The San Francisco call., 1907-01-16
Pacific Grove Little Girl
Springs a Surprise
Late Returns Shol0 She Has Won
Third Place in Gold Contest


for tie first period of The Calls $4,000
at least one more day. Verifying and
counting all the ballots is a bigger task
than was expected, and the work has
been further delayed by the siOwness
of the malls of last Saturday in arriv-
ing In San Francisco, owing to wash
outs the railroads. Before the re-
suit is finally announced every precau-
tiOn must be taken to see that all the
contestants get credit for all the votes
they are entitled to, and no more. 1t In
hoped In another tsventy-four hours to
have the figures verified so that 1T can
be definitely announced in Thursdays
paper who the prize-winners are, with
the amount of the purse won by each.
81 am going to be among the high
five," was the message little Irma
Klaumann of Pacific Grove sent to the
contest editor of The Call week ago,
with reference to her ultimate stand
ing in the score for the first period of
The Calls $4,000 gold prize contest.
The contest editor didn't believe it.
He knew that Miss Irma was Won
derfully bright and active little girl of
whom great things could be expected,
but he had his doubts about her being
able to win one of the big purses so
ably and strenuously contested for by
OlQer ana more experienced PSISOnS
than she. The editor thought Irma
was allowing her enthusiasm to get
the better of her judgment. But one
never knows what these clever little
enthusiasts can do until they have
been and gone and done it,
Most humbly the contest editor begs
the pardon of the most popular young
lady in Monterey County for having
doubted her ability to make her promise
hn nd GO a
to write her a letter of coincidence be-
cause the early returns of the voting
on the closing day of the first period
of the contest made it appear that she
had fallen far short of her ambition
He thought she had done very well to
finish in seventh or eighth place in so
strenuous a contest. But Miss Irma
made no idle boast when she said she
would be among the high five. She
had little surprise in store for those
who thought a $50 prize was the best
she could win.
The surprise was little late in COM
ing. When Sunday and Monday passed
without any mail for the contest ed-
itor from Pacific Grove, he concluded
that Miss Klaumann's votes were all
Inland that nothing further would be
received from her to count in the score
for the first contest period. Therefore
it was confidently announced in Tues
day mornings Call that the returns of
Saturdays voting were virtually all in
and that Sacred Heart College, Mrs.
Mary C. Deasy and Miss Emile Hay
ward had won first, second and third
prizes, respectively, beyond the perad--
venture of doubt II also seemed
settled beyond question that Miss Ger
trude Briody of Santa Cruz had won
fourth place. Reuben Bebergall and
Don Campbell fifth and sixth, and Mrs.
May McElroy seventh.
But all calculations as to the outcome
of the first period of the, contest were
knocked galley west" yesterday morn
ing when the first mail for the day
was delivered at The Call Office. The
postman brought to the desk of the
contest editor fat registered pack
age from Pacific Grove, the postmark
plainly showing that it was mailed and
registered in the Pacific Grove post
office on January IL and received at
the San Francisco postoffice on Janu-
airy ii. 1t was not delivered to The
| Call Office until the morning of the
18th, but. having been mailed on Satur-
day. the contents, If votes, would apply
to the first period of the contest
The envelope. when opened, was
found to contain the largest cash re-
mittance to pay for subscriptions to
The Call received at any one time from
any contestant since the opening of the
contest. The subscriptions, all of which
were new ones, and most of them for
two years, amounted to more than 150,-
600 votes, almost tripling Miss Klau-
manns former score and taking her
up to third place, thereby winning for
her the 5000 prize which it was thought
would go to Miss Hayward of Martinez
few thousand votes more would have
taken her to second place, where she
would pluck the $500 purse, which Mrs.
Deasy seems to have won, according
to the present state OF the returns
and there is not much danger now that
enough additional belated returns will
come to hand to change the lineup
again
Miss Klaumann concludes her short
business-like letter of trausmittal of
her block of votes with the laconie
remark:
II also send you picture of the girl
who wins the high prize of $500. Now
what do you think of that?"
Irma evidently had figured that her
lump of 10000 votes would be suffi-
cient to take her up to first place, but
her pole was not quite long enough
to bring down the big persimmon. But
she has done very we'll in capturing so
rich a prize as 5000, and the large score
she has made in the first period of the
contest added to what she will score
in the second and third periods. will
go a long way toward winning one of
the big sweepstakes prizes. Should she
win third prize in the next two periods
and also hold third place in the total
score for the entire contest, her total
winnings by the 18th of April would
be $1,000 pretty good winters work
for an 11-year-old girl.
While all will admire and congratu-
late the little girl who has so unex-
pectedly come to the front in the con-
test. the friends of Miss Hayward, Miss
Briody, Mr.. Bebergall. Mr.. Campbell
and Mrs McElroy will regret their mis-,
fortune in being forced farther down
the line by the little Pacific Grove
business woman. 1t is up to them now