Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1913-04-05
HAD NO POLITICS
MRS. WILSON'S DEBUT
Mrs. Stephen B. Ayres Tactfully Man
aged the Affair, Avoiding
All Shoals.

Washington, April 5.--When the first
real official society function Of the ad-
ministratiOn-th "debut" Of Mrs.
Woodrow Wilson-swung into being
shortly after noon today, there was not
one soupcon Of politics to be found.
Mrs. Wilson hates politics and had re-
fused to be a party to any event, how
ever harmless and purely social, that
had any political leaning.
So, when the Introductory breakfast
by the women of Washington, was ar
ranged, the real opening Of the White
House season, the affair was as thor
oughly representative Of all factions
that you couldn t say which or who was
predominant. The breakfast, with thir-
ty-five tables at Raucher's, was design
ed to outshine the famous Dolly Madi-
son breakfast of last year and it would
! be almost a heresy to say it did not.
Great care had to be employed to
keep the tabooed political situation off
the menu because Mrs. Wilson had de-
clined with polite firmness any invita-
tion to be chief guest at breakfast of
the Woman's Democratic club. So it
remained for Mrs. Stephen B. Ayres to
initiate a breakfast that would thrust
all such entanglements far away.
Officially backing the breakfast were
such organizations of women as the
Daughters of the American Revolution,
the Colonial Danes, the Washington
Club, the Southern Relief Society and
the Congressional Club, besides scores
of individual women of official and So
cial Washington.
Mrs. John w. Kern, wife of the Sc
nior senator from Indiana, was desig-
mated as tOastmistress and at her right
hand was seated the guest of honor, At
Mrs Kern's left was Mrs. Thomas Ri
ley Marshall, wife of the vicepresident,
and at Mrs. Wilson, s right sat Mrs.
William Jennings Bryan, wife Of the
secretary of state, The wives of other
cabinet members were placed in care
fully selected order beside these leaders
of the administrative set-great diplo'
macy having been employed to make
the seating seem accidental, yet har-
monious with recognized rules Of the
etiquette of the capital.
One of the little ceremonials at the
head table was the pIedging Of one an
other by Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Marshall,
Mrs. Bryan and Mrs. Kern with a great
colonial mace from the House of Bur.
gesses of Virginia. This over, the at
tention of the guests was turned to the
menu and table chat.
When the final morsel had vanished
and the last sip of coffee had gone the
way of all coffee, the guests gave little
lady-like gasps of content and turned
to listen to an illustrated lecture by
Abby Baker on "The Historical White
House." This discourse told of pre-
vious chief ladies Of the land and of
the many, many social events that had
their being in the executive mansion.
Little sde.lights on people and things,
told of in delightful vein, made the talk
more of a personal reminiscence than a
report from historical data.
Those who helped Mrs. Ayres get up
And execute the breakfast were, Mrs.
Matthew T. Scott, Mrs James w, Pin.
chot, Mrs Henry Il. Dimock Of Wash
ington and New York, Mrs. Albert Gov.
ington Janin, Mrs, Richey, Mrs, John
Hays Hammond, Mrs. j. Taylor Ellyson
of Richmond, Va, Miss Mamie Ran.
dolph Heath, Mrs, Duncan U, Fletcher
and Mrs. Albert b. Cummins of Iowa.
1t was all very select and very proper
yet more than $50 women had secured
tickets. There wasn't any particular
restriction because it had been given
out very early in the new administra'
tion that "swel" doing we're not on
the four.year program at all, And yet
some who have attended other like
functions said it was just as recherche
as any and that Mrs. Wilson's debut