The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-12-29
EVENING STORY
Back-Door Methods.
(By Helen Gregg

(By Helen, Gregg.)
eff you ever expect to make a go
as society editor" said the city editor,
looking over the top of his horn spec
tacles and not taking the trouble to
take the cigaret from the place where
it adhered to his lower lip, you've got
to learn the back-door method. Get
the dramatic editor to give you tickets
| for bum shows that none OF US want
to see and hand them out to the teie,
phone operators in some OF the SVEN
hotels In return, they will listen TO
conversations when the swell DANES IN
their places call any one up. hlo the
| ladies' maids in the dressing rooms
when YOU go to charity balls. and get
! next to the hair-dressers and manicure
/ girls that are employed by the society
/ women who don't have their own
maids. OF course, the big-bugs them
selves won't take the trouble to tank
to YOU" and there was an emphasls
on the you that was very belitthng
to Clarice Daw, newly installed as so
ciety editor of the News-World.
! Sometimes, in spite of the city edi-
tors Judgment, the ''big-bugs" did
talk to Clarice. If theJ ever men
to speak of her as nice little thing.
Very pretty tho she was. she managed
never to be striking when she attend
ed society functions, and tho more
than one husband or son would gladly
have talked to her instead of the
more eligible women of their own set,
| Clarice knew too much to let them
She preferred the back door method
of getting news. If she were forced
to consult the big bugs" at all, she
had learned that the oldish women
when approached with considerable
/ but discreet flattery yielded up the
facts she wanted to know better than
any one else. For Clarice had made
the discovery that there is no one in
the world that is SO flattered by the
lattention of young and pretty Wo-
man as an old woman, especially when
that attention is accompanied by COM
plete obliviousness of the existence OF
that aging ones husband or son.
On the occasion of the big war ben
eft bazaar that was to be given out
at Col. Jones Drew's country estate
late in the autumn, Clarice was urged
to do her durndest'' by the city edi-
tor. He l'ro missed to give the event
a top mead, front page position
that was, of course, provided there
was not another revolution in Russia
or a cabinet minister did not resign OIL
something of that sort. Its to be the
biggest social event of the season." he
told her, "and, besides, there is a very
good reason why we want to have
Drew think the News World is the
best sheet IN town"
well, I'm sure there is every reason
why he should protested Clarict
whose loyalty to the paper for which
. she worked was complete
Clarice circled hurriedly round tn
large drawing-rocms where the vari
) Gus booths had been set up and theT
: roamed thru the protected gardens
of the old estate and down linden lane'
t and thru hemlock groves and IL
and out a Japanese garden, where th'
! various money extracting schemes
, were established. She noted on thu
: tiny sheets of paper that she held in
/ conspicuously in her hand the gown
of the various distinguished womel
whose faces had come to be very ia
; miliar to her. But, reflected Clarice
gowns wouldn't be enough for a first
5 page story. She wished that fir
might break out in wing of the nous
y or that some one would fall into tn
+ pool in the Japanese garden so tina
. some one else might make heroI
. rescue. But nothing like that hap
a pened. Then Clarice remembered tn
= back-door method
q Sheltered in grape arbor that RAJ
at right angles from the hedge tina
@ bounded the kitchen yard was an elab
: | orately set up bar. Altho, perforce
all the drinks there dispensed Wer
9 of the soft variety. The bar was en-
\ tireIy attended by men, who stoo
= smoking and shivering there in the ar
= | bor-apparently their sanctuary fror
4 too much femininity. Mayhap benin
. those bottles of ginger ale were som
. | others not listed on the enormou
facetiously worded list of drinks tina
: was fastened conspicuously over tn
: impromptu bar. Clarice knew, o
( course, that interesting tho such =
, revelation might be. it would never d
y to make the interest of her article de
> pend on such information.
: What did focus her attention wa
u the presence of two Woodworking me-
a in white linen coats who mixed vari
I Gus concoctions with all the expert
ness of professionals. They were tn
only servants that Clarice had ye
= been able to discover. She knew ina
if she could get hold of one of tn
= servants of the Drew household sh
;, could extract what Information sn
:, wanted. She therefore sided her wa
- over toward the bar in the aIbor tax
. ing care that none of the dowagers
. whose patronage proved so vafuabl
II to her. should see her taking steps Il
+ the direction of the group where mos
# every ones husband was STANDING
e She therefore approached the arbo
a from the kitchen side of the hous
= and was not perceived. The younge
of the two barkeeps saw her ap
j proach : nd, with the intLitive knowl
eAge of her Discrimination to draw an
= nearer to the group of men, slippe
| tn the other side of the hedge.
II "I know you are very busy. sh
said. She realized at once hat tn
| man knew who she wa and guesse
! h>r Grand But then most servant
of the larger blishments did knoN
her and-perhaps because of tn
g bum theater tickets"-rather like
" her. She had never, that. she remem
- bered. had any direct transaction wit
this one. rs there anything dom
here I'm looking for scoop for tn
It News WorId-you know, somethin
L. that none of the other papers have
v HOW have your drinks been selling =?
> The barkeep smiled knowingly an
said. YES. madam" and I'll Sc
: madam" Then. cogitating TOT mo
rent "T don't believe as 'ow tn
k colonel wanted it to be published bu
a the men here patronizing this bar
n all strictly soft drinks, mind you
L. million dnllar