The Portland daily press., 1897-10-15
TOPEKA's QUEEN OF LABOR.
The Cigarette Girl Over Whom Kan
sas Went Wild.

Kansas City, and Thereupon Was
Made The Subject of an Extraordinary
Ovation in Kansas--Honors Heaped
Upon Her by officials and the Public.
New York SUM-
A Missouri cigarette girl made trium-
phal entry into Topeka, Kan, the other
day: A special train carried her.. brass
bands saluted her, the Governor welcomed
her, and thousands of people eheered her
until they We're hoarse. The story is like
fairy tale.
Several weeks ago Kansas City, Mo-,
decided to have a flower carnival under
the patronage Of fashionable people.
There was to be queen of the carnival,
attended by maids of honor, and neigh
boring cities we're invited to select some
pretty and popular girl to represent
them in this retinue. In Chillicothe the
leading candidate was Miss Edna Whit
ney. an attractive girl who supports her
mother and sister by working in cigar
cite factory. She belonged to various
church societies and social clubs, and was
finally chosen to he the Chillicothe maid
of honor at the Kansas City carnival
Everybody congratulated her and hoped
that it would be an experience which she
would long remember.
This hope has been realized beyond any
ones fondest anticipations. Miss Whit
ney will doubtless remember the flower
carnival and succeeding events as long
as she lives. In the first place she is not
likely to forget brief communication
which she soon received from a Mr.. Wal
ter S, Halliwell. MIR. HalliWell doubt
less realizes that Kansas City aristocracy
is young and tender flower, and he
means to preserve it from rude winds
He sent note to Miss Whitney intimat-
f,xv 4l.,+ af.~
arctic girls need not apply.
Mr.. Halliwell did not know that by
those few strokes of the pen he had
achieved fame for himself and for the re-
jected cigarette girl. He soon found,
however, that he had exploded the live
lest kind of bomb. Naturally Miss Whit,
neys rejection quickly became known in
Chillicothe. The newspapers took 1t up,
and pretty soon things got to the point
where Miss Whitney ceased to be simply
a pretty cigarette girl, but stood as the
living representative of honest labor. In
her labor had been insulted, and labor
determined to resent the insult.
At this point Topeka saw chance to
cover herself with glory. There was to
be carnival there also, and the authori-
ties lost no time in asking Miss Whitney
to be their guest and to appear as the
Queen of Labor. kilograms of praise
poured in upon the Topekans when they
had done this, and So, 600 was subscribed
toward the expenses of the cigarette girl.
A special train was engaged to convey
her from her home, and the main interest
Of the carnival centred around her COM
ing.
On the appointed morning the special
train, gay with flags and streamers, left
Chillicothe to the accompaniment of
cheers and the strains of a brass band.
Miss Whitney and her mother held a sort
of levee i'll their private car, and hum
dreds of people shook them by the hand
and wished them godspeed. At the way
stations crowds were assembled, and Miss
Whitney was Obliged to appear on the
platform as if she were Presidential
candidate At last the train reached
Kansas City, the home of the hyper-criti-
cal Mr.. Halliwell and the sensitive Mis-
souri, aristoerats. 1t happens that the
State line runs through his city and that
there is a goodly town of the Same name
on the Kansas side of that line. The
officials Of Kansas City, Mo-, took no no
tice of the arrival of the queen of labor,
but these of of Kansas City, Kan, made
up for this lack of attention. Also 5000
other people gathered az tae union station
and demonstrated by frantic exhibitions
of lung power that they did not sympa-
thize with Mr.. Halliwell.
When the special train pulled into the
station at Kansas City, Mo-, Mayor
Marshman and the other city officials of
Kansas City, Kan. were there to meet it.
The First Regiment Band struck up
stirring air, and the crowd cheerei when
tall, we'll built woman dressed in dark
blue and wearing large black hat and a
white veil was escorted by the Mayor to a
carriage. MIR. G. X. Holiday, Jr., of
Topeka, followed with the mother of the
new queen of labor. A dozen carriages
were quickly occupied by the CITY officials,
and then, led by the band, the procession
moved through the streets of the naughty
Mr.. Halliwell's city. At the State line
a company of Kansas City, Kan, police
the State, after which there was an elabo-
"a tie luncheon, with toasts and responses
and enough compliments to turn the
head of real queen.
But it was at Topeka that the metam-
orphosed cigarette girl received the great
est ovation. Ex-President Harrison Wis
tied Topeka several years ago and a rec
him. Bryan spoke there last fall and
drew throng that eclipsed even the Har-
rison crowd. But it remained for the
Chillicothe cigarette girl to make of these
multitudes only insignificant, back num-
Der essemblages. There were bands
enough to break any drought but one in
Kansas if they had all played at once,
-
turned out to swell the parade. The
temporary stands had been erected along
the line of march: and the people swarmed
even to the housetops. When the train
did arrive and the bands struck up ''Hail
to the Chief" not foot could be heard.
The roar of cheers drowned even the
shrieking of neighboring factory whistles,
and when the Governor himself led Miss
Whitney to a carriage pandemonium
reigned. Her progress became trium-
phal procession. The police had to fight
the crowds to keep them from swarming
after her carriage, and the streets were
almost blocked by the enthusiasts in ad-
vance. Some of the banners displayed
showed such inscriptions as: "Snubbed
by Missouri-Honoredb by Kansas" 1--WE
Have Prosperity in Kansas, but We had
10 Work for It," "No Royal Road to
Honor-in Kansas" "Honest Toll Beats
Norman Blood-in Kansas" "The Re-
jected Stone in Missouri is the Head of
the Corner-in Kansas" sit is Only
Noble to be Good-in Kansas" "True
Hearts are More than Coronets-in Kan
sas;" "Sweet are the Uses of Adversely
in Kansas; miss Whitney Honors La
bor-Kansas Honors Her" Learn to
Labor and to Wait-for Kansas"