Cronkite interviewed Gertrude Stein in 1935

As an 18-year-old student at the University of Texas, Walter Cronkite interviewed legendary author Gertrude Stein prior to a lecture she gave at the university in 1935. Here is a portion of his article for The Daily Texan:

Miss Alice B. Toklas, Miss Stein’s traveling companion whose title is not “secretary,” according to the author, was present. This lady who walked in on Miss Stein twenty-five years ago and has been with her ever since has absorbed much of the charm possessed by the most famous of the pair.

This is Miss Stein’s first trip to Texas and she seems to like it very well. Her comment was that “this is a beautiful big State of yours,” she liked Dallas, too, but was disappointed that they insisted on showing her oil wells.

“What are your observations on the war rumors in Europe?” she was asked.

“Before I left, those who know in France didn’t believe that there would be a war,” she answered. “But then war is just like anything else. When people get tired of peace they will have war and when they get tired of war they will have peace. Don’t you, when you have been good for a long time, want to be bad?”

To her question there was no verbal answer.

“There are a great many adults who are now writing as I do. When ‘Three Lives’ was first published people said it was not understandable, but now I don’t think there is anyone who couldn’t read and understand every word of it,” Miss Stein remarked in returning to the subject of her own works.

(Hat tip: Rick Norton)