The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-20
To Be Known as Greatest Social Event in Taft's
 Administration
MANY BEAUTIFUL
 GIFTS RECEIVED
Twenty-Five Years Ago Last Night Miss Helen Heron Became Bride of Young Cincinnati Lawyer;
 Now President

Washington, June 1s-The silver we'd " ding celebration of the President ana t Mrs Taft, the second that has been held q in the White House. came to an end n tonight with the reception on the White y House lawn. Invitations had been sent e to close to 12,eoo persons and while the { official count of those who shook hands \ with the President was not given out It n was estimated that at least 5000 persons Y were present.
 a Never in the history of the nation ' probably has such a function been held
 in Washington. The diplomatic corps 4 the United States supreme court, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Y the departments of the government, the t men who are high in political affairs T of the country, the army, the navy, and X every walk in life almost. were repre- sented.
 rhe cool. clear night that made re- ' eertion in the open air possible, pre- vented the crush that the White House for days had been afraid of and made the reception not only brilliant. but de- f1 Iightful in every respect. The guests ~ V,ouId have filled the White House to l overflowing. but the White House grounds are ample and there was no crush and no confusion
 Possibly 15.00O people crowded about i the iron fence that surrounded the fl grounds and looked longingly at the elec-
 {. tric display the splashing fountain and { the gay throng within. Washington sell T dom gets excited over anything, but to- q night 1t showed it's interest in the an Il niversary of the Prsident in uhmistak- | able fashion.
 {, The cards said that the reception would ] begin at o'clock and promptly on the hour to the strains of the wedding a' march. the President and Mrs Taft came D slowly down the staircase of the White House, preceded by the six presidential
 !. aides and followed by the cabinet Out \ through the red room to the rear portleo of the mansion down the broad steps and ea out onto the lawn, the procession march
 I<Aed while hundreds oi guests already ill ~ the grounds watched their progress. They T. iool< their stand beneath two trees, just 0 bout .he center of the lawn, whose r h'anchss were joined by an electric sign 2 lashing '1Ss6-i9l1."
 Il Beautiful Scene
 The guests entered from the east 4 front, passed through the corridors be- meath the White House and out to the s lawn. Down the winding walk they t passed In TWO lines to WHcre the Iies- ident his face wreathed in smiles. was X waiting to meet them. Above the walks the electricians had touched the trees d with magic and they blazed in red and white blue bulbs. From the top of s the treasury monster searchlight 4 played upon new American flag upon 4 the summit of the mansion Over the n rear portion another flag in red. white ] and blue incandescent lamps, shimmered Il and waved. The fountain in the cen I ter of the grounds, played upon by an Il other searchlight, sprinkled forth all Id hues of the rainbow The Washington monument, thousand feet to the south, :, brought into reli,f by the thousands of 1 lights, stood out sharply against the N sky, dark blue with here and there a star striving successfully against the lights of man.
 n The White House lawn, clipped and p shaved to the very quick, made carpet O. soft dark green over which walked h Ightly the gayly clad women, the men il in black or in the white of the mill r ftary service Down near the fountain i the marine band in scarlet coats played a with vigor and in the White House it. r yelf the engineer band vied with them. i, Every corner of the mansion had it's owr particular light. On the terraces Il that etxend from the old mansion east wsrd and westward the beauty of the White House conservatories had been Il pOuTeu. 1ne tall lamps that stand along the borders of these terraces had I heen shaded by deep red paper. re- I semhling nothing so much as monster peoples. ETH
 Informal as Possible
 The reception was just as informal as the President. could make it. Those q who could waited in lines for hours to shake hands but many slipped out of the line and sought the shaded walks l tha 4 wandered at will through the lower floors of the mansion. The presents that numbered in the hundreds and | whose money value ran high into the thousands, attracted many while others I turned to the east room, whose polished 1 floor echoed to the tread Of the dancers. I Preparation had been made for 5Oo0 guests and the refreshment tables in l the state dining room came as near I grooming as perfectly good table can 4 come. The President and the members s of his family with the cabinet and the ] aides were served on the east terrace, but the guests found their refreshments I in the state dining room.
 3 Mrs. Taft surprised even those familiar Y with the improvement in health that she has shown by remaining by the Presi- dents side in the receiving line all the evening. She wore a gown of white satin, brocaded with silver flowers, with a court train.
 Miss Helen Taft. who was near at hand, wore a gown of pink satin with
 tunic of pink chiffon.
 In spite of the unusual crowd, the ma- 4 ehinery had been so perfected that every
 thing worked smoothly. The automo- piles under the watchful eye of the po- lice, chugged up to the east entrance, deposited their occupants and steamed
 away again, half dozen to the minute. The foot passengers found access more difficult, but the police arrangements
 were good, and with little rushing now and then a little diplomacy here and there, they got through the crowds of curious. More than one hundred police men in uniform were on guard around the fence and the usual plain clothes men and secret service guards were within the grounds.
 While 9 o'clock had been named as the hour at which the reception was to begin, no time was fixed for the end ] of the festivities and it was after mid night that the engineer band struck up Home. Sweet Home,'' the last dancers swept on the floor of the east room and
 the President felt that he could retire. Twenty-Five years ago William How II srd Taft married Mss Helen Heron at her fathers home in Cincinnati Mr. 1cONX1NVED ON PAGE sl