The Washington herald., 1908-01-25
GREATEST OF DINING CLUBS
By FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

The twenty-third annual dinner Of the
Gridiron Club in Washington tonight
viii bring together many men Of disun2-
tion and note The President of the
United States will grace the occasion,
and at least half dozen gentlemen wh5
are lending willing ears 20 the seductive
buzziug Of the busy little Presidential
bes will be there with him. Stald Cabi-
net officers VIII vie with brilliant dipl1-
mats I'm relishing the fun Of the occa-
sion: the army and the navy will be
represented; Senators and Representa-
tives viii De on haudi financieTs of world
wide note viii touch elbows with clergy
men of prominence; and scientists VIII
sit beside men who do the humdrum du-
I. ties Of everyday life; in short from every
field Of activity where men of note are
10 be found viii come the very cream Of
these to partake of the fun Of Grid
iron banquet
The Gridiron Club IS the most famous
Of all dining clubs. Invitations 10 its
dinners arc welcome by everybody who
gets them. Not other similar function
in the United States attract SO muan al
teuti0u. and more fun Is not to be hai any
where than ST one of them. The inside
history of the world is discussed as free
ly there ds I'm private home The seal
Of secrecy with but a notable exception
or two. has never been broken. And the
Gridirou Club stands out as one Of the
most interesting Of the interesting things
in the life of the National Capital
But it was not always thus. Before
1855 there was 10 Gridiron Club After
that year there was one, at first called
the Terrapin Club. and afterward given
its present name. Even with the adop-
ton of that name, the struggles of the
little association continued for "a number
of years to come. but once it did get into
the spotlight it held It's place, and has a
frmer hold on the bright-col0red beams
of that light to-day than ever. The OF
ganizatlon was born Of something akin
to necessity. Previous to 1870 Newspaper
Row was much frequented by the leaders
in Congress. Such men as C0nkling,
Wade. Sumner. Blaine. COifaX, Randall.
Sunset Cox, and Garfield We're regular
visitors to the Offices Of the prominent
newspapers. Then came a breach. Two
correspondents obtained and published the
treaty of Washington. The correspond
cnts were arrested, and, refusing TO give
any information, were imprisoned. The
corps of correspondents concentrated their
fire on the Senate and compelled its sur
render. Credit MobileT followed the next
year. and this was attacked by turning
the searchlight on 1t. without respect to
who was hit The Pacific Mail scandal
followed apace, and publicity hurt there,
too.
Relations between the correspondents
and Congress gradually resumed a normal
stage, but hostiIities broke out anew in
1883 and 1854, when the correspondents
made common cause against an eX-
Speaker. This situation suggested 10
Mai John NJ Carson, now chief of the
Bureau Of Manufactures, an association
Of correspondents for defense, and Of
fense if necessary, in order 20 force
mutually respectful relations. From that
little germ has grown the Gridiron Club
which held its first meeting in 1885. o.
the charter members, only o. o. Stealey,
of the Louisville COurier-Journal, re-
mains an active Washington correspond
ent Matters took definite shape al a
dinner given to a number of correspond
euts by Judge r. F. Crowell, then Sixth
Auditor Of the Treasury, at the conclusion
of which Mai. Carson asked why the cor
respondents could not do for themselves
what Judge CrOweu had done for them.
The idea was favOrably received. ana
upon the motion of Z. Y. De GraW, now
Fourth Assistant Postmaster General
committee of three was appointed to
carry il out
This resulted in the first luncheon and
the organization Of the club on January
q, 1850 As Mai Carson was the father
of the idea, it was proposed TO make him
the first president. But he did not have
the national reputation then that he now
has, and he magnanimously asked that
Ben: Perley Poore be made president.
which was done Mai Carson had been
temporary president, and under the tenn
poTary organization it was known as the
TerTapin Club. But the correspondents
did not Ike TO be identified with the
saurians, SO the suggestion Of Maj. Car
son that it be changed 10 the Gridiron
Club was unanimously adopted.
The development of the present Gridiron
idea was slow. For the first few years it
consisted Of the dinners accompanied by
songs and the usual post-prandiaI ef-
forts. For the first year the public men
who came to speak We're the victims of
every sort Of guying to be thought of.
This barbaric form of doing things was
early dispensed with. A second reform
was soon instituted the rule was made.
which has ever since been rigidly lived
up TO, that ladies are always construc-
lively present, and reporters never. One
Of the first things the club did to attract