Evening star., 1923-01-01
White House Closed, But
Cabinet UphoIds Tradi-
tional Hospitality.
SECRETARY OF STATE
ENTERTAINS DIPLOMATS
Annual Breakfast Brilliant Affair
as Bright Uniforms and Beau
tiful Dresses Give Color.
BY SALLIE v. III. PICKETT.

BY SALLIE v. III. PICKETT.
Washington is abroad today in gala
mood making the capital one of the
gayest in the world. and while the
White House is necessarily closed on
| account of the illness of Mrs. Hard
| ing, the Presidents official family
will uphold the traditions of New
Year day with accustomed hospitality.
The Vice President and Mrs. Coo
| lidge will receive the whole of the
Senate and many others from official
society, including the members of the
diplomatic corps following their re-
! turn from the diplomatic breakfast.
They are simply staying in" as It
were. with no one to assist them in
receiving, though their hospitality
takes the place, in measure, of the ira
ditional White House reception, such
| as the President and Mrs. Harding
held year ago and which marked
| the opening of the mansion on New
Year day for the first time in many
years.
Secretary Hughes Entertains.
The Pan-American Union building
lis the point Of greatest brilliancy, as
it is there that the Secretary of State
and Mrs. Hughes are receiving the
entire corps at their annual diplomat
| ic breakfast and through the ennis
| saries of the chief rulers of the
| world. carrying on an exchange OF
| New Year greetings. Long before the
! appointed hour of the reception, 1880
| o'clock, the streets about the Pan
| American Union building were lined
with curious pedestrians seeking to
catch glimpse of the members of
/ the corps in their court uniforms al
| ways worn on such occasions. There
/ was a breathless pause when each
| ambassador or minister went by in
| his dazzling array of gold braid,
while the rich scarlet cloth coat with
| it's establishment of gold worn by
| Mr.. BrGn, the minister of Denmark,
| brought forth admiring exclaima-
| tionS.
Secretary Sets Precedent.
When the corps was a quarter its
tpresent size it was the custom for
! the Secretary of State to hold the
New Year breakfast in his own home,
but even when the late John Hay was
| Secretary it had so outgrown the ac-
commodation of his commodious resi-
dence on La Fayette square that only
| ambassadors, ministers. their military
and naval aides and the charge daft
ifaires were invited, leaving unenter-
tanned the lesser members of the
| corps. The resort of Secretary
Hughes to the beautiful Pan-Ameri-
can Union building last year, with
ample accommodation for the entire
corps and the other important guests,
| like the foreign relations committee
of the Senate and the foreign affairs
| committee of the House, members OF
| the cabinet and State Department Of
! ficials and a few others, proved so
successful that the building again
lsuggested itself for the purpose today.
French Ambassador Leads
The Secretary and Mrs. Hughes
| stood Just within the door of the lofty
! chamber called the hall of the Amer
| icas to receive their guests, the dean
| of the corps, NJ. Jusserand, ambassa-
dor of France, and Nine. Jusserandt
! being the first members of the corps
| received. The building was in gala
decoration of palms, flowers and fags,
| the arrangements for the reception
| being made as stately and yet as COM
| Portable as possible. The guests first
to be received, the ranking members
! of the corps, were taken to the second
floor of the building in the elevators:
| where they were received by State
| Department officials and escorted
! through the hall of flags to the re-
! ceiving line. Palms were arranged
| back of the station taken by the Sec
! retary and Mrs. Hughes and decora-
I tive trees lllItu tic IllIhSS eiOIo liiO
walls of the great chamber and were
| grouped at other points of vantage.
! Mrs. Hughes Gown.
Mrs. Hughes is wearing a graceful,
| handsome gown. slightly draped, OF
| reseda green, the lower part OF the
| skirt of heavy corded silk and the
| upper part and bodice of lace in the
| same shade, the design carried out
| in beads One side of the skirt shows
a lang panel with beading at the hem
! line and the drapery of the right side Is
! held by a handsome ornament. Mrs.
! Hughes is wearing for the afternoon
I! a black hat with plumes and a touch
| of the color of the gown.
| Lending an air of hospitality are
! the two breakfast tables running
| along one side of the room, where
| such Yiands as are. usually served at
II formal midday feast are enjoyed.
| Splendid china, silver and cut glass
Cloth, and huge placques OF poin-
| settias are used as a decoration.
!; The Vice President and Mrs.
| Coolidge and the members of the
! cabinet. and their ladies' were among
the very first arrivals, Mrs. Coolidge
wearing a handsome gowu of peri
/! winkle blue crepe heavily embroid-
! cred in steel beads. and bird of
paradise enliyed the hat of seal
| brim.
Nearly 400 Diplomats Present.
| While the French ambassador. NJ.
| Jusserand is the dean of the corps
| with the rank of ambassador, Vis-
count d'Alte, who as minister OF
Portugal presented his credentials in
| 1902 outranks NJ. Jusserand in
! length of service here, and immedi-
ately followed the line of ambassa-
dors. Each staff has preceptibiy
| grown in the past few years and
| especially since the first year of the
| world war, and nearly four hundred
/! foreign persons. included in the dipio-
matte list issued by the State De-
! parlment passed in review. NJ. jus
| ssrand had with him his entire STAFF,
| his military and naval aides being ia
[ full dress uniform.
! Another familiar figure to those ac4
| customed to this brilliant spectacle
! was Sonor Don Juan Rlano. Rmbassa-
dor OF spain, who first came as see+
! retary OF legation and finally In 1918
(! as ambassador. chamberlain 20 his
| majesty the King OF Spain. Sonora
| de Riano, his American wife. and the
members OF the embassy stan In their
respIendent uniforms wore with him,
/: the group being one OF. the most bril-
| liant received. The ambassador Of
Chile and Sonora de Matthew tu:lowso,
, and soon there came tnp aTonlEsS6of