Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-01-01
NETWORKS DRY EVE
WAS WETTEST EVER;
ORGY OF SPENDING
Hotels Gave Scotch and wines
to Guests; Dinners at
SIS a Cover.
RUM, RUM, EVERYWHERE
From Today's New York World.

AT tho stroke OF niluukEnbs "'''
strangcst New Years Eve New York ever
had WAS still being ernptied out OF paper
bags, satchcls and suit cases, Wild. night
of drinking, dancing and spending came to
a clinax In spite of wartime Prohibition
IL was as wet a night rs any one could wish.
BEGINNING late in the afternoon, men
and women were seen hurrying through
The streets. riding In the subway, and
gntt;nc ont of automobiles, with their
arms full Of packages Hip pockets
bulred attractively. The number oi
suitcascs and travelling bags IN sight WAS
extraordinary. Automobiles filled with
casea of wet goods rolled up TO hoeis'
ard thousands of bottles OF champagne
and fne whiskies were carried into the
sumner rooms and roof gardens.
CARRIED PACKAGES TO THEATRES
Throughout the evening these scenes
continued Toward theatre time broad
way and Fifth Avenue filled with men and
women in evening array. Some oi th'ih
carried their packages to the theatre
guarding them carefully throughout me
show, then carried them on 7" me tao''N
they had reserved.
{s tlnc went on there appeared on the
,r,nrinsl throughfarcs men who had
great difficulty in navigating The IN
sonbisticatod asked Where did they get
~" The wise wondered how much 1t
C,rst Most barroomS were deserted,
but some were crowded
Meanwhile taxlcalrs chuggcd through
the streets with youths. men and women
singing and embracing IN full publc gaze
For a Prohibition New ear EVc' i
was quite lively night
The managers Of hotels and restaurants
sold i,rst as many table reservations rs
!, |
cost from $40 Ia SIS cover az the best
rlacs-s and many az them charged II or
81 extra for service. including ICING, un-
coEkinG and serving drinks.
FREr WINE FOR GUESTS
Rut the most unusual feature oi this
New Years Eve WAS the distribution oi
free VINE and liquor at three Of the largest
hotels the Waldorf Astoria, McAipsn
and Claridgc.
At the NfctlpIn Il WAS announced
that n ptnt of champagne would be SERVED
fr,e to every one of the more than 4,olu
o7,csts. and that a hottAr Of Scotch would
b, placod on every table This was 70 he
considered as a aft from the manage
rrlrnt 10 IT'S friends. with no charge oi any
Kind. not evrn for service
More than |, 500 guests. II Was anno'Irf'-
III at the Waldorf, would receive the same
sort OF present there Every two persons
AZ the CLarn!Gr, were to receive . pint OF
champagne Az the last moment y Vas
decided tn give away claret also
Thc Waldorf. McAlpin and Ciarldgc
h.rtong to the du Pont-Booncr group
of hotehz. The officxsI reason gwen Tor the
Gift was that the hotels have large stocks
Of reG goods on hand which probably
would have been wasted otherwise fn-e-
sides. it was thought good way 70 make
friends.
WAS p.cH AND poFus 30 1919.
The free VINE WAS passed around
inst before midnight, - aIl the TRENDS
of the management could drink 10 the
new wear with IT, The regular features tor
the stroke Of midnight were observed IN
all places. Old Father Time came on the
S+afe. as usual. and the ncrTyraakers sang
..Auld Lang Svne, The Star Spangled
Banner and anything else that pleased
their fancy.
From that time on the celebration
was booked 10 continue until any time
today. depending upon the length Of time
the supply of liquor lasted. Restaurant
and hotel men SAID they were prepared
10 serve their patrons ~ long rs they wish
ed TO be served. Dancing and cAharet
entertainments varied the schedule. At
ali the bstAttCS tA4N -t4' 80 4N'1>A-eA
colOred hats. horns, rattiers and other SOU
verirs with which 10 present q gay aT-
u-earance and make racket winch every
body do
The police and Federal authorities
we're represented In the merry making
crowds Some OF the most faultlessly dress
ed men at the big hotels and restaurants
were agents of the Internal Revenue De
paTtnent, under the direction OF Col.
Daniel L. Porter, whose duty II Is TO keep
New York dry 50 lar as the sale OF liquor
rs concerned These agents were watch
ing to see if anybody sold liquor. II was
said they did not intend to make spectacu
lar arrests. hut to report what they saw.
STREET CROWDS GREW LATE.
After 10 clock. however, the street
crowds commenced 10 grow and cx-
perienccd broadway observers SAID they
expected 10 see some wild mob scenes
before the night ended
Inspector O'Bnen Of thc traffic squad,
who had 30 men posted between Forty
second and F1ty-nJnth streets. put the
old one-way rule into effect on Broad
way before the theatre crowds came
out, so north-golng traffic would be Kept
on the east side of the street and south
going on the west SIDE.
The theatres wery crowded. Man
ayers made harvest by raising the pr1ce
OF New Years Eve seats 70 much more
than the usual rates.
The highest Price for supper last night
was at the RItz-Car!toH Hotel which
charged SIS cover and gave out hand
some souvenirs, including little whisky
TASKS for the women This hotel an
nounced, Any wines Or other drinks will
have TO be brought by those who do the
entertaining
coRKAGE ar 81 + BOTTLE
At the Hotel Commodore and the
Blltmore. where The cover charge was
$50 a person. all tables in the res
taurants, grill and supper rooms were
reserved No liquor was served or given
away, but corkage charge Of s. and an
ice charge Of Is cents were made 70 those
who brought their Own drinks This WAS
true also at the Manhattan, Murray Hill
Belmont and Ansonia- all Id the Bowen
group. At these last four hotels were
many private partles
More than 800 persons had supper
reservations Ia the Rose, Empire and
crillroons Of the " aldorf-Astoria, where
the price was s. cover. The grand ball
room and Astor gallery at the Waldorf
were occupied by 800 members Of the
Rubins tein Club musical society, which
held a watchnight celebration
At the Waldorf and McAlpin private
v,-ara Y5yaT nv small err.,iyY,s