Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1914-11-27
By EDNA EERRER
Aathw Of '.Daion o3a,s. ':Huas,sd Side D0uo. I.
Copyright By Fred

They may differ on the subjects of
cigars, samples, hotels. ball teams and
pinochle hands, but two things there
are upon which they stand united.
Every member of that fraternity which
Is condemned to hotel bedroom, or a
sleeper berth by night, and chained
to sample case by day agrees in
this, first: That 1t isn't what it used
to be. Second: If only they could
find an opening for a nice, paying
gents furnishing business in live
little town that wasn't swamped with
that kind of thing already they'd buy
It and settle down like white man,
by George! and quit this peddling.
The missus hates it anyhow; and the
kids know the iceman better than they
do their own dad.
On the morning that Mrs. Emma Nc
Chesney representing T. A. Buck,
Featherloom Petticoats) finished her
talk with Miss Hattie Stitch, head of
Kiser & Bloch's skirt and suit depart
ment, she found herself in rare
mood. She hated her job; she loathed
her yellow sample cases; she longed
to call Miss Stitch green-eyed cat;
and she wished that she had chosen
home easy and pleasant way of earn
Ing living, like doing plain and fancy
washing an ironing. Emma McChesney
had been selling Featherloom Petit
coats on the road for almost ten
years, and she was famed throughout
her territory for her sane sunniness,
and her love Of her work. Which
speaks badly for Miss Hattie Stitch.
Miss Hattie Stitch hated Emma Nc
Chesney with all the hate that fiat
chested, thin-haired woman has for
one who can wear large 36 with
put one inch of alteration, and hat
that turns sharply away from the face
For 46 weeks in the year Miss Stitch
existed in Kiser & Bloch's store at
River Falls. For six weeks, two in
spring, two in fall, and two in mid
winter, Hattie lived in New. York.
with a capital L. She went there to
select the seasons newest models
(slightly modified for River Falls),
but incidentally she took regular
trousseau with her.
All day long Hattie picked skirt
and suit models with unerring good
taste and business judgment. At
At night she was creature trans
formed. Every house Of which Hattie
bought did its duty like soldier and
. gentleman. Nightly Hattie powdered
her neck and arms, performed sacred
rites over her hair and nails, donned
q gown so complicated that hotel
maid had to hook her UP the back, and
was ready for her evenings escort at
eight. There wasn't hat in a grill
room from one end of the Crooked
Cow-path to the other that was more
wildly barbaric than Hattie's, even in
these sane and simple days when the
bird of paradise has become the ma
tional bird. The buyer of suits for a
thriving department store in hustling
little middle-Western town isn't to be
neglected. Whenever a show came
to River Falls Hattie would look
bored, pass a weary hand over her
glossy couture and say: ooh, yes.
Clever little show. Saw it two win
tiers ago in New York. This won't be
the original company, of course" The
year that Hattie came back wearing
set Of skunk everyone thought 1t was
lynx until Hattie drew attention to
what she called the brown tone'' in
1t. After that Old Lady Heinz got
~yH cI1 T. f,,N 10
balls and tobacco and newspapers
that had preserved them, and her
daughter cut them up into bands for
the bottom of her skirt, and the cuffs
of her coat. When Kiser & Bloch had
their fall and spring openings the
town came ostensibly to see the new
styles, but really to gaze at Hattie
in q new CONNECTION, undulating up and
down the department, talking with
heavy Eastern accent about this or
that being ''smart" or good this
year." or having "a world of STYLE"
and sort Of trailing her toes after her
to give clinging. Grecian line, like
pictures of Ethel Barrymore when she
was thin. The year that Hattie con-
6ded to some one that she was wear
ing only scant boomers beneath her
elinky silk the floor was mobbed, and
they had to call in reserves from the
basement Observation-Disclosures
wear,
Miss Stitch came to New York In
March. On the evening Of her arrival
she dined with Fat Ed Meyers Of the
Strauss Sans-silk Skirt company. He
informed her that she looked like q
kid, and that that was some classy lit
tie gown. and It wasn't every woman
who could wear that kind Of thing and
get away with 1t. It took q certain
style. Hattie smiled. and hummed
oft:key to the tune the orchestra was
playing, and Ed told her It was q
shame she didn't do something with
that voice.
Il have something to tell you" said
Hattie. Just before I left had q
talk with old Kiser. Or rather, he
had a talk with me. You know I have
pretty mnch INV nun vav in INV ia.