
his bag and be ready to start for the Mayflower,
which was in Washington, on the next boat, which
left in three hours. Young Stout did so and
reported to the paymaster of the Mayflower the
same day. The paymaster had got mad at his payclerk
the day before and so he made Stout payclerk,
which he still is. It is his duty to make out
the pay roll for the men and the expense account
for the vessel. He audits the bills for champagne,
cigars, and other component parts of the dinners,
luncheons, etc., given by the President and
decides whether the President shall pay for
them out of his private purse or whether they
shall be charged up to the budget which Congress
appropriates each year to keep the Mayflower
in commission and pay for the official functions
given on it. Mr. Stout decides whether the affair
at which the items in the bill were used was
private or official and sends the bill to the
President or charges it to the fund accordingly.
On the Mayflower Mr. Stout has the opportunity
to observe the doings of the Roosevelt family
as few have. He knows the peculiarities of each
one. He knows whether each one is a good sailor
or not. According to him, Archie Roosevelt is
a badly spoiled child and is not liked by the
crew of the Mayflower. [Editor's Note: Archie
Roosevelt's first name was Archibald. Archie
Goodwin somewhere insists his name is not Archibald.
Small wonder!] Quentin, the youngest boy, is
a genuine boy and is loved by everybody on the
ship. When the President and his family recently
made a trip to Puerto Rico on board the Mayflower
Archie was seasick before the vessel was out
of the Potomac. Stormy weather was encountered
on the trip and waves frequently washed over
the decks, while the ship rolled so in the heavy
seas that it was almost impossible for a person
to walk the deck without holding tight to something.
Yet in spite of this Quentin was on deck almost
constantly and climbed high into the rigging,
where he was whipped back and forth through
the air as the ship wallowed in the troughs
of the waves. He was not as badly scared as
the sailors who discovered him there and were
afraid that he would fall from the rigging into
the sea.
Mr. Stout says the reason the President made
his recent trip to Panama on the Indiana instead
of the Mayflower is because he is a poor sailor.
The Indiana being a heavy ship [rides the waves
better].
The Mayflower is used frequently by President
Roosevelt and the members of his family in making
sudden trips along the Atlantic coast. Boston,
Philadelphia, and New York are frequently visited
by the yacht and during its stay at those places
the members of the crew have an excellent opportunity
to see the towns. Mr. Stout says he much prefers
service on the Mayflower to being stationed
on one of the vessels of the fleet.
During the football season just passed Mr. Stout
was a member of the Mayflower's football team.
This team won nine out of thirteen games, most
of which were against teams representing other
ships of the Navy. Mr. Stout played an end on
the team. His picture was run in the Washington
Post during the football season as the best
end in the Navy.
Every year the crew of the Mayflower gives an
elaborate ball in Washington, using the immense
ballroom in the Washington Navy Yard. This ball
is one of the social events of the season at
Washington. Every member of the Congress, the
President, heads of departments, foreign ambassadors,
etc., are invited. Last year fourteen hundred
invitations were issued for the affair. At these
balls the President leads the grand march. Mr.
Stout will head the receiving line at the Mayflower's
crew next ball, which will be held in March.
* * *
How fortunate
for Rex that there were no wire services in
1907, no radio or TV national news programs,
no national tabloids hungry for a sensational
story. The Topeka Daily Capital, far from Washington,
D.C., was able to keep its exclusive interview
with Rex Stout all to itself and its local readership
locked in the grip of winter.
Robert Benchley once wrote a book entitled After
1903, What? Just suppose that the amiable reporter
who interviewed Rex Stout in 1907 had confronted
a clairvoyant concerning Rex Stout's future,
putting to her the question, "After 1907,
What?" How incredulous he would have been
when he heard the answer. [First Published in
RSJ Autumn 1984 No.1]
John McAleer
Boston College, McGuinn Building
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
May, 2001
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