Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1917-03-01

M very widely ia 1913 To The ancient
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~ and honorable custom of holding an
inaugural ball TO Welcome the new
- president TO his job by refusing In
W.f4 ~ sanction The affair. Aud owing to
pressure of official business" there
~ will be DO inaugural bail this Year of
INN u 1917. In other words, American Of
" iiciaIdoln is in no mood for gayety.
- The inaugural hall, says the Kansas
City Star In a historical article, is not a stale
function. financed by the Nation. as most of the
! Nation believes. Undertaken nj first as a wei
come to the new president by Washington society
il has become of late years the business venture
by which Washington merchants recover the
money they spend to hang tire capital with bunting
and hire bands and fireworks to make the occi-
sion lively. While the ball costs n large sum Of
money, the profit from the sale of tickets. priced
| nowadays ut S., Is estimated at 10000, and this
profit is distributed among the men who sub
scrihed the funds TO make the celebration a sue
cess.
But the inaugural bail does cost the Nation
something, because II liscomlnodps whatever de-.
parlmcnt of state lends its building for the fes-
tivitieS. Recent balls have been held in The pen
sion building, and IA vast deal Of trouble and ex-
rellse has gone into the organization of their
layety.
There has been balls in the past, like that state
~ first bah that welcomed President Monroe,
notable for the brilliance of the asserllagcs, the
beauty and Wit and fashion displayed. truly great
social occasions, worthy Of the dignity OF the occa-
sion they celebrate. And there have been balls
of which old timers in Washington still talk,
notable for the widespread Inconvenience they
have caused. For instance. there is the second
Lincoln inauguration ball. when Horace Greeley
lost his hat and standing on the steps of the
treasury building put Il curse on the city of Wash
ington lurid enough to set fire to the slowdrifts
that hlanEptcd it; then there is the ball that wei
coined President Grant. held in a vast pavilion
nj muslin, unheated, whose walls swayed to and
fr" in al icy blast that fro2e dainty ears and finger
tips--yes. and noses-~and put Il dalnper on the
merrymnking not TO be forgotten.
March 4. 1903. was the sort of chill, damp, I'M
comfortable day Washington expects for the pres
identiaI Inauguration, but In this year the incon-
vcniences of bad weather in the new little capital
were far worse than they could possibly he today.
The spraying. ragged, unfinished city had no
! pavelnents. Roads were so deep in mud that many
q coach was mired as it carried its load of dis
tinguished persons to witness the inaugural. There
were few hotels and boarding houses, and these
We're crowded to sutf0cntion on the great day.
But the society of the capital and notables from
far and near were determined to overcome all
handicaps of weather, for this trcar evening was
to mark the first presidential inaugural bali. An
organization of young men, the "Wushlngton
Dancing assembly" formed seven years before,
had the affair in charge and had secured the as
sembFy room of Longs hotel on Capitol hill.
The -four hundred" in America originated with
this first presidential ball. Washington society
represented the best of the Nation. The influence
of the Southern families Of aristocratic tradition
was strong. There were few people of wealth.
bur many of culture; and society was gay without
oStcntation. The mon of the dancing assembly
who drew up the list of those who would he asked
to buy tickets to the inaugural ball found that
four hundred would include all persons of breed
ing and worth.
When George Washington and Thomas Jefferson
were inaugurated they Were glad to go early to
bed after the day of ceremonies, but on this night
cx-Presidcnt jefferson, personally opposed to os-
tentation. appeared In The ballroom promptly at
seven o'clock, the time OF its opening. He came
smiling and hapny, glNd 10 see his friend succeed
him in the direction of the Nation. happy at har-
ing the burden Off his own shoulders, as he con.
fdnd to Il friend during the evening.
The orchestra played "Jeffersons March" rs
the ex-rrcsident entered.
Am / too early" asked the great Democrat,
You must tell me how to behave, for II is more
than forty years since | have been to Il ball"
Soon after he musicians played "MAdison's
March," ana the guests nockrd about the door TO
greet the new president. Il slight. short figure
of Il man. Whose gray hair was brushed smoothly
back from his high forehead and tied with n black
ribbon. His small hazel eyes were remarkable for
n humorous twinkle, for Madison. in private life,
enjoyed Il good joke and ~srri.ht,y banter. His
long. pen,lulous nose came l0w over u long upper
lip. His teeth were no,iccnbly white and even.
The new president wore plain black, with RULES
at the throat and wrists, with black silalls ana
silk stockings. There were big silver buckles On
his shoes.
But II was TO Dolly Madison. formerly the fas.
cinating Widow Todd Of Philadelphia. that MI
eyes turned. The new mistress Of the White
House was n center Of attraction wherever she
went. Without great beauty Of face or figure. she
Ind n manner which won friends Instantly. Her
ready tact, her good hnn,or, her vlvaci,y, made her
easily Il social leader and the best-remembcrcd
and beloved Of the many "hrst ladies'"
Mrs. Madison wore pale buff velvet made very
plain, with n long train and no trimmings. Her
bend was surrounded By n turhnn from Paris Of
rmle buzz velvet and white satin
When Americas first -four hundred" danced ut
the Madison ball tho mir Of the assembly room be.
came very close and tho guests finding they could
not lower the window sashcs broke the glass for
ventilation. That is the only recorded %incOnven-
jence, aside from tho universal Inconvenience