Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-28
GR|D|RON CLUBS
ANNUAL DINNER
The President the Most Dis
rs tinguished Guest.
FUN FAST AND FURIOUS
From the Very Beginning of the
Banquet.
DIGGING THE PANAMA CANAL
illustrated by Gridironers and Secre-
tary Taft Told How the Work Can
Be Done in a Jiffy.
From the Very Beginning of the
Banquet.
DIGGING THE PANAMA CANAL

The Gridiron Club dug the Panama canal
last night. The club took the President of
the United States and a distinguished party
of men, numbering 235 in all, TO Panama,
and all hands turned to and finished the
canal in iiffy. 1t was case where work
was play, and mighty jolly and interesting
play. too.
All this occurred at the New Willard Ho-
tel where the Gridiron Club held its TWEEN
ty-first annual dinner. 1t was one of the
most novel OF entertainments ever given
by this notable organization of newspaper
men and was attended by one surprise
after another and by features of sarcas-
Tic wit and happy allusion which kept the
guests in a gale of merriment for four
hours Perhaps the most striking surprise
OF the whole affair was the decoration OF
the great banquet hall where the dinner
was held. All the features of the occasion
centered upon the construction of the Pan
anna canal, and that theme ran through the
entire entertainment from beginning to
end. Snalls had decorated the hall to carry
out the Illusion.
When the guests left the assembly room,
instead of entering the conventional ban
quet room with it's festoons of smiax they
found themselves in a narrow maze or
palms. greens and tropical plants. The
maze wound around that its exit was
not visible. On and on the guests went un-
til sudden turn brought into view Won
derful scene They were in the plaza at
Panama They had stepped from Washing
ton into the tropics.
The Illusion perfect. Royal palms
lowered everywhere their graceful fronds
sweeping the ceiling and bending over in
great arches of greenery. Panama trees.
loaded with fruit dotted the landscape and
son every side of the clearing the tropic
jungle crowded close with its dense thicket
Of ms No Od Of
the plants and of masses of roses made fra
grant the warm atmosphere and over all
CLEANED a thousand incandescent electric
lights. The scene was tranSCendently
beautiful and the guests were charmed into
enthusiastic expressions of delight.
March to the Banquet Room.
The guests gathered in the assembly
room adjacent to the grand banquet hall.
where they We're welcomed by the reception
committee and spent short time in social
converse. At 7:JO President Roosevelt ar
rived and was met at the threshold by the
committee. At that moment signal was
given, a strain of martial music was heard
and In from the corridors came a section
OF the Marine Band, the members dressed
In the white duck uniform used in the
tropics. Headed by Leader Santelmann
they marched through the room and into
the banquet hall, playing the air When
Johnny Comes Marching Home" Behind
attired in blouse and jumpers and carrying
shovels and pickaXes. BY prearrange-
ment the guests fell In behind and the
whole company marched into the banquet
hall singing
We're going to zig the big canal,
!iurrahl Hurrah!
We're going to dig the big canal
In Pan anna
In Panama we work tonight.
Ven do some dlggin' before it's light;
Inc ulTt begins 10 ny.
'oh, ShontS sand, and Stevens and all the bunch,
WIN have 10 get extra hunch.
In Panama!
We've got the shoyels, we've got the strr
And all can see we've got men enough,
Here In Psrsma.
They say there's been extravaganza
In Pan ANA!
They say there's memories Of France
In Pan anna!
But now that we the Job
The blcomin old plant win have TO throb.
Here in Panama
'SIsgoon IS bound to take no rest
Hurrah! Hurrah,
He really likes the climate best
But then, you kuJw. within the zone
The pay Is better than back at home,
So lac wants TO the dlggin begin
Here In Panama.
$50 line up. boys. and get to work.
Don't let the world think that wen shirk
In Pan-a ma!
o Aoa gsD T4ep ba he 5 ssc1 %Sr9 home
diggn' in Panama"
1t was an inspiriting scene and every one
caught the spirit OF the occasion. Away
they tramped. two hundred and thirty-fve.
with great men Of the nation in line
around the tables and through the maze
OF tropic foliage singing the refrain and
the military band crashing it out above all
the voices. The "diggers'' lined up in front
of the small stage upon which the band
took station and carried the song through
half a dozen topical verses amidst the un-
bounded enthusiasm of the guests, who In
the meantime were marching to their seats.
The old wartime air seemed to thrill the
listeners and the roll of the drums and
blare OF cornets and trumpets set the blood
a-tingle and feet a-shufiie until finally the
pent-up enthusiasm found vent In great
round OF applause.
Once I'm their seats the guests were well
coined in appropriate remarks by the new
president of the club Mr.. Richard Lee
Fearn: the great electric gridiron was
flashed. the walters bustled I'm and the dim
ner was on. The ceremonial toast to the
President of the United States was drunk
standing. and the one rule OF the Grdiron
Club was announced. namely that at a
Gridiron dinner Reporters are never pres
ent; neutrality-suspicious. present."
While the company was attending to the
soup a disturbance arose that for awhile
distracted the attention of every one from
the viands. y charter member of the club
who Is over from London, where he is Of
feialy exiled arose in his seat and COM
planned bitterly of the soup. He exhibited
considerable feeling in voicing his protest
against serving such soup.
WHATS wrong with the soup?" indig-
nanuy demanded a member OF the enter
tainment committee.
Il don't know, but something's wrong"
We'll, submit that this is not the place
nor time to lay your complaint"
But he was insstent and demanded that
no la t1ad
to explain. In order TO avoid scene the
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