Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-01-31
WASHINGTON GAY
AFTER WAR WORK
Social Life at National Capital
Takes on Interest With
Prospect of Peace


Washington put itself on peace
basis quite regardless of interna-
kional conferences or peace parleys,
with the result that, even with a
CLOSED White House and no official
program of what old-fashioned
people call state functions, the ma
'tional capital is having the gayest
winter of a decade.
Not since the Taft Administra-
1ion,, when everybody danced. from
the President and the Speaker of
the House to the midshipman from
Annapolis and cadet from West
Soint. home for a brief holiday, has
the city been so gay. One diplomat
has spoken of dinner parties RAM
pant" The succession of debutante
teas, balls, small dances, and cotii-
lions. undreamed of two months
ago, is now endless. Yet, despite an
evidence of extravagance in the
matter of dress, there is still con-
servativeness in food, which is one
of the lessons the war taught US.
Although dinner parties of forty
and fifty covers are so usual as TO
pass almost unnoticed, and each
aneW candidate for social honors
mas had her time-honored tea as
debut. dinners and teas are marked
Inv a less elaborate display OF how-
.ers. food and favors than before the
fwar.
Few Washingtonians of today are
natives of the District of Columbia
Society is constantly recruited from
hevery point of the compass TO merge
INTO the gayeties of this Victory
Usnter. Debutantes who inherit
Ltheir claim to polite attention
through five and six generations OF
tD;strict families and deputantes
who never saw the dome OF tne
.C,anitol or portico of the Whlte
House until three months ago ar
dividing honors amicably, not oniy
with each other but Win VIsiei.s
,.1ignitaries of international import
xarce and with the Vice-Presldent,
n-bo in the absence of the Chiet
-E,xecutiye. may be regarded as the
-(thief Parsonage. There are no po-
,1;t;caI lines in entertaining Ihe
-NsarsbaiIs" as the Vice-President
.and his wife are called by the great
ehodv of the capitals Vanity talr
"The Ladies of the senate an
organization of Senators WIVES
-t;n,1es its war work activities III d
nd;Sed degree, with Mrs. Phll-
nndar G. Knox, of Pennsyivania'
md Mrs. Alice Pomerene, OF ONO
&c tho active aids of the Nice-Presl.
DENTS wife, but there is no 9ouo'
shet the work is secondary IN Wasn
3ngton nowadays. Play Is the , oIuS,
oF the day. While scores OIL wol
arc stilI devoting themselves 70 s
teen work, to classes IN o,,nd-
,sion and to work among Ine Moa ,to,,
.4on are coming into Washlngton
S;toraiiv bv the carloads, these laoles
inform. either of the hotoI
a,.os or the refreshment stan, arg
Sancinr their clothes three uhiS
and 3inding time to partlclpatG
+t,a revived diversions OF peace '!iS
Not only has the femlnlhe e .nas u
form. except in rare hissaIared
given place to the smart tsh;an-
suit and demi-toilet' Win .'~,aa 70
able modistes worklns soS,s hut
81, orders for evening frooks, pu'
,soIs that wAre placed in shle ue-
oosit vaults &Se emerging INTO ths
ggost;obt as wall as the supoueu
Nm yIight of the Well-appolnteo I'm
ner table. The Russian ban os
devs ago marked the return VI .h
t;ara the diamond dog collar, an"
sba zones of pearls that were en-
tirelv out of place in wartime. ManS
Of the women guests adopteu
Kakoschalk, originally mtroouGeI
Washington by Nine. George pahn
meteff when her husband was Sno
Am mbaSSadOr OIL lno ioseS = = o
koschniks ranged from coroies oa
silver lace copied from some picture
of the old regime to nlne-incn haloS
of diamonds and pearls.
while no effort has been made 10
Mace Cabinet Day again on the so
cial calendar, the fact that MIS-.
Marshall and Mrs. Champ clark
have announced "at homes" for
wednesday afternoons has gone
long way toward re-establishlng tne
custom of official hostesses. receN-
ing visitors without formal INVITA-
ton. A recent occasion fully rep
resentative of washington on
peace footing was the reception OF
Mrs. Philander G. Knox and MIS-
Hiram w. Johnson as joint hostesses
at the Knox home in K street. NO
cards were issued for the reception
but the company could hardly have
been more representative or oinclal
Washington. Those who came IN
-cluded the Chief Justice of the
United States, several Associate JUS
'tices practically the entire Sena-
jtorial circle, diplomats and ofhcers
of the Army and Navy.
A dozen or more daughters OF
prominent families, having had no
intention of quitting school or col
ilege if the war continued, suddenly
decided to come out this winter with
all the old-time fiutter of tea, flow
ers and a truly grown-up wardrobe,
with gowns for every occasion. The
lure of the most joyous play season
of a generation could not be re-
sisted. ..