gnomecc changes rejected

I am trying to change the interface font size for gtk1 apps on my 9.1 system. I invoke gnomecc, make changes, when I exit I have several error messages on stdout that say: ORBit-WARNING **: Request notify, ID -1073747392 was rejected by the authentication mechanism! and there is no apparent change in the gtk1 app interfaces. Can someone tell me what is happening and why? Thanks, Henry Harpending