Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1905-03-24
Kansas City Star.

Kansas City Star.
Have you ever been to a baby showf
If not, you are destined soon to experl-
ence something novel In the line OF
amusement, for there is a baby show In
yitation sin the candle" FOR you, Doubt
less at this very moment the clerk In the
postofflce is sorting out a little enyel-
ope marked with your name.
When YOU get an Invitation IL will
read that you are invited 10 attend y
oaby show at such q time and place. AT
the close there win be a request that you
seEd in advance the earliest picture
taken. of yourself.
The baby show, as II Is now amusing
the delicate senses OF those who are al
Ways looking for something new, IL
portrait exhibition. The hostess sets
aside a room for the show. she clea;s
Il of furniture. strips the walls Of their
ha~ngings, sends out her Invitations and
waits for the entries
So they begin TO come in--a vast array
Of youthful pictures. There Is the oil
painting az RaphaeTs 'cheruDt' With d
sadly unclassie nose! This Is a pleturs
of your friend. Senator RlSby. done at
the age of ., when his mother saw signs
Of angel wings cropping from his shoui-
ders. and must nave her cherub paint
ed,
There IS 4 pantalstted child seated ~
the boy with odd looking trousers.
These, by looking up the cards, you
learn TO be Congressma ~So-and-So ana
brother. taken when thay were small
boys. And there II the daguerreotype
with its queer glass effect. and the fad
ed little card, both taken before photog-
raphy was clear and instantaneous
These pictures make the baby show.
You hang them on the walls with a
backing OF cardinal cloth to set them
off. Then YOU ask the company {"
judge them, No names are attached.
merely numbers, quite like any portrait
show.
The interesting part comes In the
guessing. Each guest Is presented with
a small card. on which she writes her
impressions OF the pictures, DEPOSITS
the proper numbers she places the name
of the person whose person she thinks ii
is, and when her list ~ complete She
hands Ii in TO the committee.
There is a Judge and a COMMITTEES OF
examination. The latter looks over the
cards and gives a mark to each correct
guess. The finals are handed To the
Judge, who awards prizes to the BEST
guessers. The consolation prize "a the
one who got the few ST right Is d large
tintype. for which the unhlcky gresser
'''slts' next day. The tintype becomes
ithe property OF the hostess, and at q
future baby show IL is a feature. The
winning prize Is a large instantaneous
photograph or the room. taken BY Hash
light that same evening and promised
as the property OF the winner. when
completed.
To give the baby show the progress
sire feature, new shows are given, New
friends are introduced md shows PLAN
ned for them. Six pictures make .
show. and are enough 10 form an excnse
FOR another baby show; and so II may
go on all spring.
A leader in Chicago society. whose
mother was requested to send the ear
Hest photograph OF her son. and who
supposed that 1t was for ON private
use. inclosed a little card OF her boy
at the g OF three weeks, In a wash
bowl. The Mortified leader OF society
nearly fell TO the floor when he recog
nized his first picture on view for 800 or
C~hicago's ultras.
The supper is a feature OF the baby
show. The most youthful things are
served. Cornstarch buildings In infar-
tile mold. ices as Noah's ark figures,
and %doughnut men and women fried in
fat. Al tin plate with alphabet around
the edge. set upon a wooden tray. lis
placed before each gnest; and iemonade
n coffee are served Ia mugs Az a
favor each guest takes home an Or
ange, which may be D boubon box with
removable cover
The baby show sounds very simple
when described and seems a most ar
monius way OF spending q novel even
ing. But in the mock baby show, as
well as in the real thing. there may be
notes out OF harmony. A serious dis
turbance was caused at one when the
company unanimously voted a great
fat-faced bouncing baby to be a voting
Yale athlete. When the decision was
read, a deep silence fell upon the group.
broken suddenly by the violent s0bblng
of a sweet faced petite blond That
isn't an atheiete.,' cried she. 1T Is q
picture OF me. taken when + vas q year
old. Oh-oh--I think you and the baby
show are nasty, mean thingss"
But If all agree 70 accept the decisions
with equanimity. the baby car be made
AN event at which there is a great deal
more laughter than tears.