The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-03-20
In New York
By PAUL HARRISON

A
 New York-Your correspondent wandered into MT Jack Dempsey's eating and drinking emporium the other afternoon and found another one of those ubiquitous cocktail mixing contests going on.
 Behind two temporary fifty-foot bars were forty bartenders. At tables in front of the bars were forty people whom press agents delight in describing as celebrities of the stage, screen and sports. world" The latter were judges, and wore gaudy gold and blue bad ges to prove it. They also had score sheets, pencils and frowns of intense. concentration as they sip ped from & great many glasses filled with golden, pink and green liquids. Among them I noticed Irene Bordoni, Shelia Barrett, Abe Lyman, P. Hal Sims, George Ban croft, Virginia Elliott, Eddie Dow ling, Sally Rand and Benny Leon- ard.
 "You are just in time to become a judge" said a man with red badge. These judges just gotta have some help"
 Mot from me, they don't" l
  one of the blue-badged men com plaining that all his cocktails seemed to be full of goldfish. Let the judges judge the cocktails and I shall judge the judges, awarding special prize of one pound of sodium bicarbonate to the one who. by five o'clock, can tell a swizzle stick from an umbrella"
 
 No Bar to Beauty.
 Two other reporters and three gate-crashers consented to serve, however, and the contest proceed- ed. The bartenders, representing most of the hotels and uppity sal- oons around town, continued to shake up their favorite potions, putting them into numerbered glasses which scuttling walters rushed to the judges tables.
 One of the professional mixers was a woman, who told me be- tween shakes that her name was Elsie Gelli, that she came from Paris, danced in Earl Carroll's vaudeville. In 1928 she met Made lon, a local speakeasy entrepre- neuse, and under Madelon's cap able tutelage became a bartendress.
 Now she presides alone at the bar of the Hotel Gorham and Says it is much more fun gan ze show beeznus. To this contest Mile. Gelli, had brought an amazing as-F sortment of old cosmetic bottles filled with mysterious cocktail in- gradients. Wouldn't tell what they contained. "Zey are ze secrets of my art" she said.
 A Real Mixup. By this time the red-baged of, ficials were beginning to press the judges for their decisions. It was slow work. After much wranglins over the merits of many cocktails the judges at one table selected Sally Rand for Queen of the May. George Bancroft and Irene Bor- doni entered a minority report. contending that Mickey Mouse ought to run for congress.
 At another table, where each person had sampled the 40 cock tails, ballot were made out and signed with the names of outstand- ing prohibitionists. A man with g. red badge solemnly recorded each one, seeming particularly impress ed by the names of Senator She-, pard and Bishop Cannon.
 Russell Patterson, who puts in much of his spare time Judging beauty contests, declared at this point that he appreciated the boundless hospitality of the spon- sors, but believed it was now time to bring on the beauties. .
 sTs
 A Bridge to Cross.
 Sheila Barrett, the mimic, was asked by a group of admirers to give her famous imitation of an intoxicated woman. She demur- red in deference to her amateur standing.
 Results of the general poll were given to final jury of five, which included ponderous P. Hal Sims, the bridge expert. The jury re- tired, in company with twenty of the choicer cocktails, and in fifteen minutes returns with verdict The dicision was that the new con- ! tract bridge scoring is q great inns ! prov.rnent over he old laws. Your corr. .spondent promises not to write about any more JcStai niixtns sontssts. If, ir deed. hc ever A ails ~sA te A.sAnd Ann.hAr oAe.