The Washington herald., 1907-03-17
HOW FASHIONS START
BY FREDERIC j. HASKIM.

The fads and fancies OF the many are
the tribute paid by the multitude to the
originality Of the few. A President coins
a word, or resurrects from some musty
tome "a forgotten phrase, and it is on
every lip within fortnight An uncon-
ventional man Of prominence wears diff
ferent hat. and the world adopts the style.
never stopping 10 ask if that particular
man is a judge OF hats woman whose
name Is SYNONYM for the height OF
fashion may indulge "a whlm and cause
every one OF her sisters to subscribe to an
odiousIy ugly fashion Most Of the fads
are begun without deliberate intention on
the part OF the 'arbiteT," who originates
them There are many little stories eX-
planning how such things have come to
be-
The only man in the United States who
still appears in public wearing 'Cleve-
land hat" is John g. Carlisle, forlderly Of
Kentucky. now OF New York MIR Car
Isle was Secretary Of the Treasury in
Mr.. CIeveland's Cabinet, and before that
had been a Senator from Kentucky. and
three times Speaker Of the National
House Of Representatives. A Cleveland
hat Is a white felt affair of the general
shape and proportions Of the silk top-hat
Of convention. Mr.. Cleveland affected it
during his first administration. In his
second and third races for President,
each time opposed by Benjamin Harri-
SON. Democrats throughout the country
wore Cleveland white stove-pipe hats.
The Republicans affected a bell-shaped
''lid, =" called "Grandpa's Hat" because
"A cartoonist had depicted Mr. Harrison
I IN the headgear OF the vintage OF l840. as
worn by Mr.. Harrison's grandfather. VIII
liam Henry Harrison, the ninth Presi-
dent of the United States. In the cam
paign Of 1883 the Cleveland hat was re-
enforced by the red bandanna handker-
chief in acknowledgment Of "A peculiar
fancy OF the Democratic candidate for the
Vice Presidency Allen g. Thurman. OF
Ohio or all the thousands Of Cleveland
hats once worn, Mr.. Carlisle's alone sur
wives.
The modern craze FOR mission furniture
! is 20 be accredited to Ebert Hubbard
since he. with his Roycroft workers. has
( revived the severe fashion of two hun
dred years ago Mr.. Hubbard had among
/ his family treasures an old desk Of quar-
/ tered oak. a remnant OF the days when
/ Spanish priests in the colonies fashioned
their simple furniture from the nearest
material at hand They had borrowed
/ this style from Flanders. and it was par
ticularlv suitable for the wids OF the
new country Mr. Hubbard. two hundred
years later. IN casting about for a new
style of furniture, hit on the plan Of
/ copying the mission work for desks and
bookcases. The fever spread rapidly, un-
( I'll now at the zenith OF its popularity, it
/ is sold IN every furniture store in Amer
/ lea
\ The fashion Of wearing pink pearls was
made bv Mrs. John w Mackay The pink
/ pearl. as naturalists and jewelers. agree.
/ is not true pearl. but for all that it IS
very rare. and good specimens are quite
/ expensive. They are found in consh
z shells, not oysters, and the most OF them
/ come from the Isthmus Of Panama. When
Josiah I. Pcarcy. Of Tennessee. was the
American consul AT Colon he purchased
1 a pink pearl from a San Bias Indian.
! This particular pearl was larger than a
/ pea. of perfect shape, and hawess orient
The San Bias Indians sell all pearls, large
Ar. Pearcy sold this pearl in Panama foT
$500. The dealer sold Ii afterward for
/ S2090 II became one Of the collection
I Of pink pearls made into a necklace for
Mrs Mackay and that necklace set the
/ fashion. which endures to this day, lin
tied only by the purses of jeweI-Ioyers
/ and the scarcity Of the supply
Names Of fancy drinks are nearly al
originated by accident An American
drink of worldwide reputation is the
rickey. "a combination of lime juice, min
eral water. and whisky OF gin. The first
. rickev was made i'm 1891. by George VII
hanson. who is still queuching assorted
thirSts AT ShoOmakers. d Washingto.
barroom. which has been famous since
1855. Col. Joseph X Hickey. of Fulton
Mo. was a celebrated character about
the National Capital in those days He
drifted into Shoomaker-s one hot day
ana asked for cooling drink. Mr.. VIII
hanson put a piece of ice I'm a long glass
/ poured some whisky over il. and added
mineral water. The crowd had several
rounds Of them Then the suggestion
was made that a drop Of lime juice would
be an Improvement Mr.. Williamson sup.
piled the lines. The new drink was call
/ ed Col RickeyS brand of poison 4
few weeks Safer a Washngtonian drop
ped into the Hoffman House bar in New
York. and asked for q col. Hickey" The
barSeeper confessed ignorance and was
enlightened From that time the riCkey
began TO grow r. favor. and it has en-
dured to this day.
The dead letter office in Washington
throws away two barrels of misdirectec
souvenir postal cards every day. This
represents only fraction of the mil
lions that reach their destination This
fad. which has swept the country from
ocean 10 ocean, and from the Lakes tC
the Gulf. Is borrowed from the Germans
and was introduced i'm this country only
four years ago a Philadelphia printing
house brought out the first American
cards with reproductions of the United
States mint. the old State House anc
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