Omaha daily bee., 1909-09-26

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is heavy with these replies. that must all be typewriter
in alphabetical order and sent down to the printers to be
set" as soon as possible. The telephone also has an
important part in the getting up Of the gowns. All week
every spare minute is used calling up society to ask what
it will wear; II 1t has any guests who will remain for the
ball and what they will wear. OF course there are the
few. those refreshing few, who have made up their minds
and who obligingly and frankly give the description. 1t
is an open secret in newspaper offices that the people of
most Importance, are usually most obliging about giving
such information to the reporter, while those Of less con-
sequence and so less accustomed to recognition, seem to
consider it the becoming thing to fem aversion to
publicity frequently necessitating several telephone calls
by the reporter, which not infrequently elicit discourteous
replies, before a written and always elaborate description
finally arrives by mail and so disposes OF the case.
And then there is another class Of trials that, while
more or less prominent socially are known in the society
department as the "Crowders." They rarely act indie
pendently and, so, have no report to make Of their gowns
until the eleventh hour by which time It is pretty gen.
orally known among those who will take the trouble to
find out-and the crowders always take the trouble
who is going to the ball and whether they will dress for
the floor or will attend merely as spectators. The late
afternoon of the eventful day is the best time to get them
but, even then the society reporter classes them with the
uncertain for Mrs. R belongs to this class and the re-
porter is not sure that their description is an honest one
until she has seen them with her own eyes.
But more important than the gowns Of the general
attendance is that of the queen and her maids. Because
of the necessity of Incorporating these descriptions in the
body Of the story, which must make the trains editions
and so, must be in print an hour or so before the ball is
really on, the society editor is admitted into the con-
fdence Of the inner circle and the identity Of the queen
is made known to her in advance. AS often as not, how
ever, her information avails her little unless her wits are
sharp for so carefully is the secret garded that the queen
herself dare not acknowledge it except she is positive the
confidence will not be betrayed and the secret allowed to
leak out before she crosses the ball room floor for her
coronation.
Hardness is so common a railing among fashionable
modistes that the coronation gown is rarely ready for in
spection until the afternoon of the day of the ball. APP
pointments for its inspection can not be made by tele-
phone, that is too risky, and SC when the society editor
presents herself at the home of the queen like as not she
is confronted by a positive denial by an over cautious
parent or dressmaker, that she is rightly informed, and
here is where her wits must serve her if she convinces
these suspicious ones, gets the information she has come
for back to her office and gets home in time to make her
self presentable in time for the opening of the dressing
rooms at the den, where she must be on hands with her
pencil and paper for the early corners.
When a prospective queen and all her family have
for weeks guarded that state secret with f~alsehoods
likely to place in jeopardy forever, their regulations for
truthfulness and honesty among their best friends, they
are not going to take any chances with a newspaper at
the last moment and unless they have personal acquaint-
ance with the society editor, she must provide proof that