Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-04-15
rsprc1A1 rr1ronAM TO THE ptspAroH.,

II 4
Centennial Entertainment Committee clip
ped Mr.. McAllister's wings on March 21,
thereby reducing him from position of
power to one of empty honor and badge,
the committee and Mr.. McAllister have not
met. On Friday he received notification
that there would be meeting Of the COM
mittee in Mr.. Fish's Office on Saturday. 1t
was the same formal notice that every other
member of the committee received. Mr..
McAllister did not care to attend, but he
did want to know what was expected of
him. He wrote a note asking for that in
formation, and received polite request to
resign his place as manager of the ball.
A member of the Centennial Committee
said to-day that the best thing Mr.. McAllis-
ter could do was to act upon the polite sug-
gestion. "The whole thing in nutshell, I"
said he, "is that Mr.. McAllister is getting
pretty we'll advanced in years. He must 60,
you know. Well, it is natural that man
of ofhisyears-but I'll tell you-the Entertain
ment Committee is not made up of the kind
of men that can be bossed by any dema-
gogue, big or little, old or young. Take a
look at five men who are on the commit
tee, for instance, take William Jay, Stuy-
vesant Fish, W. W. Astor, William K.
Vanderbilt and Robert Goelet. You'll
have to look far before you can find five
other young men of equal ability and in
fuence. Do you think they are the sort of
men who will submit to bossism?
HE WILL QUIETLY RESIGN.
Mr.. McAllister said this afternoon that
he would now resign. He explained that
the committees letter was not dismissal.
The committee had no power to dismiss.
His resignation from the committee has
been draughted.
"My object" said Mr.. McAllister this
afternoon, was to do all in my power to
make that ball a success. am not man
who seeks work, you understand. 1 have
the interests of the ball at heart, and if the
committee thinks 1 can best serve the good
interests of the ball by resigning, then moth
ing will give me more pleasure than to re-
sign. 1 have no resentment for the COM
mittee, and if they want my help or advice
in any way, at any time, will most cheer
fully give it to them. do feel, you under
stand, little stronger on balls than a rail-
road president. You don't run balls and
railroads the same way, though both OF
them do make fast time.
"Mr. Gerry once told me-" continued Mr..
McAllister, "that it did not make the
slightest difference whether you had bon
bons or pork and beans at ball, or whether
half the ticket holders got in or not, for the
crowd, so long as you had big crowd there.
That was his idea of a-successful ball. I
replied to him that anyone who went to a
ball and suffered on account of the crowd, or
did not get frst-rate supper, or frst-rate
wine, and plenty of both, had a perfect
right to say he was swindled. You see, we
differ on some points"
WHOSE FAULT IT is.
"Why do you think the committee took
this move?" asked the reporter.
ut is undoubtedly all Mr.. Fish's doings, -
said Mr. McAllister. "He's been stirring
the other members up. Why, only short
time ago, when gave up my books to Mr..
Morris, the new secretary, I told himI would
resign with pleasure, if the committee was
hostile, and he replied that the committee
was not hostile, and would be very glad if
would go right along with the work. His
letter of to-day was the next thing hear.
''The whole trouble came of three causes.
There's mighty interesting inside history
to it, you know. The first cause was my OPP
position to Fish's desire to turn the whole
ball and banquet into a Republican ova-
ton. I made a great many objections to
certain proposals that clearly tended in this
direction, and with that began the first
arrangement between us. Why, Mr.. Fish
went out to indianapolis last fall to see if
Harrison would dance in the opening
quadrille. Harrison, naturally, refused,
and actually, sir, Fish telegraphed me that
the quadriIle would have to be abolished,
because Harrison wouldn't dance. That is
one instance. Gerry was with them in the
desire to make it a celebration of the Re-
publicans' return to power.
THE MAYOR GETS THERE.
faThe next thing in which came in con-
f1ict with the men who are running the af-
fair was my opposition to Mr.. Gerry's de-
sire to sit at the head of the table, near the
President The place, belonged to Mayor
Grant, who was Chairman of the whole
committee Mr.. Gerry was only Chairman
of the Executive Committee. 1 held to the
point that the place belonged to Mayor
Grant. Mr.. Gerry raid something, 1 be-
lieve, about Mr.. Grant not being able to
carry the thing through, but Mr.. Grant
finally got the place. That started an op-
position to me right away. on the part of
Mr. Gerry, which has unquestionably been
d
matter that was very potent, but won't
speak about it, because it involves the
names of ladies'"
'I suppose you refer to the selection Of
ladies to dance in the quadrille," suggested
the reporter.
"I do" said Mr.. McAllister. ''I made
out list that meant something. 1 knew
Mr.. Fish wanted different list, but his
list
COULDN'T oBLIGE HIM
by agreeing with. In this affair 1 could
have accepted his list only by making fool
of myself. The name Of the dance-qua-
drille d'honneur-demanded age, dlstinc-
ton and prominence in those selected for it,
or if not age, it at least demanded the other
two qualifications. At the ball given to
the Prince of Wales on his visit here, about
80 years ago, such ladies as Mrs. Governor
Morgan and Mrs. Bancroft danced the
quadrille d'honneur. It seemed to me ap-
propriate that this dance should be given
by people who were descendants of the men
and women who stood around Washington
in the opening dance of his Inauguration
ball, and I modelled my list on this idea."