The Sentinel=record., 1914-07-26
A COMMUNICATION.
MT. Ledwdee Makes Explanation of
 Conditions at Riverview Dinner.

Conditions at Riverview Dinner.
 To The Public:
 Since 1 have been unfairly treated, unjustly criticised and grossly mis- represented ill connection with the re-
 cent dinner at Riverview Park, l deem it right and proper, in common justice to myself, to mako a public statement of the facts in the prem ises.
 It is little peculiar, not to say at variance with consistency and com mon sense, that President Petit of the Riverview Park Association should come out in card disclam
 ing as the executive head of the as sociation, all responsibility for that
 which was solely due and directly chargeable to the negligence of the
 committee composed exclusively Of members of the association who were entrusted with the conduct and man agement of the details of the enter
 tainment.
 While it is true, as MT. Petit says, that the association had nothing to do with the actual preparation of the dinner. it's committee did have ev- erything to do with those details
 upon the proper execution of which the success of the dinner depended. It's failure was not due to a lack of
 the quality of the food, nor to the manner of it's preparation, but solely do lack of quantity and system in it's service, due absolutely to the Iall- ure at the hands of the committee to notify me as to the number or people to be provided for; and the further gross negligence on the part of the committee, in the matter of detail and management of the af- fair on the grounds, resulting in utter
 confusion and disorder at the table.
 That the public may understand why l. as a member of the Riverylew Park Association, personally assum- ed the responsibility of preparing the dinner, it will be necessary to review briefly, the situation and the circum- stances that imposed this responsi- bility. After the organization of our association, it was the general con census of opinion amongst the mem bers that cafe should be installed lupon the grounds, to meet the nat ural demands of a resort of this char acter. The discussion of the subject,
 however. at meeting of the associa- | tion, resulted in the rejection of the cafe feature as an association affair
 then agreed to build and operate a dining room on my own account, with
 the understanding that the associa- | tion could, if it desired to do so at any time that suited it's convenience
 buy the building at cost and run the l cafe along with the other regular | features of the enterprise. These were the circumstances under which, when it was decided to give the din' ner, 1 was called upon to provide and serve it. it being fully understood | that l was to have the aid and co operation of the committee in the 1 matter of notification as to he mum
 Der of people o be served, and other details upon which the success of the | affair depended. As the time ap
 preached to give the function, l re peatedly attempted to ascertain the
 number of tickets sold which was to determine the number of people to be | fed Each request for this informa tion was met with q don't know, and further with various estimates of | the number from one hundred to one hundred and seventy-tive. Even the newspapers, with their facilities for getting facts, could not find out how many people were to attend the din ner. was absolutely at sea as to how much food to provide. Finally on Tuesday, the day of the dinner and at the eleventh hour, 1 was told | by member of the committee that | he thought there would not be more
 than ITO people present l then pre-
 pared for 162 people, which 1 had at
 the first table, and provided for that number, an elegant dinner, accord iDg to the opinion of several promi
 nent hotel men (not rooming house keepers), including Messrs. Reynolds of the Waukesha. Jones of the Ma jestic, and Frisby of Frisby's Cafe,
 who were present and partook of the dinner. Mir. Frisby expressed much
 surprise at the quality of the dinner
 and wondered how and where l se-
 cured such a quantity of appropriate table ware. He also remarked that
 he would not think of serving such a
 meal for less than $2 per plate. MT.
 Reynolds liked the dinner so well that he came out in his car the next day to get another. Mir Jones of the Majestic, sent out several of his
 guests the next day for dinner on the