The Topeka state journal., 1918-09-24
EVENING STORY
"The Haters."

n. RAJ bAAISI.
Maybelle st. Clare sat in her dress
ing room, smeared grease paint on her
face, recited soto vpce her great song
Heres some more gorgeous flow
ers-from "a Mr.. kendricks, an
nounced Geraldine Alberton, her maid,
entering the room and holding a Dou-
Quet OF red roses at arms length, SO
she could survey it with the eye of a
critic.
And why shouldn't Geraldine AL
berton be considered a co1noisseur on
matters of flowers! Hadn't she per-,
sonally received 519 bouquets ad-
dressed to her mistress In the year and
a half since AAybslle had made her
debut as a singer ooa dancer on the
vaudeville stage?
And hadn't each and every one Of
those offerings from admirlng men
been crushed deliberately under the
same small foot or else dumped unceI-
enormously into convenient waste
basket?
"WeII, don't bother me about
them," grumbled Maybelle, as she
penciled little black crosses at the
corners of her eyes, adding luster to
drop them out thea window 1 no.
ticed there's an alley there"
81 Not that Maybelle st. Glare. dainty,
diminutice, dancing damsel," had an
| aversion for flowers. To the con-
trary, she possessed a normal girls
fondness for them. 1t was the fact
that men sent them to her that caused
her to spurn these particular bouquets
that were delivered to her room on the
average Of four a night.
when she lived in Ludington, Mich,
Mabel Glare (the extra ''y'' and "le"
the aforementioned debut) had not
been a man-hater. In fact-impossi-
Bile as it now seemed--she had been
in love. tremendously in love, at one
time. That was before she decided on
a career instead of a dishrag and car
pet sweeper.
1t was her only love, affair. The
young man had wooed her for three
years and won her, when along came
this question of women,s rights The
wedding bells were about due to ring,
when study of suffrage and sundry
other subjects put their career idea
| into Mabels head. Her fiance OBJ
jected seriously to the stage. altho she
insisted that he should accompany her
land utilize>h his musical ability to help
make her famous. She had just about
won him over to her way of thinking
when the suffrage question came up
to have its fate decided by the electors
of the state. Mabel took a promin ent
i part in the campaign, and when the
amendment was defeated she was
| heartbroken. In the midst of her
tears of disappointment, while her
lhusband-to-be was attempting to conn.,
fort her, she ceased sobbing sufficient
ly to remark that she supposed, of
course, he had voted to enfranchise
women. Being an honest but undiplo-
matte young man, he confessed that
he had marked his Cross in the NO
square. And from that moment he
stopped being prospective benedict.
| You're just a lowbrow, with back
woods ideas, and you'll never make
any progress" she had cried as she
showed him the door. II never want
to see you again-or any other man.
lTH never get married-never! I'll
carve a career on the vaudeville stage,
as have planned; but iii do it with
tout your assistance or any other
mans. I'll show that men are not
necessary, and you can stay here and
rust into grave" --,,. ,...cs-.-,
She gave up, her position In a dry
good store and went to Chicago, where
she had an aunt whose husband exeE-
cised some influence in the theatrical
lworld and who had taken considerabl ble
sympathetic interest in MabePs foot
light ambitions. The other aunt, with
whom Mabel lived in Ludington. tried
to dissuade her, but the objections
were overruled; and as both the youps
lady's parents Mere dead. there was nc
one to interfere with her working out
a future in her chosen course.
She sent no letters to her erstwEile
sweetheart-not even a postcard pic
tur of Lincoln park. Hes too mar
Common" she repeatedly assured her
self to assuage the pain that was
bound to be felt after such a Ions
|. land serious affair of the heart.
\ While Maybelle st. Claire made up
! for her first appearance in the Detroi
| | 49, go
: in the orchestra pit doing his bit in the
making of melody for the first act or
the bill. AS he puffed cut his cheek:
and performed gyratiens with thu
! trombone slide. he kept his eyes avert
ed from the slackwire artist. principal
, lily because the artist was a woman
,, and he hated women. His one dis
! astreus love affair had sembittered hi
heart against the sex.
Maybelle st. Clare's act was third o.
the bill. She was electric-lighted ou
q in trent. as the headliner; consequent
lily the audience was in an expectan
,, mood. The orchestra rendered
! dashing. soul-thrilling selection. an
when the crescendo had reached 1t
climax the girl who had carved a ca
reer, tripped daintfly out on the stag
and bowed and blew kisses in respons
to the generous applause.
She was feeling especially full o
! the artistic spirit this evening, posi-
[ bly, because she was paying her firl
!. professional visit to her home stat
: land some one from "up home" Nigh
{ be an observer of her efforts. Th
| audience was with her from the star
Y and anybody who ever had deubte
her vocal or terpsichorean abilit
e would have been forced to amend hi
: opinion upon witnessing her offerin
! that evening.
p Near the close of the act was whe
e she always made the big hit" Sh
e did it by rendering a song that sh
. had stumbled on by accident in a mu
sic store in the west. 1t was not
n popular song; she had never heard {
r it before, but 1t had seemed to fit TIL
e one void In her repertoire. SO she ha
:. annexed it Shortly after that she &c
d recognition on the big time" circuit
1 and she had been told her landing
t there was due largely to that one %
: lection.
n The orchestra became silent and th