Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1906-11-08
GIRL WHO OFFERED HERSELF
FOR SALE HAS ARRIVED

Elizabeth Magic, the CnlCago
girl who offered herself for sale to
the highest bidder, has been pur-
chased.
Following the example Of all
young women who attain to sudden
prominence by unusual and bizarre
conduct, she will write book.
Her literary efforts will first be
printed, she says, in series of
magazine articles under the title
1.-THE Girl Slaves of Chicago. F."
Miss Magic does not say whether
the negotiations of her unnamed adj
niirer include anything in the mat
rimonial line, but she is sure that
the literary part of it is ALL right,
as the contract has been signed.
Upton Sinclair, Miss Magic
says, was one of those who sent
her letter, and he inclosed check
for SIS, inviting her to his home
and offering her lucrative posi-
ton, declaring that she had the
making of a revolutionist.
~ shall return his check said
Miss Magic. ''For the present l
am amply provided for. have just
signed a contract to write / ? ar
ticles on The Girl Slaves of Chi
cago, and l want to tell you that /
know something about these girl
slaves. Personal friends from all
over the country, seeing my letter,
have sent me money, telling me
that they would stand by me UNI
til l got on my feet again.
The "Girl for Sale" was much
elated over her entrance into the
literary field. She said to friend
'"There is something doing. Pm
it. Things are coming my way.
BY one fell swoop have arrived.
can have anything want titles,
millionaires, homes, jobs every
thing.
Elizabeth Magic was born in
Canton, Illinois, where her father
was editor of country newspaper.
Her father died while in the gov
eminent service in Washing ton
where she says she also worked,
earning 500 month as a stenog-
rapher. When her father died she
removed to New York, where her
mother still lives. Some two
weeks ago, when she wrote the
letter which caused her to awake
the next morning to find herself fa-
nous, she was living in a north
side Chicago rooming house and
earning, as she said, $40 week.
This was slavery to the girl. She
liked costly gowns and delicate
lingerie, books and flowers and
plenty of candy, but after her
room rent was paid and her meal
ticket purchased she found that she
had no money for these luxuries. Sc
she came to regard herself as girl
slave.
Then the idea came to Miss
Magic to appeal to the public in
some way-to show up the mental
anguish of a girl who has satin
taste and a calico income. AS {
preliminary she wrote letter tc
a Chicago paper in which the fol.
lowing paragraph appeared;
There is nothing | can get thai
want, and nothing want that
} can get. am slave to the in
humanity of the system code,
the conventional theory. Instead
, l propose to be slave to some mar
who will be good to me. I've tosseC
the code out of the window. l an
for sale. will be auctioned off t,
the highest bidder. -
: When this letter was printe,
everybody asked: is this a secons
Mary McLane or is it only hoaxH
, The women's clubs were almos
speechless with horror and mos
} people imagined that this Elizabetl
Magic, if such person really ex
: listed, must be a brazen adventures
nut WITCH E<l'ZdOCNh NAd5 &c " q
located she was found to be tim
S id, slight and rather pathetic littl
: figure, seemingly much frightene
l and distressed by the public inter
: est aroused by her letter. She ha
E been misunderstood, she declared
, her startling letter offering hersel
e for sale meant nothing more tina
S the rendering of her conscientious
S untiring mental efforts to an en-
a ployer who would be appreciativc
y SIT was a great mistake" Mis-
# Magic said. Il meant nothin
h except that | have despaired of tai
). ing position as leader, and see
e a place in the rear guard, where
n can get a living, but a clean an
IS honorable one. | am willing TO Sc
i my brain and best efforts, bat notl