Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-01
WHITE HOUSE TAPS
SPEED OLD YEAR
1000 Gather on Lawn to
Witness Ceremony-City
Celebrates Quietly.

A beautiful New Years ceremony
was inaugurated at the White House
last night.
The grizzled old year, strife-worn
and glad to die, was buried with mill
tary honors-"Taps" sounded from
the roof.
The gawdy new year, raw recruit
from the country of Time. was
hustled out of his blankets by the
notes of "Reveille" sounded by the
same Marine trumpeter.
About 1000 persons, standing under
the bare trees on the White House
lawn, watched the ceremony. 1t was
a drab night, cloudy and starless, but
not too cold to remain out-of-doors in
comfort. The crowd began gathering
half hour before midnight and con-
tinued to arrive until the yard was
well filled.
Mrs. Coolidge in Window.
Mrs. Coolidge, her shoulders wrap
ped in shawl, sat on the window
ledge on the second floor and leaned
out, smiling gractously at the crowd.
Il
ment before the open window and
bowed, but he withdrew before the
opening note of Taps" was sounded
AT the conclusion of the ceremony
Mr.. Coolidge again appeared and tried
to pull down the window. He gave 1t
a powerful push and it came down
about two-thirds of the way. There
it stuck and he was unable to get
1t completely closed. Finally he gave
it up and the crowd went away in
high good f1umor at having seen the
Chief Executive baked in a familiar
household task before bedtime.
Following the Taps and atReveilIe, .
four Marine Band trombonists played
Beethoyen's Creation" and Abt's
"Over the Stars" The players were
not visible TO the spectators, as it
had been announced they would be.
Dim Greets New Year.
The midnight musicians were
Arthur Whitcomb, cornetist, who
sounded Taps" at the funerals of
Queen Victoria and President Harding
and at the rite for the Unknown
Soldier; Albert e. Bennert, Herbert
Erisman, Albert Gummel and Harold
Heard, trombone players. All were
from the Marine Band.
At the stroke of IL there was a
mighty din of auto horns and cow
bells from Peace Monument to La
fayette Park which continued for Is
or 20 minutes, with spasmodic noise
the rest of the night. But the occa-
sion was far from noisy, as New
Years go in Washington. Before mid
night the streets We're silent and by
no means crowded. The atmosphere
Of previous years largely was lacking.
There was little confetti thrown
The sidewalks did not require a great
deal of cleaning this morning. There
was a strange absence of costumes.
The restaurants along the Avenue
and f street seemed comfortably full,
but there were no very large overflow
crowds.
1t would have been a rather color
less New Year had it not been for
the lovely ceremony provided by Pres
ident and Mrs. Coolidge, which prom
iseS to establish a precedent to be
followed for years-another such
Washington tradition as the Christ
mas eve carol singing near the White
House and the Easter egg rolling.
Crowd Is Reverent.
Gathered in the White House yard
was a reverent, rather than a merry
making, crowd. The revelers were in
the cars which began to fill the streets
shortly before midnight and in private
clubs and restaurants.
So far as the people on the streets
went, it seemed like an exceptionally
sober New Year eve. WaShingtonianS
seemed tired with the year that was
passing rather than jubiltan and ram
bunctious with the raw recruit who
20 To- fha 1tcs V1Ia
in the skeleton company of the years
of life.