Richmond times-dispatch. [volume], December 05, 1920, Image 68

About Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current

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L. ou^uai, jJiiiUl'JMJ-JJKR 5, 1920.
Who Would Have Ever
Thought That the Frolicsome
Tricks Played on Miss Meer,
His Serious Minded
" Saleslady,"
Would ?
End Up in
the Courts!
*V . ,'v ;. ' . ? ? .
;Av".V
i ' y.4
This Is a Photograph of "The Princess"?Miss Helen Szabo
of Mr. Taope's * Millinery Department, Who Was
Picked Out to Play the Chief Part in the
April Fool Joke.
2 TT was April 1?April Fool'? Day. Mr.
'"j I Herman Patrick Tappe, the very well
'-i known and fashionable Now York mil*
1
lin> r anil nfr-ror of fcorpeons- powns,
strollM into h's establishment. just off
Fifth avenue. with a merry smile on his
face?he had an inspiration for a joke!
"Mis- Mt.t r." ho ? aHoc! to one .of the
sale-women, "there will he a customer
here to-day that 1 want yeu to give special
attention to. is a Princess?Princess
Holland of Hungary. M:.rv Garden is send
inc 1> r here. I think she will order a
larpe number o? expensive gowns."
"Oh' Then I shall show you what 1 can
do with customers of real quality," said
Mis? Mf-r with a little flutter of pleasur
able ar.tl ipation. "I'm Hungarian, too,
you know "
r*:i - -: i* u on to the rear of the shop Mr.
T;.-cal".' 1 Mr I.ewis, the manager, and
"V
.would s:> w you what a uj.-rvel or a sale?*
she is if she only iiv 1 a chance at
'?? tiit-* riitlit kind of customer. I'm going to
told :nf that Miss Meer says she
iw vou what a ^.trvel of a
n
>>
s
)
to
pi*. 1 - r a "hance."
" \ i-vreplied Mr Lewis, noting the
?w'1 }?? in t*.o proprietor's eyv>.
"Yes -P's an Ai>ril Fool joke. I'm poinp
t i lis; tip Mis. f'v. :ho, t.f i' c millinery de
part' e- t imvc Vj? r anivo in a ci' as
a Hungarian l'rincess. 1'vo told Miss
Men :i 'Princess' is coming and to see
wh:s' he c:in do."
1: th. millinery department, several
llo . rs above. Mr, Tappe found Miss Szabo
an-i ex'-1: his joke
"('an y. ? play the part of a tvinceiss, do
you think?" h.e asked.
"<11 :t. tiredly 1 ran. Mr. Tappe." she
replied v. ?!. enthusiasm. "Hut Miss Meer
Ule'-A - 111" "
"(th. ah.ead." said t!ie proprietor.
"You can disgliise your voice and man
ner. ai.'i > "I'd tetter wear i ? is hat here
w:*h ? ? \*? iI i fit t which partially covet s
( ye- Pick '".it from the stuck sonic
th.: " : ' 'a t > dress the part. (">o out after
\ - i ?. ?? liicsred and drive up'in a limousine
and 1 ii ? r> -? nt you."
Mr. Tappe strolled arout'd the establish
me ' a:. . due time Mr. I ewU < 1 r?
) ? i'. - i" tin- back of the simp "Tin.'
I'r ? ? ;:ei .' l.e antcUllced.
"A:. h- P'-.: ? >? the proprietor ox*
elaii:.' ?!. r.i1 i-rinp i" Mi-.- M< i : and mov
ing the front of the house. where a ^or
. f-.;" -.re s? .'nl r> p'<-Mb ally powr.t I
.it : t !? a < d. wini ;eveial 1 ?>!'? of pearls
ah i? the neck, and with quite an iinpres*
.. <-h o:" haute.ir in l.- r manner. and
? ? a little of tht bored, languid air t.f
i ? in the poise of : t tall, l.ta' csquo
fit'111 ?"
your Highness will permit
Miss M- ? r to nitei.'i you and show y.>u
. ? . r appeal t your Ilighm-.-s'*
la: y" sa> . Mr. Ta; ? ?? with a \ciy low
1 a:.'i i; hand o:i his heart.
Mi M' t-r courte-i< d. b .wed and rev
y i ed th>- princely plow Then
Mr I appe ventured i > tiriy -t tl at pt r
b; ii? ? r lli;'hne.^s in .-hi permit h<-r to
t ep .:; iy -t.' wiiii: s' liii wiaps
ver' wee', p t?. me i indifferei'.t
wlieoeh you dxliibil fairst," the "Princess"
i'plied in t!.' in Ken Lnplish < t a for
< ipnei
Mis- Meer brol." out in voluble Hun
garian. "1. I am 11 a>.parlan y .. r ll:ph
i ? - ssi:*- e\< laiii!t d "P is truly ,t pi...?i
plea; ".r*-, a. v.e.: ;.s ,i privile. . . to serve
a ) -.nr i.tu l'r.i. i - -
"Take her up tho painted sta
< as said Mr. Tappo in Engli:
"That's more littiiiR for a Princc
ti an that beastly elevator."
Two 1!< or;> above the "Princes
began orclc rii;g clothes with a
truly rc.val nonchalance. Ilor
taste? were very decided and
she had no comments to mako
?other than "1 will take that
one" or "Xo, that one will not
do."
Miss Moor was concentrating
all her skill as a saleswoman
upon the ta-;k. The "Princess."
with not a little condescension,
told her that she was going to
Kurope in about ten days and
requested ? er order be filled
with as much speed as possible.
f?o Miss Mi "r a ratted with Mr.
Tnppe for the piivilego of sell
ins her royal customer the ac
tual mod-1 gowns themselves
instead <<f sell in : her copies of
the gowns she choso. This is
at variance with nil the rules
of the Tnppe house, but Miss
Moor won her point after murh
pleading. Also she made her
own price: fr>r the various
articles. She could see that
the Princesr was in the mood
to buy anything that pleased
her?my! how rich she must
be!
So in a few minutes the
Princess had :-.et<foted two
stunning evening wraps. And
then the dainty Tappe manne
quins glided iu one after an
other. clad in shimmering eve
nine gown1', piroueied slowlv
after the immemorial custom
of their trade, and made their
exit. As each gown was shown
Miss Meer explained its super
i ? fitv to Her Highness. The
Princess ordered one evening
j'nwn. one dinner gown and an
afti : ; "oa dre- nil exquisite
ai. l all nxp'-hfive
"Vou : aid Miss Meer to
'1 r. '!.!?;? I t he girls of
-t* ' l -'hii :?!. who stood
?Jtt. '.?'?! w t?-cj i-.i in th,e back
gr- '> i ?> ;?<?. blood will
tell! The Princess's taste is
uiierriiii' ! .. . ? i-lwuii
*?:> I'm.": >\\? . in tin' plate. And you
M1 wl i' ran ti> ''?111?> with thi*. rij-tiit kind
? f !?> the iif?ht kind of snles
lady" Aid ?-}:?? nuKgi-sted that this in
< !i!i isl v mill] |? r v>- lit r 1 il':<t to an advance;
In s-thity.
1 a.-! :i ; Mir'.i! interruption.
Otic of tho rithor pnlotuvomett who wnx in
till M-rn-t pietrndi ! til ! t:il tl-lit one ot
t!'" t:'?????[ ! !?' iM w. <? ??? : hi- wat.tv'l
1'i.r ? i it. Sl: ? an 1 Mi.-s
if ? r I in a i? hut slightly arid
Cur ?: i.vet v matter.
-IJiit t.h. : i I IMNCKSS." Miss Meer
j?r? >tf*f= 1 ? ?<! "So far ;? I have anything to
do wi'h r v r.ir to f< t anything she
wants. ? i t > i a 1 model; tm not just
copte " A"'! <i he di.l Mr Tappc. uj
I . ? re. of ? iw.->u, decid* ! in favor of
toy a It y.
Then ti:< l'riin'isn homMi! two sport
dr>- . a:.?l a multi?ud" ! hat . and even
a iu:-Mon that form* 1 |an of tic d? (ora
ti of tie- room. Ami l \ t!iif time sh.
w;. buy.-. ; prarti.u!l> anything Mi. i Mccr
II mill";. :' ?!
No (.in. Knows exactly how much sho
Mr.
Herman
Tappe
Who
Conceived
.<$* and
Executed
the
April
Fool
Joke
and Now Is Asked to Come Into Court and
Tell All Ahout It.
bought; it was between five anil ton thou
sand dollars worth. And all in a half-hour!
Furthermore, on leaving, she told Miss
Meer to corne to her at tlio Ritz^'arlton
with anything else she thought the
"Princess" would like.
What wonder that Miss Meer was in the
seventh heaven of happiness, fflie rushed
into the millinery department to tell Helen
fizabo, her fellow Hungarian, nil about it.
llelen did not appear immediately, but
when she had changed from her royal cos
tume to her working clothes, she. too, be
came excited and complimented Miss Meer
and wished she had been there to sec the
"Princess"?the "Princess" who had been
herself!
Then Mr. Tappe told Miss Meer that she
would better put all the Royal purchases
in a separate room and lock the door.
"Don't want these other girls taking thoso
models for their customers," he said. "iSo
lock the door and keep the key."
Which Miss Meer did. And which she
exultantly told the other girls. Also situ
confided that the "Princess" had said some
thing about a little gift, and had asked her
(Cl 10-0. International Feature Service. Inc.
*v
This Is Mrs. Tappe Who Is an Important
Figure in the Establishment and
Assisted in Making a Success of the
April Fool Frolics.
if s!io liked sapphires. "I told her of
course tliat I did." Miss Moor said, "but
that I thought something like diamonds
might bo more suitable for wearing. There
sire so many things. I couldn't wear a sap
phire with, you know, but a diamond?
well, that 1 could wear all the time. Hut
do you suppose the "Princess" really means
to send me a jewel? I've heard that they
often do."
And lo! Next morning came a mes
senger with a note in Hungarian on Uitz
Carlton stationery and a jeweller's box in
which reposed a very showy sapphlro
ring?which had cost little Helen Goldhach,
of tho Tappe firm, just u dollar.
Every girl in tho Tappe establishment
was shown the ring and made haste to ad
mire it. The note said that the l'rincess
was leaving town that day, unexpectedly,
and would Miss Meer hurry the work along.
Miss Meer would most certainly do so.
Rut this was going a little too far to
stiit .Mr. Lewis, ti'o manager. Mr. Lewis
is a business man; ho likes a joke, but he
couudn't bring himself to think of a few
thousand dollars worth of goods altered in
the execution of the joke?which to Mr.
Tappe was only a detail and a slight one.
So Mr. Lewis halted the work of altera
tion. "Princess or no Princess," lie said,
"we must have a deposit on the cost of tho
goods before a single ribbon is altered.
Miss Meer was terribly upset. She
knew the effect of such an insult upon
royalty. She told Mr. Lewis in stinging
words just what she though', of his penr.y
pinching policy. Then Mr. Lewis, forget
ting about the joke, got peeved, too.
"Don't lot them kid you," ho said. "I'll
bet your Princess is nothing but a faker.'
Tli's was too much for Miss Meer, She
demanded that tho goods be altered im
mediately or she would notify Mr. Tappe.
"Why, for heaven's sake, forget it," said
the manager. "You're crazy!'
"It is a shame?but I'll Wike the bill
to iier myself right now," she said. "If any
Great Britain Hlehta Hcaervcd.
"Ah! The Princess!" the proprietor ex
claimed, gathering in Miss Meer and moving
to the front of the establishment where a
gorgeous creature stood.
"Perhaps Your Highness will perm^ Miss
Meer to attend you and show you whatever
may appeal to Your Highness's fancy," said
Mr. Tappe with a low bow.
body can not her to pay an advance with
out Insulting her, I can. The rest of you
don't know how to deal with royalty. You
haven't tho tact."
So '.o (he Ritz-Carlton went Miss Meer.
"No Princess here," said lh<* clerk1.
Which did not astonish Miss Mrer. She
knew the ways of travelling royalty, "of
course; 1 know," she paid, showing the
clerk the note in Hungarian. "Shes
travelling incognito. Her room is 910 and I
shall go to it and see her."
And when she knocked on the door cf
010 a man stuck his head out! Aha! she
thought, no wonder Her Highness is trav
elling incog.' And she explained to tho
man that she was discreet and might she
not see tho Princess. To the man her ex
planaMon was more than confusing. Whm
M.ss Meer insisted on seeing some mysteri
ous Princess who, she said, was in that
very room, tho man called the house de
tective. Miss Meer, protesting, was shown
to the elevator.
Back at Tappe's she telephoned the
Princ2ss. She knew that the Prince3s
would explain. The telephone operator at
Tappe's switched Miss Mrer's call to
Helen Szabo. tho "Princess" In the millin
ery department. Miss Meer told of her
visit. "Oh, my dear, please tell no one,"
said "Her Highness." "If this gets out I
shall bo ruined!" Miss Meer promised
secrecy.
nut she just had to tell 'lie secret to
Helen Szabo, hor Hungarian fellow-em
ployee!
And that night sho took the sapphiro
r.ng to her jeweller. And she couldn't
resist telling him how she got it. The
Jeweller thought of April 1. Vtul he looked
at the ring.
"Hard to tell about sapphires at night,"
he said. "Hut this inay well be worth
$lf>0. Mind, I don't say it is?but it might!"
One hundred and fifty dollars for a
present! There was no uso to tell Mia.?
Meer that the Princess was not the real
thing after that.
And the next day?the third day of 'he
Joke?she flashed the ring in Mr. Lewis's
face nnd asked him if he still thought
the Princess was a fako.
Mr. Lewis did. Ho said so.
There was a quarrel. The other girls
joined in, trying to explain to Miss Meer
that tbe whole thing was a joke. She
wouldn't be convinced. Then she resigned
or was discharged?just which is not clear.
So much for Mr. Tappe's April Fool joke
as Mr. Tappe and Mr. Lewis and Anna and
Miss Szabo and some twenty or thirty
saleswomen, models, mannequins, milli
nery girls and others recall and retell the
details.
Put Miss Meer did not seem to think it
was at all funny. Tho moro she thought
about that bogus "Princess" nnd that ring
with the glass sapphire in it and every
thing the madder she got, and she went
to see a lawyer.
Lawyers, of course, can't be expected to
have any sense of humor, and this is the
solemn, cold, fun-less way Miss Meer's
lawyer put hor side of the case in the suit
against Mr. Tappe for $15,000:
SUPREME COURT,
NEW YORK COUNTY.
LEONA MEER, Plaintiff,
against
HERMAN P. TAPPE. Defendant.
Plaintiff by E. Paul Yaselll, her attorney,
complaining of defendant, alleges:
FIRST?That tho plaintiff la and for
many years has been a resident of the
County of X?:w Vorlc, and that her profes
sion or occupation has been that of sales
lady.
SFCON'D?That on or about the first day
of ^pril, ll'UO, plaintiff was in the employ
of . .erman P. Tappe. Inc., of which con
cern tho defendant herein Is and has been
at all times hereinafter mentioned the
president. That plaintiff was employed In
the capacity of saleslady.
THlItD?That on or about the first day
of April, 192o, plaintiff was informed by
the defendant that a princess would be in
to see plaintiff for the purpose of buying
some expensive vowns. That a woman
representing herself to be a princess did
on or about the 1st day of April. 1920. buy
or agree to buy several expensive gowns.
That plaintiff attended to said princess'
wants in rood faith.
FOURTH?On information and belief
that on or about tho 3d day of April, 1920,
defendant falsely and maliciously and
with Intent to injure the plaintiff in her
good name, credit and in her profession
or occupation as aforesaid as saleslady
and to cause it to be believed that by
mental derangement or unsoundness plain
tiff had become Incompetent to perform
the said duties of her said profession or oc
cupation and was an unfit person to be in
trusted with the duties of said profession
or occupation, as a result of her efforts to
?ell gowns to the woman that the defend
ant stated was a princess, made certain
defamatory statements concerning plain
tiff in her capacity a1? saleslady In the pres
ence of others; to wit: "You are crazy." *
FIFTH?T'pon information and belief
that said false and libellous statements
aforesaid of and concerning the plaintiff
in her said occupation or profession, tend
ed to produce great damage to plaintiff
and lo cause it to be believed by and
among her neighbors and acquaintances
that plaintiff has become mentally incom
petent to perforin the duties of such oc
cupation or profession and was an unsafe
person to bo intrusted with the duties ap
pertaining to said profession or occupa
tion. That in consequence of the afore
said defamatory statements plaintiff was
dismissed fpom her employment, was sub
jected to contempt and ridicule, became
sick and disabled and suffered great humil
iation and damage.
WHERRFORR, Plaintiff demands judg
ment against tho defendant for fifteen
thousand ($15,000) dollars with Interest
thereon from the 1st day of April. 1920,
together with the costs and disbursements
of this action.
R. PA PL YASRLLT,
Attorney for the Plaintiff.
And that Is Miss Meer's side of it.
Although, by the way, she has got an
other position with a dressmaking house
nearby.
When the case is tried it should be one
worth attending. For into the gloomy, sol
emn courtroom will troop the twenty or
thirty girls of the Tappe establishment?all
chosen for their good looks and good
figures?models, saleswomen, milliners?
even Mrs. Tappe?who was the famous
Anna, Mr. Tappe's model. And Mr. Tappo,
with his $15,000 sense of humor will bo
there, and Mr. Lewis whose, sense of humor
doesn't run into five figures, and oven the.
uniformed doorman and carriage opener
who attended to various details of the
joke.
If the case comes to trial the writer will
endeavor to be there and give the readers
of this page a full report of what happens.
a