Evening star., 1934-01-01
CAPITAL WELCOME
TO NEW YEAR WET,
CAY AND HOPEFUL
Liquor Flows Freely at Pub
lie Parties, Despite Dis
triCt's Continued Aridity.

Washington rested today, with high
hopes for The future and no regrets for
the past, after the gayeSt New Year
eve celebration since the long, lean
yeaEs of the depression began.
tlthough repeal has not become eff
fectiye in the District, it was, by all
odds the WetteSt New Year eve in years.
with hotels night clubs. restaurants ana
other centers of nocturnal gayety
Jammed with noisy merry makers.
Downtown streets were thronged,
despite an annoying. drizzly sort OF
rain that set in early in the evening.
and, throughout the city. private parties
were IN progress in hotels. apartments
and homes.
Official Washington. however. well
coined the new year-the year of hope
quietly and without swank.
Reception Is Abandoned
Absent was the customary White
House reception, which in past years
drew thousands of citizens to the Exec
utive Mansion for the privilege of haV-
ing their hands claSped by the PreSi-
dent
Absent. too was the colorful New
Year breakfast Of the Secretary of
State
President and Mrs. Roosevelt, along
with all the members of their official
family watched the old year fade into
the past quietly. casually.
The Chief Executive and the First
Lady. with group of young people
around them, had casual luncheon
with Vice President and Mrs. Garner.
After the meal was over, half of the
guests had to run for 2 o'clock train.
/ to get back to college. Left to watch
the exit of 1888 with the President and
Mrs. Roosevelt were their son, James,
who had touch of influenza: his wife,
Betsy; her sister Barbara Cushing, and
young John Roosevelt.
Cabinet Parties Quiet.
Attorney General and Mrs Cummings
had quiet house party; Secretary of
Agriculture Wallace and Mrs. Wallace
held family reunion: Secretary of the
/ Interior Ickes and Mrs. IckeS enjoyed
a honey day with their son, Raymond;
Secretary of Commerce Roper and Mrs
Roper had tea for friends of their
daughter. Grace.
Virtually the only reminder of the
Kind OF New Year eve the Capital used
to enjoy, in the days before the depres-
sion, was the dance given by Mrs.
Evalyn Walsh Mclean for her two
young sons at her home. Friendship.
Back in the old days. when Alice
Roosevelt Longworth was Princess
Alice" the Mclean dances were re-
garded as almost official. There the
princess" used to dance the old year
out and the new one in, and young
Washington has been doing it ever
since.
After the White House luncheon. Mr..
Roosevelt and Mr.. Garner retired to
the formers upstairs study, where
through the smoke from their cigars,
they discussed the coming session of
Congress. While the President and the
Vice President talked, Mrs. Roosevelt
and Mrs. Garner had a chat of their
own in the First Lady's sitting room.
All IN all, it was a different kind of
New Year eVe-a better. happier kind
10 thousands 1t seemed more like the
dawn Of a new era than the mere pass
ing Of another year.
Parties Held Late.
And those who went in for the old
fashioned, pre-depreSsion kind Of
at 1t when what would have been
golng-to-WOrk time rolled around
As late as a m, for instance traffic
was heavy on most of the city's more
important thoroughfares.
But midnight, Of course was the
zero hour. Automobile horns, sirens.
whistles, gun reports-juSt about every
Klnd OF noise known was let loose as
a welcome to the new year. Indoors
and outdoors-tt was all the same.
everybody seemed determined to make
1t the nolsieSt New Year eve on record.
Virtually all the hotels, night clubs
and restaurants reported heavier busi-
ness than in years. On the whole,
prices were slightly lower than usual.
The Willard. Shoreham, Kennedy
Warren and Wardman Park stayed
open unit 1.-The wee, small hours, as did
most of the others
Midnight shows did q rushing bud-
ness. and so did the taxicab companies.
Many motorists, for more or less per-
Sonal reasons, left their cars at home
or else parked near the scenes of the
celebratonS they attended.
The official attitude of the police was
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