The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-30
WOUNDED LADS EAT
BITE AT BILTMORE
Nearly 1000 Manned in War
Enjoy Feast Given by Pa
triOt Bowman.
TWO GUESTS STONE BLIND
President Wilson's Chef Out
does GastrOnomic Eeats on
George Washington.

John NICE. Bowman-the Jess Willard
OF hotel men--on the spur OF the mo-
ment yesterday. How about it, fell
lahs?"
You're on. John" cried about 1000
always hungry doughboys before John
Nee. twho. as has been intimated, is
young and therefore somewhat impul-
sive) could reconsider and pussyfoot
away while the going was good.
And that Is why streets were blocked
with applauding hundreds up around the
PershinS Square neighborhood yester-
day evening while for almost an hour
young Mr. Bowmans dinner guests
streamed into the Biltmore. Every man
Jack of the guests had been wounded
In battle; they were, in. fact, the last
of the battle wounded to come home
again. All were being temporarily
nursed back to health at Debarkation
Hospital No. In the Grand Central
Palace before being sent on to hospitals
near their own homes, and Il was in
Debarkation Hospital Five that John
McE. blurted out his invitation without
stopping to consider what a Biltmore
dinner TO 1000 was going 10 set him
back financially.
II was the greatest dinner in the
world-the reader may take that con-
serVatiVe statement on the word of the
diners themselves. And the press table
Will back the wounded soldiers up and
go them one better by saying that, in
view of the fact that there were no
speeches, it was the greatest dinner in
any world.
There wasn't anything at the dinner
but just the best food the best chef
could put before the best fightirg lads
OF the goshawfulest war of all time
only food and flowers and rag,ime and
music and Hawaiian jazz music and,
above all, no Mister Chairman, lay
dees and gen-tul-mun-It affords me
great pleasure tonight to welcome TO
our Shores &c. SC. SC. Grub, good
grub. that's all. And smokes and the
music and glow of hospitality that
caused Host Bowman to cry out at the
last: Take the flowers of the tables
boys. and lug them back to the hospital
with you, II you want 'em. G'wan, clean
out the place"
Just Ono. Only One. speech.
Come to think OF it. there was one
speech. John Nee. made IL because
somebody insisted that he appear on the
balcony. Orator Bowman, once the
cheering had died down a bit. said in
whole:
God bless you, boys. tCheers.I I'd
give YOU each a bottle OF beer or two
fmore cheersl. only the Government will
not let me. IGroans.l S'long-I gotta
20 downstairs and get a bottle of beer
myself" Most cheers.l
1t took from o'clock to 5 80 p. NJ.
Tor all OF Mr.. Bowman's guests to file
from the hospital, a stones throw away,
largely because so many of the lads had
been so pttifully wounded that scores
OF them could not, even for a moment.
be taken from wheel chairs. Slowly the
legless were trundled through the short
blocks between the hospital and the Bit
more. more than forty of them being
showed along in invalid chairs by Red
Cross nurses or army orderlies Hun
d, eds more were brought the short dis
lance in ampulances driven by more
Red Cross girls and in automobiles that
the hospital workers and Mr.. Bowman
had scraped up. And there were long
strings OF the wounded who insisted
upon hobbling the distance on crutches
or with the aid OF stout canes.
Two of the soldiers were stone blind
With each OF these walked Red Cross
nurse. The crowds that focked to the
crrbs to cheer and clap their hands grew
suddenly silent as the two stalwart clean
GU; blind boys came along, their eyes
looking" far or at eternal blackness
in that fixed way which is peculiar to
the sightless. Unconsciously the silent
watchers. particularly the women,
reached out hands as IL to guide their
careful steps as the blind went smiling
onward.
For more than half an hour the Bit
more elevators at the north end of the
hotel hummed up and down between the
street level to the Cascades" on the
nineteenth floor OF the hotel. In the
elevators were the wheeling chairs with
olive drab clad or bandaged legs stick
iLt' stifhy out above the foot rest Of the
chairs; often there were only army
blankets draped where the legs of the
eager lads would have been II they had
not lost them in battle
Arms and legs and even sight might
be gone forever. and doubtless there was
great homesick lesion In the hearts of
the bows from the East, West, North and
South who were seated at the tables,
but II they were unhappy before starting
TO the feed they had no place for gloom
once they had reached the Bowman
"party"
Listen. chaplain" called a doughboy
who had been wounded in the leg and
carried his right arm in a sling and
therefore was among the wheel chair
guests. all OF whom we're placed along
the north windows OF the Cascades"
with trays on their laps and many
nurses helping them with their chow
Listen. Chaplain Ogilby, me having a
bum right wing, will you see to il that II
they got chicken on the bill of fare that
get the left leg. because with my
right arm in a sling left legs is all
can handle"
But Bowman Knew His Guests,
There was happiness over the quip.
And there was more merriment when,
after Chef Looie Sores and Jean MaInati
mad worked the guests through juicy
clans, cream Of celery soup, bushels of
celery and olives. roast turkey and
trimmina. young voice was heard to
observe raucously, Bowman held the
peas out on us because he was afraid
they'd roll or our knives on his floor,
SO he gives us string beans. Can YOU
beat that guy
He knew his guests. did John Nee, so
he saw TO 1t that culinary frills gave
way to bulk and substantially. Instead
or pretty but vacuous little slivers of
bread John NICE. had the tables groan-
ing under plates of slices cut about an
inch thick and with none OF the crust
trimmed on. There was no such thing
as demi-tasse TO be seen. but there
were about !, 900 coffee cups of the man
size on the tables The turkey didn't
come in wearing frills. but was piled In
pyramids on plates below stairs and
shot up TO the diners. a platterful for
each soldier. And no dainty French
pastry accompanied the buckets of cof-
fee; instead came alleged dessert plates
the size OF harvest moon. half the din