The Washington times., 1929-02-27
Guest of Honor at Dem
ocratic Club Banquet
Tonight; Feted Prior
to "Official" Debut

to "Official" Debut
It was the annual meeting
of the Woman's National
Democratic Club today and
its banquet tonight, at which
she is to be the guest Of
honor and speaker, which
brought Representative-elect
Ruth Bryan Owen to town
ahead of the other members
of the new Congress. But
she has been gathered in for
one or two festivities ahead
Of her official appearance,
She was a guest at the din
ner which Senator and Mrs.
Arthur II. Vandenberg gave
last Saturday evening in
honor of the Vice President
and Mrs. Dawes and yester-
day at the weekly luncheon
of the Women's National
Press Club she told some
thing of her reasons for
thinking that women belong
ed in politics.
Democratic Leader
The banquet at the Demo-
cratic Club tonight will be at
tended by large company OF
Democratic leaders-rnasculine
and feminine-who will have
opportunity to hear the gifted
daughter of William Jennings
Bryan. This will come at the
close of busy day, for the pro-
gram includes a luncheon, the
annual club pilgrimage to the
tomb of Woodrow Wilson-and
the annual elections. By the
time the dinner comes round the
returns will be in and the guests
will be informed of the election
of Mrs. J. Borden Hartmann
foregone conclusion, as she is
an unopposed candidate. Mrs.
Emily Newell Blair, the past
president of the club, resigned
shortly after the presidential
elections, and Mrs. Edward B.
Meigs, first vice president, has
been acting president. She will
be Gin the chair" at the dinner
tonight.
Another Story
All that, however, is another
story. This one concerns Repre-
sentative.elect Ruth Bryan Owen.
At the luncheon yesterday, in
the conversational "give-and-taks"
that followed the brief address Of
the honor guest, the latter related
many interesting bits. One WIS
about her elder granddaughter,
Ruth Meeker ruth 3d., who is
living in Baltimore with her
parents.
Mrs. Owen went over to spend
The day with Them on Sunday
when she was telling her 4-year-
old granddaughter of all the
things she would show her when
she came to Washington. The
climax Of these was "grandmoth-
er's office at the Capitol"
q very old-fashioned note when
one learns that Mrs. Owen was 4
grandmother by the time she was
SO years old. And now she has
two grandchildren-both little
girls.
For a while she believed that
she would be the first grand
mother in Congress. But it seems
that Representative Katherine
! Langley has that honor-a dis
tinction which she must have
achieved when but slightly older
! than Mrs. Owen.
Mrs. Owen says that for years
she was known as her fathers
daughter. Then people began to
ask her care you Kitty Owens
Hnother?" and now the query is
"Are, you Ruth Meeker's grand
mother" So she is regretfully
forced to the conclusion that fame
has skipped one generation in the
Bryan family.
Educated in the United States
and Europe, and married to a
British army officer, Mrs. Owen
speaks three languages and has a
first.hand knowledge OF South
America, the West Indies, Eng
land and Egypt, as we'll as Coco
nut Grove. south of Miami, where
after the close OF the world war
she came with her husband, Major
Reginald owen, to make their
home, and where few years after
ward he died of wounds received
in the Gallipoli campaign.
Mrs. Owen, too, has a war rec.
ord. In London, she helped to es-
tablish the American Women's s
Hospital, and worked for it on
Mrs. Herbert Hoover's committee
until October, 1915. Then, with
her youngest baby, she went to
Egypt, and for three years was
successfully ward, surgical and op-
Grating room nurse in British
hospital, while Major Owen, after
eight months of the Gallipoh cam
paign, served on General Allenby's
staff.
They returned together and had
q few years with their four chill.
dren in the rambling white house
and lovely garden at Coconut
Grove. Then Major Owen died.
His wife applied for and regained
her American citizenship; became
leader in the civic life Of her new
home, ran for Congress and won
out over an opponent who had rep
resented the Fourth District in
Washington for Is years.
In that gruelling campaign, the
radiant health and tireless physi.
cal strength of Ruth owen, stood
her in good stead. AS girl at the
University OF Nebraska, she had
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