The Washington herald., 1918-08-16
By DWc

New York. Aug. le-It was Ward
McAllister. once the Petronious Of
Manhattan, who gave the name -Four
Hundred" to the city's elect in the
social whirl. Fame came to McAllis-
ter through a humble newspaper re-
porter Just as 1t comes to nearly all
in these days.
Mrs. Astor was about to give a
great ball and Ward McAllister. as
the self-appointed social arbiter, was
in charge of the list of invitations.
He explained to a reporter that, ow-
ing TO the problems of space, only 400
cards were to be sent out. comment
ing: after all, there are only 400
persons in New York who count in
a social way"
The quick-witted reporter returned
to his office and fashioned a story
about New York's -Four Hundred" :"
The name lives to this day, but no
one remembers the name of the re-
, porter.
New York has no Ward McAllister
today. Harry Lehr for a time ruled
the social destinies of Gotham, but he
is rarely remembered any more in
! the public journals.
McAllister came Of good parents.
but was poor. A legacy of 1900 fell
to him. He spent 1t all for the cos
tune that he was to wear at a fancy
dress ball. and II was the handsomest
costume at the ball. Later he went
to San Francisco to Join his father
in the practice of law. He gave din
ners that created much comment.
Some one spoke to the elder Nc
Allister of the admirable manner in
which his son kept house. YES"
was the sapient retort. He keeps
everything but the Ten Command
ments." Two years of California and
then McAllister returned East.
He was not satisfied with his trI-
umphs in New York and went to
Europe. He cultivated cooks more
than royalty. His chief delight was
giving great dinners. He was invited
to ball given by the Grand Duke of
Tuscany. The King Of Bavaria at
tended. Something terrible happened.
The offender was an American girl
who was dancing with McAllister. II
did it," she said after the dance. LAS
L passed the King 1 dug him in the
ribs with my elbow" McAllister
never spoke to her again. McAllister.
on his European trip, met the Prince
OF Prussia, later the Emperor William.
When he returned he said he was
panied to find that William was no
connoisseur. gulping his wine instead
OF lingering over II. And William has
been gulping ever since-his latest
effort being to gulp down the world.
Restauranteurs and hotel keepers
are getting ready for the great Amer
| lean drought which Mr.. Webster de-
fines as the continued absence Of
moisture. The moisture in this
instance is not the kind that falls
from the heavens but is drawn from
spigots or poured from bottles.
In other words, the purveyors of
food and drink are expecting prohibi-
tion inside of a very short time. Cope-
land Townsend, one Of the hotel
, oracles. while not admitting that pro-
hibition is the solution of the problem
does admit that hotel keepers must
prepare for a change.
Many Of the hotels, II is said, will
install elaborate soda fountains in the
foyers and there will be soft drink
bars and also self serving cafes.
Bowling alleys. gymnasiums and
hand-ball courts will also be installed
to give vent to the American hotel
guests desire for recreation. The old
rose and gilt dansants will try to
brave the drought with soft drinks
but 1t is the general belief that many
Of them will close.
The subway In hot weather IS stuffy,
reeking with bad air and a shade
cooler than the Turkish Bath. All in
all 1t could not be considered health
ful and yet subway guards take on
flesh during the hot spells. There is
less sickness among subway guards
in these periods than any other-so
statistics show. Scientific facts are
all against it but there Is less nausea
and fainting in the subway when the
weather is hot than other times. And
finally more people ride in the subway
In hot weather than cool. the reason
being offered that they can get home
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