Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-05-03
AScandalOuS Feature
Connected with Gotham's Gen.
tennial Celebration.
SHAMEFUL ORGIES AT THk BALL.


Disreputsbles-A Monumental Piece of
Poor Management-Tic<et-T and
Walters Ran Things for the Money
They Could Make-Ladies Grossly In
suited and Turbulence the Rule.
NEW YORK. May 3-Whatever may be
precision with which the outdoor exercises
during the centennial celebration were con-
Quoted, it seems evident that there was a
powerful weakness" somewhere in the man.
agsment of the ball which, if the papers tell
the truth, bids fair to become noted prin-
cipally for the outrageous scenes which ac-
companied it. On this subject The World
says:
Now that the centennial ball is over, peo-
pie who paid from $40 to S25 apiece to par
ticipate in it, and whose fun was represented
by the figure o, are tax ng out the balance in
criticism. the tongues of the ball-goers
were blistered with fault-findng Wednesday
On all sides it was conceded that the center-
NAL ball was the biggest executive failure of
the century. People who were most compe-
tent TO speak were loudest in declaring the
ball monument OF incapacity and vulgarity.
Disgraceful Scenes at supper.
The scenes in the supper room can not be
described safely in newspaper Never
since the palace of the Tuilieries was invaded
in l7'D by the sans culottes Of the Seine de
partment have such startling contrasts been
witnessed in similar circumstances. When
1t Is said that the walters, policemen and
messenger boys drank most of the free cham
payne, the situation at midnight may be
suggested. Justices of the supreme court,
governors, staff-officers, clubmen, lawyers,
poets, millionaires, with beautiful and re-
fined women, crowded along the supper
counter and demanded in vain the attention
they were accustomed to receive The func-
tionaries around the place showed undis-
guised contempt for the "free-lunch fiends "
Walters who did not have to account for the
unlimited wine took occasion to neglect
guests and treat themselves The excellent
supper was largely wasted. There was no
responsibility for anything to anybody.
A Nice Crowd of ReveIers.
By 1890 p IN. the supper room had been
given over to people whose ideas of enjoy
ment had been learned in free-and-easy re-
sorts, and drunken men invaded the ball
room, fiourishing bubbling bottles of cham
constant occurrence. Gamblers, bookmak-
ers, and women dozed or made merry on the
staircases. Never once did an accredited
officer OF the evening interfere, to anybody's
knowledge. The policemen who were sober
were helpless. They could not tell the dress
coated walters from the guests By O'Clock
most Of the respectable element were making
frantic and supperless efforts to get away
Struggle at the Coat Rooms.
Even this privilege was denied them. A
line extending from the coat rooms for 500
yards, and made up of some of the leading
citizens of this town, surged for hours in
front of the coat rooms Gentlemen grew
angry and desperate at the utter inadequacy
of the arrangements. With torn coats and
wrinkled shirt fronts, men whose names are
known all over the Union, fought their way
to their coats under the frequent clubs of the
police, the jeers Of the mob outside and the
pernicious activity of the pickpockets 1t
was o'clock in the morning before the last
battered and ragged guest joined his family
at the doors and reached his hack
Relates His Experience.
an its executive aspects the centennial
ball was the worst of its sort ever known in
the history of the CITY," said a we'll known
w
ity of letting the attendants get at all the
wine they wanted was enough to ruin any
plans that might have been made. left at 3
a. In. without my hat or coat Two of the
checkers inside of the cloak room were drunk.
got my own umbrella by paving 81. and
one exchanged for it III my sight by the fel-
low who demanded the dollar. Of the ladies
met, ones dress was ruined by a plate of
salad thrown over it by drunken brute.
and the shoulder OF another was
cut from bottle which a stranger
had broken upon it. l saw more re-
spectacle women insulted in the supper-room
than ever saw even accosted at the French
ball. knocked down a man who tried to
kiss the daughter of a leading lawyer"
Rascality of the Employees.
The ticket-takers had no checks placed
upon them, and there is no question but that
they made lots Of money letting in people
who never should have been there. The
policemen lost their temper completely, and
cleared people out at the end of their clubs
Hundreds of bottles of wine were passed out
Of doors and sold by walters and others.
One man was drunk, fell down stairs, and
was SO badly hurt he had to be carried off in
an ambulance Many flags and ported
plants were stolen, and some of the boxes
were shockingly soiled after their first occu-
pants had left The supper room was cleared
by clubs shortly after l o'clock The lights
were turned out in the ball room long be-
fore the crowd had left the building
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