The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-02-15


Dinners among the official set at the
capital are quite as important in their
way as the sessions of congress, for
around the mahoganies treaties are
made, policies decided upon. and meas
ufes OF state projected. During the
period following the civil war, when
the lobbyists held high carnival in
Washington, the dinners given BY the
third house of congress" cost tabu-
lous sums Of money-sums that make
CleopatraiS feast, where the mythical
pearl was dissolved in vinegar to aug
ment its cost, sink into insignlficance-
IN those days more time and thought
were devoted to the making of menu
than would have been given TO the
framing Of an amendment to the con-
stituuon; the wines for a single din
neF often cost more than the years
salary of member of congress, and
the outlay for flowers would have been
suInclent TO endow a hospital. Cater
eIS made fortunes as rapidly as the
Forty miners in California, and now
and then a poor waiter was enabled TO
invest ina corner lot by the betrayal of
a state secret he had overheard when
serving at table; columns of local pa
pers were devoted 10 the discussion Of
the menu. description Of the decOra-
lions. naming of the guests. and drinks
and dishes were originated and chris
tened IN honor of the famous lobbyists.
g g q
One hears less about dinners today
than at that forid period, but they are
none the less popular. none the less a
means 10 an end. Only standards are
Inherent. Customs have changed. Din
ner-giving has become in America,
what 1t has long been IN Europe, a
me art. It is the taste of a gourmet
that inspires the menu, not the appe-
tie OF the gourmand. The caterer no
longer hourishes as formerly, when,
with his staff Of cooks and walters, he
invaded the house of the entertainer
and proceeded to load the table with an
array and variety of dishes, the mere
recollection of which creates dyspeptie
pangs. In this progressive age every
great house has its own chef and the
men servants, the steward, butler and
tootmen suffice to serve the most eIab-
crate feast without help from outside.
Fashion now calls for simple menus.
Formerly three and four hours were
spent over stuffy dinner; now, to sit
Tor more than an hour and a half at
table IS bad form, and two or three
instead Of six or eight wines are served.
Because Of these simple fashions din
ners are more frequently given than
when formal dinner was an epoch in
a household, and there is hardly a host
ess. at the capital who does not en-
tertaln in this way two or three times a
week.
President Roosevelt's hospitality is
cordial and hearty. Not a day passes
mat ne does not detain some of his
callers for luncheon or dinner. and
these informal occasions are the most
qenshtful of any at the White House.
NO change is made in the menu, but
there is a feast of reason and a flow
OF soul that more formal dinners lack.
The president unbends gracefully. At
MS own table and surrounded by his
1@mily and friends he is a prince of
good fellows and laughs sincerely at a
Joke at his own expense. The state
dinners at the White House are quite
up TO the standard, but there will be
no vulgar extravaganza during the
present administration. Neither the
president nor Mrs. Roosevelt approve
OF undue display, and they will set a
dignifled standard One feature will
be lacking at these state dinners. a
feature that can we'll be spared. the
Solemnity that has sometimes marked
them. which caused a bright woman
to exclaim once upon a day: so that's
a state dinner. is it? Well, there was
nothing lacking. to make it a funeral
except the corpse
Secretary Hay leads official society
in dinner giving as in all other things.
His dining room is a model of good
taste, the service perfect, the menus
wisely chosen. and among the convives
the best and brightest people. the
flower of society. are to be found. Sec
rotary Gage follows the secretary Of
state as an amphitryon. His dinners
were celebrated before he left Chicago
10 accept the treasury PORTFOLIO and
he has kept UP the standard. Score
tary Root is in no sense q bon vivant:
he is almost a Spartan in the sim
plicity of his taste, and while prefer
ring short and simple dinners, puts no
limit upon the Wit and brilliancy Of
his guests. The dinners of Secretary
Hitchcock and the postmaster general
I have a foreign flavor, and one is sure
to meet a their boards some new and
unique dish, as likely as not an entree
/ they learned to like in Russia, where
both of them at different times repre-
sented the government Attorney Cen
eral Knox has one of the most accom-
phshed chefs in Washington, who Will
maintain the reputation his master has
already established as a dinner give-.
! Secretary Long lives in an apartment
and entertains but rarely. His annual
dinner to the president is the only am
bilious function he undertakes, but
the friends who drop in informally are
sure of a good dinner and warm well
come. The secretary of agriculture is
most hospitable. and besides several
formal. gi.es many informal dinners
during the season. at which good
stories are 10 be had. good cheer re-
ceived.
I OF the dinner givers in the senate.
( Alr. Hale is without doubt the most
notable. The number Of guests he in
vites to his table is invariably small,
/ the food perfectly cooked, the wines
! aawless and the conversation, direct
/ ed by this accomplished man. of the
I very best. But above all things the
meeting the bright lights from b.
! hernia Langtry lunched in his COM
mittee room and furnished a topic for
nine days Of gossip; Bernhard has
B been his guest. and Ellen Terry and
Henry Irving have tasted his hOspi-
tality.
! Senator Mcmillan spends a small for
! tune each year in entertaining. His
/ dinners are elegant and beyond criti-
/ cism- but he rarely invites anyone out
side of his own set, and theatrical peo-
! pie, such as Senator Hale delights in,
/ never gain an entree TO his house. Wit
| and cleveTness are passports 10 Sena-
I tor De9ew's table. He chooses his
/ guests from among the citizens of the
/ world, and one is never bored when he
/ is host. Senator Lodge is also catholic
| II selecting his guests, and Senator
! Elkins, whose great fortune enables
/ nm 10 take the lead in all social mat
/ tiers. Is an assiduOus dinner giVeT.