New-York tribune., 1911-01-18
DEMOCRATS SHOUT IN
VAIN At BIG BANQUET
Inv and Tobacco Smoke Drown
Out the Voices of Would
Be Speakers.
SOME MOUNT ON TABLES
Menu Suggested Anything but
Jeffersonian Simplicity -
Palmer Fears Some D.
Fool May Rock Boat"

baltimore Jan. l7-PraCtiCally every
n,r,orra, or the Senate and House OF Rep
,,sertstives attended a joyous banquet to-
rfcp, which marked the close Of the Dem
,.rstir Jubilee i'm this city. More than elev-
=, hundred persons sat about ,he score of
.,,,ss arranged in the shape Of a sridiron.
=, tho guests table alone ffty-three covers
-. laid All Of the prominent Demo-
,ra.ic leaders who we're present at the
.nerroon mass meeting, augmented by a
,r,,r'oad If national legislators from
washington. attended tho banquet, which
as the largest and most elaborate feast
yer held In Baltimore
~. exuberauce Of spirit which brought
,-,busiasr 10 tho afternoon gathering
-.ached It's height at the banquet. The
.rebel veil" made its appearance with the
arrival Of tho dismondhack tcrrapin, and
ty the time the canyasback duck was
cached there was singing en- all parts Of
..o rayernous hall. While one group was
,,raged on Maryland Ny Maryland" an
liner was enthusiastically and moro or
les tremendously shouting that "the old
..,,o religion was good enough for them.
rare old vintage wines were literally inter
,st suggested anything but Jeffersonian
simplicity
Tho BANQUET began soon after o'clock,
and f. was l0.3O before an attempt was
-,.ds % secure order. The immense crowd
n diner, or this time was not an easy one
,o handle. Impromptu celebrations We're in
progress al many Of the tables, and i'm
r-o,ised orators were holding sway 10
r,eering coterics o. enthusiasts gathered
about them.
p Speakers Could Not Be Heard.
The guests at the speakers table did their
hest 10 deliver the messages they had pre-
r,-ed for the occasion. but the confusion
vas so great that a fog horn would have
bsen ineffective. and the megaphone voice
- Ferdinand Williams. Of Cumberland,
taasraster. was lost TO every one more
,1sn aftv feet away Senators Rayner and
smith OF this state. pleaded in vain for
order Mr Williams went through his
sresch without the audience being able TO
grasp NOR. than his gestures.
Vbsr ex-senator Blackburn. the first
f,saker. mounted the table this act was
taken as sign that he had been intro
fgced He also exhibited gestures which
aroused applause but his usual eloquence
failed utterly to still the crowd. Occa-
sonaUv The words Democratic party
could be caught above the din. and these
were al the audience needed as signal
for renew ed outbursts Of handcIapping and
,beerinc. inte~spersed with rebel yeils.
.n was apparent that too much had been
attempted m the way Of banquet speaking.
-L. diners too
numerous and the acoustics too bad 10 per-
nit of any semblanco of orde.
Champ Clark was asked 10 speak at the
night GATHERING but said he was unwilling
70 burst his throat talking against such
athrong. as he expected 10 have use for II
later in Congress Major James .. Hemp
49, of Richmond Va. who was TO speak
on The Democratic Press said he was
afraid 10 undertake ii.
Senator Blackburn. however, from his
place on tho table. held forth for twenty
minutes. although few OF his words pcne-
trated the thick haze Of tobacco smoke.
The diners by this time had all left their
places and were either visiting with each
other or standing several rows deep about
tho Speakers table.
Following Senator Blackburn. the toast
nas'er introduced Representative James
N Graham. Of Illinois. who was n mem
Der of the Ballinger-Pinchot investigating
committee. Mr. Graham has a stentorian
voice, hGt even he could not nc heard much
more than twenty feet away.
Palmer Fears the Damn Fool"
Representative A Mitchell Palmer. Of
Pennsylvania was the third speaker 10
mount the table. BY the time he began his
speech the crowd in the armorv had
ov.7ded 70 about two hundred and there
was q semblance Of quiet.
With the start given in November" said
Nr Palmer amid cheering, the Demo-
cratic party will sail on TO continued sue
cess unless some damn fool rocks the boat.
Representative-elect d. J. McGnlicuddy
e' Maine and Representative Theodore
E'' ~ California, were the final speakers