Misapplied Psychology

In her University of Kansas psychology class, she heard a lot about the advantages of a well-groomed appearance, a pleasant manner, and a cheerful outlook in getting along in the world. Golden-haired Elva Wallace, 19, who is almost as impressionable as she is pretty, got to thinking. She had plenty of manner and outlook but not enough clothes to match them.

Last December Elva walked into Kansas City's swank Harzfeld's store, charmed a clerk into selling her nearly $300 worth of clothes on someone else's charge account. By the time the fraud was discovered, Elva had gone back to the campus at Lawrence, distributed a good bit of the stuff as Christmas presents to friends, and settled down with her new clothes to enjoy a new popularity.

Last fortnight, with a weekend dance coming up and Easter in the offing, Elva decided on another foray. But by that time the word had been passed around the Kansas City stores to watch out for strange blondes. When Elva sauntered into Peck's department store and ordered $32.12 worth of bracelet charms "to help make a charming personality," the clerk got suspicious. When she appeared at another counter, under another name, to order a black formal and a blue street outfit, the floor manager did some quick checking. Next night, when the dance began, Elva was in jail.

Impressed by her previous good record, Store managers declined to prosecute. In return, Elva tearfully promised to quit school and go to work to pay her debts. "Let us call it an experiment," said she, "in which the reaction wasn't just what I expected."

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