Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-12-13
HARD ON HUNGRY HIGGINS.
Cabinet Wives VIII Not Help Pad the
Ribs of Washington Cutters
This Winter

| Washington. Dec. I2-Thh gluttony of
| people who flock 10 the public receptions
| given by the ladies of the cabinet has re-
| suited in Il new rule. Hereafter no re-
| freshments Will be offered. The cXhihi-
tion given by the crowds that haunt the
] receptions has long been a public scandal
| 1t IS perfectly We'll known that the food
| and the drinkables attract the large num-
| bers, and that they have not the slightest
| interest in the function itself and the peo-
| PIE whom they Will meet there.
The public receptions have come 10 be re-
Garded as a free invitation:
Come all ye that hunger and are athirst
and ye shall be filled"
The idea that the receptions are held to
permit people to pay their respects to the
ladies of the presidents family has become
Il mere fiction. They have become the
most desirable stands in n free lunch route,
where II Is much easier and plcasanter tG
get one : Ill than III Il saloon. The crowd
Is made up in part of disappointed office
seekers and the hangerS-on, who play 80
important Il part III NaShingtonS ) Hoating
population. And those who hold official po-
SitIons are often not backward in taking
dlsSrdceful advantage of the public recep-
tons and indeed. the more exclusive ones.
Members Of congress have been known
frequently TO appear with Il train of men at
their heels ANA thus force Il hostess to pro-
vide an entertainment which should be at
The expense OF the congressman himself
net receptions. They are SO wide open that
even Mr. Weary Wagsles would hardly be
turned away if he entered a drawing room.
tomato can in hand. But the evil does not
stop mere. Long immunity has made the
grub seekers bold and frequently they force
their way uninvited into the most exclusive
receptions.
The sluttony of Washington crowds and
their shameleSSncSS in filling StomachS is
not a new thing. 1t goes back TO the time
oi Andrew Jackson. At one of the public
receptions given at the White House drink
ables We're served liberally, with the result
that the guests became pretty generally
drunk. They refused to leave the building,
and the only way i'll which they could be
drawn from the house was by placing the
drinkables on the lawn in front. They fol-
lowed with remarkable unanimity- The eN-
per1ence of the Chinese minister Il few
years ago illustrates the spirit of the Wash
inSton Spongers. He gave a big evening
reception and everybody came Presuma-
bly, all Americans look alike to China
man Al all events, none who presented
himself excluded.
When supper was announced there was
scramble that resembled Il college cane
to get TO the tables. and when thu Jam be-
came great they stood about the tables four
deep.
Plates were thrown on the floor when
they were emptied. EHterprising gentle
men slowed bottles of champagne IN the
pockets of their tail coats and carried them
away.
The minister tried many means of driving
the riotous guests from the dining room
but every means failed. until he ordered
D. great Quantity of red pepper scattered
about the room. This drove the giuttons
away. This is not fiction. but matter of
history.
In recent years Mrs. Olney. Mrs. Levi
+. Morton, Mrs. Stanford. Nine. Romero.
the wife of the Mexican minister, and other
ladies' OF prominence have had the most
outrageous experiences with the gluttonous
Washington crowd. Gradually the refresh
ments offered have grown more and more
meager. but still the crowds have come
and have eaten everything in sight while |
the guests for whom the eatables and
drinkables Were really intended are COM
PEELED 10 so without. After a consultation
the ladies of the cabinet have decided that
this year they would offer nothing. and
the rule will he adhered to rigidly during |
the present administration.