Alma record., 1918-12-26
Back-Door
Methods
by Helen Gregg

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Copyright. Mcclure Nsvssasss sysaisssAb
III you ever expect to make . - ~
society editor" said the city s1itsr.
looking over tAs top Of ~ bern sDss-
taciss and not taking the trouble to
take the cigarette from the Daaes where
II adhered 20 his lower Lip. you've sst
to learn the back-door method. Get
the dramatic editor to give you tick
cts for bum shows that none OF us
want to see. and hand them out 10 the
telephone operators In some OF the
swell hotels. In return. they will lis
ten To conversations when the swell
danes In their places call anyone up.
Kid the ladies' maids In the.sdressing
rooms when you go 10 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 themselves won't take the trou-
BILE To talk TO you" and there was an
emphasis on the you" tAat was very
bslittlinG 10 Clarice Dsw. newly In
stalled as society editor OF the News
World
Sometimes. in spite Of the city ed
itor's judgment, the ''biG-bugs" did talk
TO Cisnce. II they ever mentioned her
at all 70 eaeA other II wss TO speak Of
her a. q mice little thing" Very
pretty though she was. she managed
never 10 be striking when she attend
ID society functfons. and though more
than one husband or son would gladly
have talked to her Instead Of the more
eligible women OF their own set, Clar-
ice knew too much TO let them. She
preferred the back door method of get
ting news. II she were forced TO con-
suit the ''big-bugs" az all. she had
learned that the oldIsh women when
approa ched with considerable but dis
Greet hattery yielded up the faces she
wanted to know better than anyone
else. But Clarice had made the dis
covery that there 10 no one In the
world that Is so hattered by the at
tention Of a young and pretty woman
as an old woman. especially when that
attention is accompanied by complete
obiviouSness of the existence OF that
aging ones husband or son.
on the occasion OF the big war ben
EFT bazaar that was 10 be given out
az Colonel James Drew's country es-
tate hate In the autumn. Ciatce was
urged TO do her durndest" BY the city
editor lie promised to give the event
the most conspicuous position on the
front page. Of course, provided there
was not another revolution in Rus
sia or a cabinet minister did not re
sign or something st 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 10 have Drew think the News
World Ii the best sheet In town"
"weli. I'm sure there is every reason
why he should" protested Clarice
whose loyalty to the paper for which
she worked was complete.
Ciarice circIed hurrledly round the
large drawing rooms where the vsri-
Gus booths had been set up and then
roamed through the protected gardens
of the old estate and down linden lanes
and through hemlock groves and In
and out q Japanese garden, where the
various money-extracting schemes
were established. She noted on the
tinySrheets OF paper that she held In
conspleuously in her hand the gowns
OF the various distinguished women
whose faces had come to be very IA
miliar 10 her. But. reflected Clarice,
gowns wouldn't be enough for first
page story. She wished that a fire
! might break out In a wing OF the house
or that someone would fall into the
pool In the japanese garden so that
someone else might make heroic
rescue. But nothing IKE that hap
pened. Then Clarice remembered the
back-door method.
Sheltered in a grape arbor that ran
az right angles from the hedge that
bounded the kitchen ward was an eiab-
orately Set-up bar Although. per
force, all the drinks there dispensed
were OF the soft variety. The bar was
entirely attended by men. who stood
smoking and shlvering there in the ar
bor-apperently their sanctuary from
too much femininity. Mayhsp behind
those bottles OF ginger ale were some
others not listed on the enormous.
| facetiously wordrd list Of drinks that
was fastened conspIcuously over the
/ impromptu bar. Clarice knew, OF
course, that interesting though such u
revelation might be. Il would never do
10 make the interest ~ her article de-
pend on such Information.
What did focus her attention was
the presence OF two hard-worklng men
ia white linen coats who mixed vari-
Gus coucoctions with all the experiences
OF professionals. They were the only
servants that Clarice had yet been able
10 discover. She knew that II she could
get hold of one OF the servants
Of the Drew household she could ex-
tract what information she wanted.
She therefore sldled her way over to-
wards the bar In the arbor taking care
that none OF the dowagers. whose
| natronage nroyed so valuable To her