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Story
September 5, 1914
Scott County Kicker
Benton, Scott County, Missouri
What is this article about?
A young woman serves as a decoy in a Washington sightseeing car, attracting tourists with her appearance. An interviewer learns from her amusing anecdotes about naive riders, including a man mistaking the tour for a taxi, an elderly couple seeking a friend's house, and a tourist puzzled by a statue.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
JUST THERE AS DECOY HANDSOME YOUNG WOMAN HAD PURPOSE IN AUTO. And Interview Proved That She Was by No Means an Unsophisticated and Guileless Girl In Need of Man's Protection.
In the elegant vernacular of the day, she was dressed like a house afire, and as she sat in the first seat of the Seeing Washington automobile she looked like $1,000,000 worth of ready money wrapped up and ready for distribution.
Like some other young women in Washington, she sits in the front of the big auto as a sort of decoy. A bright young man comes along and he says to himself: "I will spend 50 cents and take a trip around the city in that low-backed car and maybe fortune will forever favor me, and this vision of beauty will give me the gladsome O-O."
He always loses, because the vision of beauty gets languidly out of the car just before it starts and when the bright young man can't escape unless he wants to make a ten-foot jump to the street.
She glanced up languidly as the interviewer approached her.
"If you get fresh with me," she announced, "I will call a cop."
The interviewer replied feverishly:
"A great and powerful newspaper wants to find out what the rubber-neck riders say when they climb into the car."
She was slightly mollified.
"Say," she said, "if you could get all the things them hints—"
"What?" asked the interviewer.
"Hints," she repeated, impatiently. "Ain't you never heard of hints?"
"I presume," said the interviewer, "that that is an abbreviation of the word hinterland."
"I dunno," she drawled, "but believe me, kid, they do get off some rich ones.
"There was a man climbed into this car two days ago whilst it was waiting. I leave it to you. There are signs all around this car sayin' that it's for seein' Washington. But did it bother this man? No, siree! He climbed in and paid his 50 cents and then after the car started he says to the chauffeur:
"'Put me off at Twenty-sixth and M streets.'
"And, honest, he got mad as a Dutchman at a prohibition picnic when the chauffeur told him he had to stick on till the end of the ride."
She paused for a moment in thought.
"There was a nice old couple got on here a couple of days ago. They were hints, too. He had on a pair of boots that was made out of elephant's hide, I guess. They were thick enough.
"Just before the car started he leaned over and said to me:
"'Would you mind if I asked you a question?'
"'No,' I says.
"'Me 'n my wife,' he says, 'wanted to find out if we couldn't have the man point out Jim Smith's house over in Georgetown. We uster know him, but he moved away.'
"Can you beat it? Can't you see the guide locatin' all the Jim Smiths on the trip sos they can find their man?
"Then there was a guy that took a trip a couple of days ago, so the guide told me, and took a look at that statue of General Jackson. You know the one, where the horse is standin' on his hind legs like a circus pony.
"The hint that was lookin' at the statue almost fell off his seat.
"'Gee,' he says, 'how do you suppose he ever posed for that?'"
At this moment the starter gave the high sign and the vision of gladness slowly dismounted.
"There sure is some boobs in this world," she concluded as she started away.—Washington Star.
In the elegant vernacular of the day, she was dressed like a house afire, and as she sat in the first seat of the Seeing Washington automobile she looked like $1,000,000 worth of ready money wrapped up and ready for distribution.
Like some other young women in Washington, she sits in the front of the big auto as a sort of decoy. A bright young man comes along and he says to himself: "I will spend 50 cents and take a trip around the city in that low-backed car and maybe fortune will forever favor me, and this vision of beauty will give me the gladsome O-O."
He always loses, because the vision of beauty gets languidly out of the car just before it starts and when the bright young man can't escape unless he wants to make a ten-foot jump to the street.
She glanced up languidly as the interviewer approached her.
"If you get fresh with me," she announced, "I will call a cop."
The interviewer replied feverishly:
"A great and powerful newspaper wants to find out what the rubber-neck riders say when they climb into the car."
She was slightly mollified.
"Say," she said, "if you could get all the things them hints—"
"What?" asked the interviewer.
"Hints," she repeated, impatiently. "Ain't you never heard of hints?"
"I presume," said the interviewer, "that that is an abbreviation of the word hinterland."
"I dunno," she drawled, "but believe me, kid, they do get off some rich ones.
"There was a man climbed into this car two days ago whilst it was waiting. I leave it to you. There are signs all around this car sayin' that it's for seein' Washington. But did it bother this man? No, siree! He climbed in and paid his 50 cents and then after the car started he says to the chauffeur:
"'Put me off at Twenty-sixth and M streets.'
"And, honest, he got mad as a Dutchman at a prohibition picnic when the chauffeur told him he had to stick on till the end of the ride."
She paused for a moment in thought.
"There was a nice old couple got on here a couple of days ago. They were hints, too. He had on a pair of boots that was made out of elephant's hide, I guess. They were thick enough.
"Just before the car started he leaned over and said to me:
"'Would you mind if I asked you a question?'
"'No,' I says.
"'Me 'n my wife,' he says, 'wanted to find out if we couldn't have the man point out Jim Smith's house over in Georgetown. We uster know him, but he moved away.'
"Can you beat it? Can't you see the guide locatin' all the Jim Smiths on the trip sos they can find their man?
"Then there was a guy that took a trip a couple of days ago, so the guide told me, and took a look at that statue of General Jackson. You know the one, where the horse is standin' on his hind legs like a circus pony.
"The hint that was lookin' at the statue almost fell off his seat.
"'Gee,' he says, 'how do you suppose he ever posed for that?'"
At this moment the starter gave the high sign and the vision of gladness slowly dismounted.
"There sure is some boobs in this world," she concluded as she started away.—Washington Star.
What sub-type of article is it?
Curiosity
Deception Fraud
What themes does it cover?
Social Manners
Deception
What keywords are associated?
Sightseeing Tour
Decoy Woman
Tourist Anecdotes
Washington Dc
Rubberneck Riders
Humorous Encounters
What entities or persons were involved?
Young Woman Decoy
Interviewer
Man Wanting Twenty Sixth And M Streets
Old Couple
Guy Looking At General Jackson Statue
Where did it happen?
Washington, D.C.
Story Details
Key Persons
Young Woman Decoy
Interviewer
Man Wanting Twenty Sixth And M Streets
Old Couple
Guy Looking At General Jackson Statue
Location
Washington, D.C.
Story Details
A stylish young woman acts as a decoy in a sightseeing automobile to lure tourists. During an interview, she shares humorous stories of naive 'hints' (tourists): a man mistaking the tour for a taxi to Twenty-sixth and M streets, an elderly couple asking to locate Jim Smith's house in Georgetown, and a tourist wondering how General Jackson posed for his statue.