Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-09

BY MARGARET II. DOWNING.
President and Mrs. Coolidge may be
said to have written n most interest
ing paragraph into the history OF
White House customs when that beau
tiful ceremony of burying the old year
with military honOrs was inaugurated
by the bugler on the roof of the man
sion on the eve and actual dawn OF
1927. An entertaining study is in
volved in the various innovations
introduced by the First Ladies during
their occupancy of the White House
Mrs. Roosevelt and Mrs. Taft may be
said to have made the most radical
changes in the procedure which had
held. almost untouched, since Mrs
James Monroe. fresh from Paris, had
introduced a social code. The remod
cling of the White House during the
first year of the Roosevelt regime and
the building of a separate executive
office neceSsitated many changes IN
the mode of living. which every Presi
dent since then has followed. Mrs
Roosevelt, being of English birth ano
rearing, revived the custom of having
garden fetes, more or less neglected
SlI1tt MiSlIeSS ooilS ~fAshNiCOA' $1,000
ners and receptions al fresCo under
The big chestnut trees on the south
lawn. Mrs. Taft relegated the UNI
formed policemen. formerly 50 con
spicuous in the lobby of the W hlte
House. to the background, ana IN
their stead there have been tall. suaEe
negro serVitors. such as are seen III
every formal and we'll regulated nome.
She also began the serving of refresh
n
continued for the two terms of Wood
row Wilson. but at once discarded by
President and Mrs. Harding. as under
the crowded conditions of the state
rooms it was too difficult to perform
gracefully or satisfactorily.
Mrs. Roosevelt also established the
tea table for the late afternoons, ana
this custom held seemingly as per
manent one. though the second Mrs
Woodrow Wilson, who seemingly
never drank tea, did not have TINS
form of amcnity as much IN evidence
as did her Immediate predecessor or
Mrs. Roosevelt or Mrs Taft. Presl-
dent Jefferson consumed many cups
Of tea all through the day, and the tea
wagon fashioned by himself was al
WAYS replenished and stood accessible
to visitors. After the Sage of month
cello had returned, the tea habit IAN
g,lished, and from the middle OF the
1905 until Mrs. Roosevelt became
mistress of the mansion tea played
small role in the White House oner-
ines. Mrs. Harding, who was more
interested in politics than IN soclal
affairs, though she was a charming
and bountiful hostess, accepted things
as thev were when she entered the
White House: but as tea was becom-
ing more and more established. she
served it at the afternoon gatherlngs'
hut also served cocoa and a cold drink
John d. Rockefeller. il, whose
gifts to preserve and restore the
ancient monuments now exceed more
than IS .000, 900. recently made 1t very
plain 70 the French public that
credence should not be placed on sucn
runnors as have agitated Paris, thal
a rich American had purchased the
Chateau de Courcelle, built in the
time of Louis Mi ana one OF the
most ornate and exquisite of all the
royal country palaces. and proposed
10 remove it stone by stone 70 the
hanks Of the Hudson. Mr.. RockeIel-
lar smoke with authority when ne
called attention to the slgnincant
gifts made by Americans for pur-
nose quite divergent, namely 10 Keep
these sacred monuments rlght Whefe
they are and in prime conuluoh' III
order that the generations to come
might enjoy their beauty. Americans,
Though the contrary has been sedu-
lo,islv circulated against them. Salu
Mr. Rockefeller, have genuine loNe
and respect for the past ana all thdt
has q historic background has oeeh
aI1 object of their soilcltude MI
Rockefeller made an early WINTER
visit to Paris to see how the fest0fa-
XTsNtsSSs
ton and preservation oil Nersal!ies
progresses and he never fails 10 WISH
rheims and note how mohtn Wy
month the cathedral throws OH the
scars and ruin of the Dombardment
and begins to look as it did before
1914.
Mr.. Vincent Astor might be de-
scribed as one of New York 1lty ;
leading realtors. and he takes vast
nride in his achievements in TINS nhe
and mingles with his fellow workers
t,,S, az much as he can. lie has
therefore been entrusted with q dlp-
1or5atic mission. namely the woman
realtors of Gotham-and they num-
har' several hundred and do ire
-ooordous volume of its business III
this line-have asked him TO let the
ynaie of the species know that they
5o not care a Cancelled stamp
whether men in elevators take on
4Nbeir hats or not nor whether men
seated in street cars or buses get up
an do the gallant act in offering their
nlaces. This question has been a
burning one in New York, as IN
Ivashington. and the real estate
,,,o,,1en want 10 go on record as being
perfectly Indifferent as TO the an
,,,.o,. Woman visitors To New York
ha..e. not noted much alacrity on the
- of the natives to be so courteous
es to offer seats in public convey
.nces. and men ire elevator who DO
remove their hats are thought 10 be
re those 100 600 strangers who daily
invade the worlds biggest city. Mr.
AStnr will without doubt report his
,,,ission to his confreres and this
large center OF population viii a.
Ieast have spoken on this disputed
s,,hiact For the feminine realtors
come into relation with many and all
2orts of people and they claim to be
the mouthpiece of the majority of
their sex. In commercial buildings
sometimes 20 stories high. TO take his
hat off in the elevator may mean dire
cor4seauences. for the men and women
.of that independent city nave made
il plain that they have no desire 70
iryira cataatrophes for something
they DO not approve or value.
lord ara Lady Douglas Compton
with group Of their friends, have
|reated the vogue "f 'he newest dos
ert~ course for golf, that outside of
piskra. the ''-e O" heipg i1s1 insid-
he oasis Of Benz Mora and the re.
n,aindyr OF he tuu :" tlr into The
air country of the sahara This is a
.,oautiru, situation, and il has, besides
alJ''thal makes for strenuous aud
letting round of golf the sentimental
harm of following the exact lines in
polert Hichens' Garden of Allah