The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1906-04-19
Millinery Display a Feature
Of the Convention Now in
Progress at Washington
HOW A MAN SEES IT
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF
THE NEWARK EVENING
NEWS" DELIGHTED WITH THE
FEMININE SIDE OF THE
WHOLE BUSINESS.

WHOLE BUSINESS.
There are two congresses in session in
Washington this week, says the Wash
ington correspondent Of the Newark
Evening News That up in the Cap
ito!, where ''Uncle Joe" presides over one
House and Vice President Fairbanks the
other, is, for the moment. a secondary
consideration The other congress, the
annual Continental Congress of the ID.
A. R., is different At the Capitol they
are talking about the rate bill and other
dull, poky things that have to do with
politics. Some say there is politics in
the Continental Congress, but if there is
there is nothing duh or poky about it.
ID. A. R." stands for Daughters of
the American Revolution. The society
also takes in grand-daughters, great
grand-daughters, nieces. cousins and
daughters and grand-daughters-in-
There are no daughters at the congress.
but there may be a few nieces or daugh-
ters-in-law. It's a good thing to remem-
Der that this is the D. A. r. There is
another society. the D. R.. that also is
made up of descendants of revolutionary
heroes. but the two don't hold their meet
ings together | have asked one or two
Daughters what the difference Is, ana
been looked at with pitying contempt
AS nearly as 1 can make out. it's about
the same difference that there is between
the Sons of the Revolution and the Sons
of the American Revolution. One crowd
admits daughters-in-law to membersh p.
and the other doesn't. or something of
that sort.
Really. that question has nothing to do
with this congress. Whether the dele
gates are lineal or collateral descendants,
they take it all very seriously, and 1 ex-'
pect that / shall when / find out what it
is all about. As the congress has been
in session only two days, it's early to
find that out.
Memorial Continental Hall. which the
Daughters are building themselves, is go
ing to be handsome building when it is
finished, although it is in about as mac
cessible spot as there is in Washing
ton. It faces the Mall, down near the
Patomac Flats, with the Corcoran Art
Gallery on one side. the site of the pro-
posed new buildings of the George Wash
ington University on the other, and the
White House stables across the street.
Like most things in Washington, it is
about three times as far away from any
where else as it seems to be.
The millinery and gown display at the
congress is in itself worth coming to
Washington to see. Whether it is due to
D. A. R. influences or simply representa-
tive of the millinery genius of the whole
country, l don't know, but it is signi6-
cant of the universally of fashions that
in gowns and hats there isn't any mark
ed difference, so far as rich costumes,
modest dresses and generally stunning
outfits are concerned, between the dele
gates from New England New York and
the far West and Southwest. Mrs. Nc
Lean, the president-generai, is a large,
good looking woman, whose gowns are
marvels of the dressmaking art. Yester-
day she wore white dress and white
hat with pink OF red flowers. She car
ried gold net bag on her arm all the
time Whether she kept it there from
Observation-Disclosures or fear of losing it, or
whether it was part of the accessories to
the costume, couldn't find out
To cover up the rough temporary par
titions and walls, the hall has been deco
rated with a combination of green and
white cheesecloth that makes an effective
and striking color scheme. A ceiling of
white cheesecloth drapedl from the dome
keeps out the glare and the sparrows that
hold a rival continuous convention up
under the roof
Some mere male reporter who went to
write up last years congress for a local
paper said that the delegates sang
"America' at the opening Of the session.
and there wasn't note of harmony
heard afterward. If he had had eyes he
would have been so dazzled by the har-
mony of the millinery symphony that he
wouldn't have known anything about the
parliamentary discords
There are more kinds and numbers of
badges in the congress than are ordinari-
II to be found in political convention.
Everybody wears st'leset one badge 0i