The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-10
WORKING ON THE DETAILS.
PUTTING FINISHING TOUCHES TO
PRESIDENTIAL PROGRAMME.

VIII he on the Pilot Boat j. IL. Es-
uII-LadicS 10 Hear the Speeches
at the Dinner-FiVe Hundred InvI-
tations Sent OUTFLOW the banquet
Tables VIII BE Arranged.
Chairman Purse of the executive COM
mittee in charge OF the arrangements for
the visit Of the President, received tele-
gram from the Presidents private sec
retary yesterday, asking for a copy of
The official programme. One had been
| forwarded in the morning mail, and a
telegram to that effect was sent to the
White House. The President is believed to
be getting copies of all the programmes.
so that he can arrange his itinerary COM
pletely before leaving Washington.
The meetings yesterday of the commit
tees on invitation and on the river "trip
were held yesterday. The former commit
tee decided to send out 500 invitations
to. leading citizens of Savannah, giving
tSem an opportunity to say whether they
wish to attend the banquet or not. The
! accommodations are limited, and it is
feared there will be more requests for
! seats than there are places at the BAN
quet table. There viii be $50 plates. With
fifty guests this will leave but 200 seats
to be disposed of. The eighty members
of the various committees will cut this
number down to 12O. While it is regret
ted that the accommodations cannot be
greater, this is the limit of absolute COM
fort in the dining room of the DE Soto
1t is the intention to avoid anything like
as follows:
1T is desired to give you an opportunity
if you SO wish, to be present at the ban
quet, Saturday evening, Dec. II. AT
O'Clock, at the De Soto Hotel, in honor
of the visit TO Savannah of President Ne
kinney and his cabinet, under the aus
pices of the Savannah Board of Trade and
associated citizens. Should you wish
ticket it will be desirable to signify the
same by postal or in person at once, as
the seating capacity of The banquet room
is limited"
Applications for tickets are coming in
from well known men i'm The country. Ii
is the DESIRE though, TO give Savannah
business men the preference and there will
be but few tickets that will go outside ex-
Cept TO The invited guests, among whom
viii be the chief officers of the military sta
toned here.
The general plan for the tables has been
arranged. There will be one long table
extending the length of the dining room,
on the Liberty street side, with the Presi-
dent and Capt. d. G. Purse seated at the
center, in front of The great fireplace.
Running diagonaly from the main table,
with a wide aisle between them, will be
a number of small tables. There Will be
ample room between the chairs to permit
of their being turned easily so that all
those present can face the speakers as
they are responding to the toasts The dec
oratons win be patriotic in character, red,
white and blue being the predomina ting
colors. There will be a profusion
Of flowers, flags and bunting.
The heavier decorations viii be
put in place a day or two before the ban
quet so that there will be no hurried work
The effect win be gorgeous, and yet in the
best of taste. AS with the decorations so
will the invitations and the menus par
take of a national character
The heading for the invitations will be
the monogram Of the Savannah Board of
Trade in gold, with the American flag
on one side and the Presidents flag on the
other, both in their proper colors, the
flags floating from the central monogram.
The invitation wall be a fine specimen of
the work Of the steel engraver and viii be
a pretty souvenir of the occasion. The
menu and toast card win be included in
an eight-page booklet, which viii be an
other beautiful display of the skill of the
engraver. On the front cover viii be
specially designed patriotic alegoricaI
scene, representing the Goddess of Liberty
standing over and protecting Cuba, Porto
Rico and the Philippines, with other touch
es Illustrative of the success OF American
arms in the recent war with Spain. on
the first page inside will be a portrait in
steel of President William Mckinley.
Then win come the usual subject matter
of such affairs
While the gentlemen are at dinner the
ladies' of The party will not be overlooked.
The ladies auxiliary committee will enter
tain them at an elaborate lunch in the
cafe Of the hotel which VIII be beautifully
decorated for the occasion. After the din
ner, and before the speaking begins the
ladies will enter the main dining room
and take seals reserved for them so that
they can enjoy the speaking. Their pres
ence viii add to the pleasure of the even
ing. During the day every attention will
be paid to their comfort and pleasure by
the ladies of the auxiliary committee.
Before the banquet, the serving of which
win begin promptly at o'clock, the Pres
ident and the gentlemen accompanying
him will meet those who will be present at
the dinner in the main drawing room of
the hotel. From there they viii march 10
the dining room just before the time set
for the dinner Owing 10 its being on Sat-
urday night it will be necessary to begin
promptly in order to complete the pro-
gramme by midnight
A large stand viii be erected in the
Park extension for the use of the review
ing party. The ladies of the party will
occupy carriages, which will be stationed
near the reviewing stand.
The committee charged with the plan
ming of the trip on the river for the
President and party met at the Board of
Trade yesterday afternoon. Capt George
p. Walker is chairman. The use of the
pilot beat ]. II. Estil was rendered for
the excursion and win be accepted The
number of those on the run along he
river will necessarily be limited. It IL
probable that there will not be over forty
in the party. A lunch will be served on
board The President and party, with the
members of the committee and others, will
go on board the Estill directly after the
review OF the military.