The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-06-24
GOTHAM GOSSIP
tRy Francis Phillips, Copyright 1910, by the National News Service N. Y.)

Oy the NatlOnal News service, IN. 1-)
 New York, June 24.-The announce
 ment that the banquet rendered the
 other evening by Harry Payne Whit ney and his associates of the Meadow
 brook Club to the members of the Eng
 fish Polo team, their rivals in the re-
 cent international match, cost approx
 fmately $650, a plate seems to have
 shocked the delicate SenSibiitles of lsome of the straight-laced folk They
 cannot comprehend how supper
 could cost so much per person and
 are inclined to look upon the extrav-
 agance wilful, sinful dissipation
 of money. For dinner of its size
 it was probably the most expensive
 ever given in New York, though it is
 a matter of record that as high as . S1 900 plate has been paid for i1m-
 ited number of persons.
 To the Bourbon the Bourgeoeise and
 the proletariat. it is difficult to inn
 agine dinner so gorgeous in its ap-
 pointments and accessories as to con-
 sume s36.000 in money in the course
 of four or five hours of an evening.
 This is what it cost Whitney and his
 associates to entertain the English
 men The idea that this vast sum
 went all for food and rare vintages is
 a mistake. Even with Eagles liv-
 CTS. Lions tongues, Gazelle's hlet and
 other rarebits on the menu, the eat
 ing end of the feast would not ex-
 ceed s1e a plate. Add s15 more for
 rare old wines, and the most you can
 charge to the dinner proper is S25
 head That is said by New York's
 most delft chefs to be the maximum
 of mans capacity to devise epicurean
 novelties and the gourmond's capac-
 ity to dispose of them.
 What cost more were the jewelled
 and silver souvenirs distributed dur
 tng the. dinner. These were the most
 sumptuous ever given at repast Of
 this character Practically every
 Broadway theatre was invaded for one
 or two of it's stars who entertained
 after the dinner the players receiT-
 ing substantial sums for their services
 Then there was the florists bill which added another large sum to the bill.
 In times of industrial depression like
 the present such extravaganza is sure
 to provoke criticism In certain quar-
 ters and for that reason. New York's | miilionaires who think it wise not to
 Haunt their money in the face of the
 poor generally refrain from public dinners of this sort.
 On this occasion however, they took
 the stand that 1t would be a nice com
 pliment to the visitors from abroad, who had proved Such good sports dur
 ing their stay in America. To make ! sure however, that no adverse com
 rnent should be made the sponsors of |
 usual some one gave the secret away. Ann Morgan's determination to avoid
 London during the coronation is ac- cepted by her friends as another fndi- ! cation of the growing dislike of the in dependent and spirited daughter of J. Pierpont Morgan for society and large ! gatherings of any kind. Before 1eav- ing for the continent the other day she said she intended to spend her ~~-lAI EIrsn 1 de Wolfe. the former actress and Eliz- 1 abeth Marbury, the play broker, who have a picturesque chateau in the su- ! burbs of Paris.
 | It was expected by everybody that | she would spend at least a month in London on her way to France so that | it was something of a surprise to so- ciety when she announced her plan to avoid the English capital at this time of the year It is no secret among her personal friends that Miss Nor 1 gan. regards the idle entertainments | of New York society and those who ! give them as insipid. Efforts to in- l terest her in them from time to time l have failed and she is now consider l ed a hopeless case. She prefers to ] ters, where her influence and money | can be helpful to those who are strug l gling for a betterment of their condi- ] tions. Most of her associates are ! women of distinct intellectually and ! ambition with little money. In ] their company she is always happy. | There is a striking analogy between | her case and that of most of the ! daughters of John D. Rockefeller, who with the exception of Mrs Harold F. |, Mccormick of Chicago, never partici- 1 pated in the social activities of New ! York.
 ! Of the three wealthiest men in this ! city-Rockefeller, Andrew tCarnegie and J. Pierpont Morgan. whose aggre- i gate wealth is estimated at $1,100O00,- . 0eo none of them or their families ev i CT appear at public social functions. { The fact that all three eschew society ! and regard its doings as frivolous and : unseemly.. is generally believed to be the result of an understanding to live the simple life in the belief that by so doing the feeling of. discontent among the masses may not be unduly excited
 Through the suit of Rudolph {. Francke a German subject. against 1 Rear Admiral Robert E. Peary, dis CT the value of furs walrus tusk, mar i whal tusks, and other trophies of the North seas. which the former claims ! the explorer took from him in the Arctic the old dispute over the Polar search was re-opened here the other ] day. Francke is suing in the German i courts and testimony was taken here : by a commissioner Rear Admiral i Peary was invited to be present but ! sent his counsel instead. pr. Fred 1 | erick E. Cook. who claimed to have preceded Peary to the pole was wit ness for Francke who was with him during the first stages of the journey . he made over the frozen ice. Part of the articles which Rear Admiral Peary seized belonged to Cook. | Francke claims that the goods were taken from him when he asked for passage aboard Peary's ship back to Etah. He was i'll at the time and was obliged. he says to return to that point for medical treatment. Peary | he alleges impounded the furs and tusks in lieu of payment for his pas sage. The taking of testimony will he continued for several weeks and it is believed will serve to renew the old quarrel.
 Apparently as little fatigued as if | sine had been rusticating all winter in the palm groves of Florida or 1, among the lilies of Bermuda, Sarah | Bernhardt sailed for her home in France this week, after the most re- | markable financial tour of the Ameri l can continent ever made by Euro | pean star. In one of her thirty odd | trunks she carried away with her, were travellers cheques for a sub
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