Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-06-20
BRILLIANT FETE
AT WHITE HOUSE
5000 Greet Tafts on Silver
Wedding Anniversary.

neath a or the great oaks or the
White House lawn, President and Mrs.
Taft received 5000 guests, who had
been invited to assist them In celebrat-
ing the twenty-1fth anniversary Of
their marriage. 1t was a social event
which eclipsed In brilliancy any in re
cent years and wrote a new page In
the remarkable social history of the
executive mansion. 1t was the largest
company ever entertained at the White
House.
With the weather absolutely perfect,
the White House grounds transformed
almost into a f~airyland, the 5000 In
,vited guests having the best kind Of a
time and four times that many inter
ested and enthusiastic spectators
standing twenty deep outside the spik-
ed iron fence that surrounds the exec
utive mansion, President Taft as he
stood at the head Of the receiving line
with the first lady Of the land did not
seem to have a care in the world. He
was particularly happy, as he said re-
peatedly, that Mrs. Taft, lately not in
the best Of health, seemed to have
won some strength for the occasion
and was with him every moment Of
the time that the thousands Of guests
were filing by exchanging hand grips
and expressing the hope that they
might be spared TO be present away
off in the future at the Tafts' golden
wedding day.
incidentally it is not at all improba-
BILE that President Taft, considering
the success of the reception, will issue
a ukase increasing the salary Of Pro
fessor Willis Moore, who makes the
governments weather. Mr. Moore ap-
peared at the White House with a long
face and delivered the most p~essimistic
predictions. Everybody at the White
House was much worried about the
atmospheric outlook, SO Mr.. Moore ran
over to brighten things up. After he
had talked with the president he told
the newspaper men that the president
has only one chance In a hundred OF
having a garden party" then he elabo-
rated.
Conditions are most unfavorabl BILE"
he said. There probably will be show
ers."
1t is remarkable the way things at
the White House frightened up after
Professor Moore's visit. The president
quit looking at the weather and whis-
tied, and the preparations for the out
of doors fete went merrily ahead.
Every n who attended the recep-
ition agrees it would have been moth
ing short Of q calamity had the wealth
er been less perfect. Probably not a
single one of the guests had the slight
est conception of the elaborate prepa-
~rat1ons that had been made in a deco
raHve way. And to those entering the
White House either from the avenue
side or the east carriage entrance
there was little beyond a s%earchlight
playing on the fountain In front of the
p%ortlchere and a few clusters Of lights
On the lawn to indicate what awaited
them on the spacious grounds IN the
rear.
Back there, though, the scene was
beautiful beyond all description. All
around the outer edge Of the acres of
level, short clipped grass within the
White House inclosure swung Chinese
lanterns Of fantastic designs; blocks
apart, swaying in the light breeze and
casting their queer shapes and shad:
ows on the lawn. Within the great
square of lanterns every tree, big and
little; every evergreen, every shrub
and bush, wore a dress Of coIored
light. From the top of ancient elms
and oaks long streamers Of light In the
national %colors, Topped here and there
from branch to branch, swung down
ward to the ground. In the pines and
cedars clusters Of smaller bulbs wound
about the trunks glowed within the
green. From the roof Of the White
House a squad Of white clad tackles
from the dispatch boat Dolphin oper-
ated a big navy searchl1ght, casting |
ever changing colored rays on the con |
verging streams Of the great fountain
and basin In the center of the lawn. !
Many Of the guests literally had to
fight their way from Pennsylvania
avenue down to the entrance, the
throng Of spectators having formed
jam extending from the iron fence
hround the grounds, across the side
walk and street and overfowing the
steps of the treasury building. On the
west, between the White House and
the state, war and navy building, II
was the anne. Apparently everybody
IN Washington had read Of the presi
dents silver wedding and Of the elabo
rate preparations that were beine
made to entertain the 5000 guests and
had come down to see the sights
There was really no way Of estimating
the crowd, which the entire reserve
force of policemen had the greatest
difficulty In handling.