Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-01-30
THE SIGN OF THE cR1p1RoN.
A Famous Club to Hold its Seventh Ami
versary Dinner Tonight

THE SIGN OF THE GRIDIRoN.
A Famous Club to Hold its Seventh Ami
versary Dinner Tonight
| A BOARD AROUND WHICH ZEN CAN TALK WITH
OUT FEAR-NEwsPAPER MEN As coNFIDANrs-
SKETCH OF THE cLUB-DIsTrNauIsHHD MEN
WHO HAVE BEEN ITS GUESTS.
Tho great black flag bearing q white gridiron
which few over the Arlington today meant that
the famous Gridiron Club would hold its
seventh anniversary dinner at the Arlington
this evening. The Gridiron Club has given
many brilliant dinners, but that which is to
occur tonight promises to be the most remark
able in its history. This unique club has learned
In its seven yeaSs' life how to give the most
unique dinners in the United States, and
this year the preparations are under
stood to be more careful and elabo-
rate than at any former time. The
club entered upon its eighth year most pros
perously. Started most tentatively in 1885
after other dining clubs had failed, especially
those founded as this was by Washington cor
respondents, it seemed not at all unlikely that
the predictions OF failure made for it by Ger
tain prophets would be justified. But it
grew with what it fed on from year to year,
until it is now one of the institutions Of
Washington than which there is certainly
none better known the country over,
for 1t has challenged the curiosity of
the United States. Its secrecy, which is
perhaps its most important characteristic, Sc
curing, as it does, absolute freedom to its
guests, and therefore securing their wisest and
wittiest contribution to the table talk, has
piqued the national curiosity, at the same time
making it impossible for any one who has not
been at q Gridiron dinner to comprehend all its
delights. When 1t is remembered that its forty
members are all newspaper men with
keen professional appreciation of the
great interest which the public would
take in what is said by the famous men.
who sit around the Gridiron board the fact
that the confidence of the club has never been
violated is an eloquent answer to the loose state
ments sometimes made that newspaper men.
like women, cannot keep q secret. As a matter
of fact orcourse all the secrets of Washington,
like all the secrets of the rest of the world,
sooner or later in the minds of newspaper men,
who have proved by thousand instances that
they are then more secret than ever.
NEWSPAPER MEN WHO KEEP SECRETS.
As confdants newspaper men are rivaled
only by the confessional. So it not diff
cult for the Gridiron to accomplish the para
dox Of giving public dinner privately. What
ever self-denial was involved has been richly
compensated for by the eloquence, the wit, the
humor, the "reminiscences which have flowed
SO freely under the rose. 1t is, of
course to be regretted by those who have en-
joyed these delightful dinners that an invisible
photograph could not have recorded all that
was said for the benefit of posterity, for there
would probably be no better way of giving the
twentieth century an idea Of the clevcrest table
talk of our time As it is, about all the gem
eral public ever knows is that there has been
Gridlron dinner. for all that ever
appears IN the newspapers about it is at the
most the skeleton of the feast--menu. decora-
| tions, music and the names of guests. Another
lacs rt.nt chara tot IgtI nj no
club Is indicated In the other branch of its I'M
written law, 1.-The ladies are always, the re-
porters never. present at Gridiron dinners"
For the GrIdlron protests, not only against the
tedious formalltles OF conventional dinners,
but against all the old dinner traditions which
involve ''stories that are as broad as they
long" There Is much fun at Grldiron dinners,
but 1t is fun pure and simple. 1t is not strange
that such successful institution, which gives
dinners perfect from every point of view.
should have many imitators throughout the
country, but none VI them really rivals
the GridirOn, which continues to be sui
generis Most of its rivals indulge in practical
jokes as well formal speeches, all of
which will be published in the morning news
papers the next day. Their entertainments
are very funny, very picturesque and very in
teresting to read about, but they are not like
the Gridron dinner. The Gridron idea is to
project the cleverest private dinner party on
the scale OF a public dinner party keeping it
humorous table talk conventional and uncon-
yentlonal music-all carried on with grace
well as genuine vigor; and this is the way it is
done at the sign OF the Gridiron. The Gridiron
Club has no other avowed object than the
promotion Of good fellowship yet, perhaps,
because of that fact, it has an influence such as
no other similar Organization has ever
had, and which has enabled II
to render signal and substantial
of Washington correspondents, but to news
paper men everywhere, by tine promotion of
better relations between public men and the
press. 1t Is not too much to say, considering
| the impor lance of these relations, that it has
fulfilled a patriotic duty to the whole country
by SO doing. The club as q CLUB makes no
such pretensions. its only boast is that il gives
the best dinners in the country, its only amb-
ton to give better ones from year to year. 1t
is in the line oil its pleasure that it has accom-
plished its duty.
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CLUB.
Since February %, 1885, when its first dinner
was given at Welcker's, with Vice President
Hendricks as the guest of honor, Maj Ben:
Perley Poore presiding as its first president it
has met on the last Saturday Of every month
during the year except June. July, August. Sep
TENDER and December. with few omissions
for special reasons. Maj. John n. Carson was
vice president during the first year. In the
second year Mr.. Fred. Perry Powers was presi-
dent and MIR. George W. Adams vice president.
They we're followed in the third year by Mai.
John NJ. Carson as president and MIR. A. ".
Lyman vice president and they in the fourth
year by Mr.. Fred. Perry Powers president
and Mr.. NJ. e. Seckeudorff vice president.
In the fifth year Mr. Fred. Perry Powers was
once more president with Mr.. Fred. d. Mussey
as vice president, and i'll the sixth year Mr..
Fred. d. Mussey was president, with Mr.. Henry
T. f. Mcfarland as vice president.
Last year Mr. Mcfarland elected presi-
dent by reclamation and Mr.. S. E. Johnson
vice president. In December the officers for
1882 were elected as follows: President, Mr..
Henry b. +. mcfarland; vice president Mr..
Frank Ha;toh; secretary, Mr.. p. V. DcGraw;
treasurer, Mr.. George II. Walker; executive
committee. Gen. H. V. Boynton, Mr.. E. G.
Dunnell, Mr.. w. B. Stevens.
MEN WHO HAVE BEEN GUESTS.
Among the more prominent guests enter
tanned by the club during tho past seven years
have been Vice President Hendricks, Speaker
Carlisle. Speaker Reed. Speaker Crisp. Secretary