The Washington times., 1922-03-19
PEACOCK-ALLEY BLOC
Ian Who Didn't Write "The Mirrors
Of washington"

UYAsHINGTON has . new
" fad. It's tho bloc. Un-
less you are affiliated
with . bloc you are old.fAshioned
and not up.to-ths-minuts. It all
started with the bipartisan com.
pact In the senate. which was
organized TO protect the interests
Of the down-trodden sons Of the
soil. Then along came the social
bloc" and tho "labor bloo:" then
the merchant marine bloc" and
the ''railroad bloc' followed In
rapid succession BY this bloc and
that bloc until We have about .
dosen separate and distinct bloos
in the Senate.
I'm seated in the third row on
the Democratic side. fourth bloc
over" I heard . new. Senator ex-
planning to one Of his constituents
In Peacock Alley.
"Oh. yes." said the man from
back home. right near the sheep
bloc"
"Only two seats removed" sx-
plainsd the statesman. I'm To-
Gated now just half way between
the boil wesvil and the potash
blocs."
AZ q matter Of fact. the multi
plicity of blocs and the inter-
locking memberships are beoom-
Ing a. confusing ~ In the good
old days when T. r. shouldered
his big stick and started on the
warpath. with the discrimination
to smash the inter-locking direc-
torates OF big business and to
separate the sheep from the GOAT
in his endeavor to catalogue good
corporations and bad corpora
tions.
THE bloc epidemic 10 spreading
in the National Capital and
10 no longer confined merely
to tho four walls Of the Capitol
Little blocs are bobbing up all
over town like the measles. Doc
tors. dentists. lawyers and other
professional men are banding to-
Eether in little cliques and organ
king their own blocs. Only the
bootleggers and the landlords are
holding aloof. They have not
reached the point where they are
willing to lay their cards on the
table for the inspection OF even
those who are engaged In similar
pursuits.
And the latest-the Peacock
Alley Bloc-might be termed an
. Amalgamated Association Of Lit
tie Blocs- It is composed Of the
"Sam Brown Belters." the I'VE
Boys" tho "F Street F1appers,"
the II Know Harding" the "win
Hays-Toid.Me." the 'Roll-top
Tea-chasers," the Here Comes
Charley Dawes" tho There Goes
General Sawyer" the Shipping
Board In on the Blink" the "Jun.
ior Order Of Cake-eaters." and the
90 Gorge Christian-Said-to-m
blocs. Members OF this unique
federation assemble In the gilded
corridor around the luncheon
hour and remain in session until
after the five o'clock tea There
are aristocrats and near aristo-
Gratis. the magnificent piebeians.
the has-beens and the hope-to-bes.
hotel guests and the ever-present
lounge lizards Of both the male
and the female Of the species.
WITHIN the last few months
, the members of tho Peacock
Alley Bloc have rubbed elbows
with the great and the near-great
Of both the home grown and the
imported brands-
There was Foch, greatest mill
tary strategist since Napoleon;
Princess Fatima, wearer Of
diamond attached to her right
nostril. whose fame rests on the
popularity Of . certain brand Of
cigarette: Dias, the Italian Gen.
eralissimo. now the Duke Of Vic
tory; Urban Ledoux, otherwise
known a. ''Mr. Zero" who g.
corted his human documents to
tho New Year reception at the
White House: BRAND, diplomat
extraordinary and semi-occasional
Premier of France: Charles King.
. negro Of brains and vision. who
II President Of the black Republic
Of Liberia; Beatty. hero Of Jut-
land and son-in-law Of the late
Marshall. Field; Ma 500. an Amsri-
canixed Chinese. who represents
WI Ting-fAng's unrecognized CAn-
ton Government; Lillian Russell,
diaCovArar NJ thu foupt a Il, ~ ,o,,<t,.