The age-herald., 1898-02-15
QUEEN OF THE
 HOLLAND DANES Coronation of Miss Dempsey Knocks Out
 Other Topics for Gossip. EMPLOYED A PRESS AGENT And Has Scared From a Jail to a High
 Social Position. G0THAM'S MAD OFFICE SEEKERS Increase in Offices Has Been the Cause of Men Leaving Business to Join in the Reckless
 Procession to Fill Them.
GOTHAM's MAD OFFICE SEEKERS
Special to The Age-Herald.

Special to The Age-Herald.
 New York, Feb. 14-New Workers had sweet morsel of gossip the past week, and they made the most of it. The De- Lome letter and the East river murder mystery have been passed over as mere trifls compared with the crowning of Miss Dempsey as queen of the Holland Danes. This remarkable affair occurred in the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel on last Wednesday night, and 1t is admitted by the New York public that such thing could not have happened anywhere else in the world.
 The people of New York are accustomed to fakes of all varieties, but Miss Demp- sey has admittedly scored a triumph in that line and her success goes to prove that cheek and money are all-powerful in this city in any line of human endeavor
 From Ludlow street jail to queen and social triumph in the finest hotel in the world Is long step, at least it would be anywhere save in New York. That is what Miss Lavinia Van Westervelt Dempsey has accomplished in the short space of four years, aided by unlimited assurance and good bank account.
 No social affair in years, not even the famous Bradley-Martin ball, has obtained so much space in the local newspapers as has been devoted to the corwning of the queen of the Holland Danes during the Weeh A IeW or the newspapers nave treated the affair seriously, as If 1t were really great social event. Others have scored and ridiculed 1t unmercifully, but they devoted several columns a day to the affair, and notoriety is better than fame sometimes. It is now openly charged that Miss Dempsey paid well for much of the newspaper space, and that all the report CTS who wrote good, long stories of the preparations for the coronation received checks from her. There seems to be no doubt that she paid all the expenses of the affair, and the Waldorf-Astoria ball. room and supper there are not to be had for song.
 A Very Silly Thing
 The universal verdict of the so-called coronation is that it is the silliest thing that ever happened, viewed from any standpoint. There exists in this city sev- eral societies of persons who claim to be lineal descendants of the Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam. The Society of Hol- land Danes has existed for many years, and was such a success as a social organ ization that a rival society sprang into existence. The leading spirit in the latter was Miss Lavinia H. Dempsey a wealthy spinster. Of course there was a big row between the rival organizations, and the right to use the name of the original so- ciety was contested in the courts. The members of the older faction said the new one was a fraud, and the rivalry was so
 
 organization would not speak to member of the other.
 Miss Dempsey first gained notoriety about four years ago by having a big row with young woman who was em- ployed by her brothers a typewriter. She called at the office of her two broth CTS one day and found the cloak and hat of the typewriter hanging on a peg in the private office. Miss Dempsey called the young woman into the room, gave her a Inaff nva6 oHda IA FNl. brothers refused to indorse the discharge, and Miss Dmpsey then charged the girl with stealing her pocketbook. Then she called in a policeman and had the type- writer arrested.
 Took Up for the Typewriter
 The Dempsey brothers took the part of the typewriter and ordered their sister out of the office. The girl was taken to police court and discharged because there was no evidence against her. Then she sued Miss Dempsey for $10,0O0 damages for false arrest and islander. The present queen of Holland Daanes was then a resident of New Jersey. She was unable to make the bond required in the damage suit, her brother refusing to go bail for her, and for three days she was locked up in Ludlow Street jail.
 Of course the whole story got into the nswspapers at the time and made much interesting reading. Miss Dempseys law yer finally put up 900 cash security and got her out of jail. Then she dropped out of sight until she reappeared in the city as a Holland dame. When she became the leader of the new Dutch society she in serted Van WesterveH in the middle of her napef although it Is alleged that she is of skhuine Irish descent
 The new society was extended to other cities and states. Several months ago Miss Dempsey hired a press agent, got her name in the newspapers every day for @ time and then had herself elected queen of the Holland Danes of New Netherlands, sometimes called the United States of America. Then began preparations for her coronation, and for weeks she succeeded in getting asvast amount of fiub-dub into the local newspapers, advertising an af- fair that seems so silly it is matter of universal wonder that sane people should take any part in 1t. But the coronation occurred at the appointed time and what excited as much wonder ds any other feature of it was the fact that a number of very excellent people o6 high social standing actually took an active part in the ridiculous ceremony. But there were others, among them women to whom mo- toriety seems as necessary as air to breath. Our local newspapers in describing the affair said that "among the real thing in Dutch, Jews, Germans and Irish predomi- mated"
 Quo vadis Taking
 The sale of the novel 'sQuo vadis," in this city during the past few months has been phenomenal Books of American au- thors do not often find a large sale in New York. Many popular American novels can be found only in the larger book stores. The average New Yorker wants the latest London success in everything, but this is especially true of his reading matter.
 A novel by foreign author that is ap- proved by the English cities is certain to meet with fair success in this cty, but s'Quo Vads'' has become more than a fad Many book dealers say that it has out sold Trilby three to one. Since the cheap editions were issued 1t is an every day oc- currence to see a big pile of the books on a stall in the early morning and find them all gone at night. The only novel that has had anything like such sale in this city in a number of years was Ste veTson's Treasure Island.' The creation of so many new offices in the consolidated city. coupled with the return of Tammany to power has resulted in an epidemic Of greed for office. The ol- dest politicians say that in all their expe-