The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-09-04
BROOK CLUBS new FEATURES,
ALL NIGHT SERVICE BUT ONE
OF SEVERAL NOVELTIES.
To He Run rs Much Like Private House
as Possible-No Checks to BE signed
and No By.Laws-The Membership
Drawn From Five Of the Older Clubs.

anu NO bysLAWs-IhC
Drawn From Five Of the Older Clubs.
| The Brock Club, the new social organiza-
! ton, whose house is at East Thirty fifth
street. finished yesterday the first week
OF its existence, and its members are moro
than ever convinced that 1t will servo .
useful purpose in club life.
The Brook is a club mans club, in the
language of one Of its members, and ito
membership is practically drawn from Ave
OF the large city clubs the Union Racquet
Knickerbocker. Metropolitan and Century.
The lis members OF the Brook Club all
belong to these older organizations, and
when the election Of now members begins
it will still be from these clubs that they
will be taken.
So far no members have been elected
to the club. All the original members now
enrolled were invited to join the new club
when it was first suggested. The election
OF new members will enlarge the club to
about 200, a number 1t is not intended to
exceed, although there is no bylaw to
that effect. In fact, there are no moro
bylaws than can be helped. Rules and
bylaws are not popular with the founders
Of the Brook and it was to escape in a meas
ure this formal feature of club life that
the new organization was formed.
I'VE don't think that we need bylaws
one Of the members said yesterday, -and
we have none OF them and no house COM
mittee that has to worry itself over the con-
duct OF the members and see that we behave
ourselves like gentlemen. We think we
can do that. There Is to be no interruption
to the service here and the II an WHO comes
at q quarter to in the morning will have
the same service he would find at that time
In the afternoon.
"But an unnecessary amount OF attention
has been laid on the fact that one can come
here at any hour of the night. That Is not
looked upon by the members as the most
important feature of the club, but 1t is
merely one inst nce of the kind Of service
we expect to establish here. As a matter
Of fact there were twenty men in the club
the other morning at IL o'clock"
Everything has been done by the MEM
bers Of the club to make it as much like
a gentleman's house as possible. The check
system has been altogether abolished and
the plan Of payment Is the same that has
proved successful at the Somerset Club
in Boston.
A member tells the waiter what he wants
and it is put at his place. Then the servant
puts down on the members account what
, his Indebtedness TO the club is. men,
Der il privileged to see his account at any
time and may have and pay it whenever
he wants it.
The officers OF the Brook Club who we're
elected 30 soon as an organization was
formed are Center Hitchcock, president;
O. H. P. Belmont, vice-president; Lewis
Stuyvesant Chanler, secretary; Thomas B.
Clarke, treasurer. The board Of governors
consists Of Frank lin Bartlett, Stanford White.
Frederic Gerhard, W. X. Vanderbilt, Jr.,
George Blair Painter Edward H. Buckley,
Z. A. Crowninshield, Robert p Perkins, H.
Walcott Robbins, r. Livingston Beekman
and Decourcey Forbes.
The smallness OF tho house makes 1t neces-
sary to limit the membership. although It
was never intended to allow the club to be
large. The dining room, which is one Of
up short flight Of stairs from the Ameri-
can basement. 1t is in the style OF the
Georgian period, and a table d'hote dinner
is served every night There are places
for many guests at the large round table,
and this regular dinner is TO be feature of
the club.
In addition to the large dining room,
there are drawing room, billiard room,
reading room and several bedrooms for
the members who may want to stop in town.
1t is in its freedom from all apparent regu-
lations and other customary club red tape
that the Brook Is most unlike other clubs.
Its affairs are administered with rs little
formaltity as possible, and when one enters
the hall he doesn't see lists OF rules and
suspended members and other outward and
visible signs OF club administration.
to every member as is his own house." said
one Of the men who was active in forming
it. 1T Is to be conducted with the idea
OF approxinating the atmosphere Of such
a place. Everything that would interfere
with that has been eliminated"