TEXT FOR A BIG “STORY”

An English correspondent said in Washington:

“I once tried to interview Lord Kitchener, the English war minister. I tackled him after dinner in a hotel lounge as he sipped his coffee and puffed on a huge cigar. He stared at me when I proffered my request, then he blew a cloud of smoke and said:

“‘I never gave an interview in my life, and I never intend to.’

“This seemed decisive enough. I felt myself getting red, and I stammered, as I prepared to go:

“‘Well, then, Lord Kitchener, will you at least give me your autograph? It would be worth having.’

“He blew another cloud of smoke. Then he answered:

“‘You’d better go off and make your own autograph worth having.’”