The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1923-01-08
A POSTSCRIPT BY THE CHRON-
ICLER

Those who resent as an imperti-
hence the chronicler's intrusion upon
the scene may here depart and slam
the door. if such violence truly ex-
press their sentiments Others.
/ averse to precipitous leavetakiug. may
linger. hat in hand, for the epilog.
! I attended a public hearing by the
! Senate committee on child labor at
! the last session of the General Assem-
/ bly,. accompanying my neighbor, Mrs.
Sally Owen, and we found seats i'm
mediately behind Mr.. and Mrs. Dan
/ iel Harwood.
There's Elizabeth and Daniel" re
marked Mrs. Owen, as they turned
round and nodded to us. I found it
! pleasant to watch the Harwoods, who
are, as may have been surmised, old
/ friend Of mine. The meeting gathered
| Roadway, and as one speaker after
another was presented by the chair
man, I observed that Mrs Harwood
and her husband frequently ex-
| changed glances Of approval; and I'm
| afraid that Mrs. Harwood's profile,
and that winning smile of her, in
terested me quite as much as the
pleas Of those who advocated the
pending bill. Then the representative
OF a manufacturers organization
| inveighed against the measure, and
my two friends became even more
deeply absorbed. It was a telling
speech, by one of the best-known
lawyers in the State. Once I saw
Dams cowlick shake like the plume of
an angry warrior as his wife turned
| toward him inquiringly. When the
orator concluded. I saw them dis
| cUssing his arguments in emphatic
whispers, and I was so pleased with
the picture they made that 1 failed
to catch the name of the speaker
whom the chairman was introducing.
A nudge from Mrs. Owen caused me
to lift my eyes to the rostrum.
''The next speaker is Mrs. Allen
Thatcher" announced the chairman,
beaming namely as a man always
does when it becomes his grateful
privilege to present a pretty woman
to an audience. Having known Ma
rian a long time, it was almost too
much for my composure to behold
her there. beyond question the best
1
Der, with a single American Beauty
thrust into her coat, and a Devil
dering rose-trimmed hat browning her
fair head. a pleasant sight any
where on earth, this daughter Of the
Hon. Morton Bassett, some time SEN
ator from Fraser; but her appearance
in the legislative hall long dominated
by her father confirmed my faith in
the ultimate adjustments of the law
Of compensations. I had known Ma
rian Of old as an expert golfer and the
most tireless dancer at Waupegan;
but that speech broke all her records.
Great is the emotional appeal Of a
pretty woman in an unapprcachable
hat, but greater still the power Of
the born storytellerI I knew that
Marian visited Elizabeth House fire.
quelty and told stories of her own or
gave recitations at the Saturday night
entertainments; but this was Marian
with a difference. She stated facts
and drove them home with anecdotes.
1t was a vigorous, GREATNESS perform
ance, and the manufacturers attor-
ney confessed afterward that she had
given HIM a good troucing. When she
concluded q remember that her white
gloved hand smote the speakers desk
with a sharp whack at her last world,
I was conscious that the applause was
started by a stout, bald gentleman
whom I had not noticed before. I
turned to look at the author Of this
spontaneous outburst and found that
1t was the Hon. Edward q. Thatcher,
whose unfeigned pride in his daughter
in-law was good to see.
When the applause had ceased, Mrs.
Owen sighed deeply and calculated:
''Well, well,''
As we walked home Aunt Sally grew
talkative. ''I used to say it was all
in the Book Of Job and believed it.
but there are some things that Job
didn't know after all When I put
Marian on the board of trustees of
Elizabeth House School. it was Just
TO make good feeling in the family.
and didn't suppose she would attend
a meeting, but she's one of the best
women on that job. And Elizabeth
II loved the way she drawled the
name and repeated it-"E-lizabeth
says they couldn't 40 without her. 7
guess between 'em those girls will
make elizabeth House School go
right. That investment will be divi-
dend payer. And there's Morton Bas-
sett. that never took much stock in,