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The reporters wrote the story of Mlle. Roseray's inadequate demise with a tender and child-like sorrow. Their pathetic little fictions, when completed, were not consigned to wastebaskets by intelligent city editors; instead they were flapped onto front pages, otherwise almost bare of news, as is customary on metropolitan Monday mornings. The New York World had a picture spread. The Times had a front page and breakover. The American made it the day's feature. The tabloids, preparing to print pictures of a meal sack labeled "This is what the corpse of Mlle. Roseray looked like when it was dredged out of the puddle"; were able instead to slap somewhat naked pictures of her prominently on their covers.
Soon the fake was detected. The stories were all so insistent upon the name of Mlle. Roseray's stamping ground, upon the name of her partner, upon the tremendous reputation she had built up for herself, upon her beauty, upon the loss to the theatrical world which would have been the result of her decease, that astute editors became suspicious. The next day some of them printed stories about how the fake had been effected, not forgetting to stress the foxlike guile of Mlle. Roseray's press-agent who had fooled all the clever reporters. The witty, wisecracking Walter Winchell, columnist to the pornoGraphic, gumchewers' sheetlet, alone had the grace, in this second and even less justified burst of free advertising, to praise that rakish, lean and sporting sheet, the New York Telegraph; its reporter had entirely disregarded the melodramatic antics of poor Mlle. Roseray.
Later in the week, there were varying comments on this feast of fake fatalities and free-for-all ballyhoo. Some criticised the apparent foolishness of the press. Others gave great praise to Press-agent Irving Strouse. They said: "Certain flowers have a brief but repetitive bloom; likewise a fashion, a joke, a publicity stunt. Press-agent Strouse was clever in that he accurately gauged the precise degree of reportorial gullibility; newshawks are perhaps to be excused for supposing that no one would dare attempt so blatant a hoax in the hope of practicing a deception. Press-agent Strouse indubitably won the game and the game was worth the candy." Smiling slyly, Press-agent Strouse despatched to the newsheets an advertisement for which he would have to pay in cash, an advertisement which he had doubtless prepared before the first account of Mlle. Roseray's performance had been printed. The advertisement read: "ROSERAY, fully recovered from her recent indisposition. . . ."