The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1908-02-13
THE BANQUET AT TAMPA
At Which Legislators and Newspaper
Men Met About the FestaI Board
est. Petersburg independent, 12thD

est. Petersburg Independent. 12thJ
| l promised 10 tell the readers about
the banquet given by the Florida State
| Fair Association at the Gran Oriente.
! (Garcia's Place. Ybor City. which is
~ Tampa. Fla. on the night of Feb
ruary 18th.
This event happened three or four
days ago. No one could reasonably
expect a newspaper man to write
about banquet the day after. or four
| or five days afterward. for that mat
i ter, without he was tOmmieappleyard
or joehumphrey or a F'loridapress-
neStor.
The banquet was given in honor of
his eXcellency. y. &. Broward, COVER
nor Of Florida United States senators.
congressman. Judges Of the supreme
court, members Of the legislature and
press of the state of Florida
When L looked about that festal
| board all the glamOr of OfficialdOm
was lost, and you couldn't tell a cab
perman who washed rollers with one
hand and edited patent medicine
readers with the other.
There is nothing like a banquet to
bring everybody dow nto a common
| level.
The show opened up with a little
glass Of amber hue with cherry in it.
The cocktail is a pleasant drink.
Mild and harmless, 1 don't think,
| When you've had one you'll call for
two,
And then you don't care what you do.
! The bill of fare looked to the party
| like a suburban time card does to q
| woman.
The best any one could do was to
get aboard the train and take what
was coming to him. If 1 had to order
dinner from a Spanish bill 1 would
either starve to death or die from in
digestion.
I did have enough sense not to eat
the palms for celery. That is told to
show that I have travelled some-as
far as Largo or Lealman.
| After 1 had displayed that streak OF
wisdom my friends took me in charge
When we first sat down to the table
there were three streaks Of red, blue
and white ribbon running the full
| length of the tables in parallel lines
When the party arose at a. m. there
was a dozen streaks and each streak
was going a different way, and Of a
different Streak-sO l am told.
| 1t was a riot Of colors, and made
almost as much noise as when the
guests sang MY Old Kentucky Home
and "a Hot Time in YbOr Tonight"
AS 1 was saying, when one sat down
| to the table there was spread on that
festive board the following:
"Anchos, piniemtos de CalahOrra,
mortadella, esparragos, jam gallere
rabonas, aceitunas and apiO. irrigated
with vino Sautern Franco Espanol"
A representative helped himself a
dozen times all around, and when
some one whispered to him that that
was only a layout of relishes to pre-
pare the stomach for what was to
follow, he said: 81 bet you this is an
other trick to divide Hillsboro county
Along about this time some one
cried, Here comes Carrie Nation
and everybody ducked under the ia
| BILE.
| Course followed course-sopa i'm
perial. pastelillOs de Polio con Trufas
etc, etc-and all the time long black
cigars were passed around, and every
I
After q few turns at vino clarete rioja,
the party was introduced to Mr.. Mum.
who has a reputation Of being an ad-
vocate Of the dry" side Of the prohi-
bition battle.
| Just before coffee was served Toast
master Senator James E. Crane intro
duced Attorney General Ellis, who
spoke as a close friend Of Governor
Broward, whose absence was regretted
by all. A number Of other speakers
followed. The drift of all the talk was
the greatness Of the state and Of the
State Fair. and the need Of greater
appropriation by the legislature to
make the only mid-winter State Fair
in the United States the biggest at
traction Of its kind in America
| That's all I know about the banquet
except such as was told in the Tam
pa papers.
| The only thing puzzling me is:
Where does Tampa get so much
money to lavish on it's guest Of the
day?"
| And here's to Brown