The Washington times., 1935-10-11
NOW
Geneva PLdys
And Dances
BENES A HOST
BY HELEN EssARY

Of the Assembly of the League
Of Nations and Madame Benes
gave to the delegates to the
League and various exciting
personalities now in Geneva
was as brilliant as the great
Brussels party in the colored
film of Becky Sharp"
The guns of Waterloo were
not laundering in the dis
tance. The talk of an English
Italian-Abyssinian war, heavy
in the international air OF
Geneva, was not oppressive.
Indeed, it was apparently for
gotten in the gaiety and beauty
Of the entertainment.
Representatives of nations
that threaten some day to blow
each other up-if there is
truth in terrifying rumors-
were out for the evening in
their best diplomatic garments
and their most thrilling and
beautiful gowns.
The smart and important
world of international Geneva
danced, flirted and gossiped in
the French language. Geneva,
they say, is a place where
French is spoken in all the
languages of the world.
His Excellency, DR.. Yen, Am
bassador to Moscow and head OF
the Chinese delegation of the
League of Nations, twirled in
Viennese waltz with the wife of
the Right Honorable Agha
Khan, Of India. Madame Agha
Khan was in brilliant green
with a cape of green feathers
and a wreath of green flowers
in her hair. The Agha Khan
himself, short and fattiSh, in
solemn black garments and
thick black spectacles, did an
impassioned tango with a lovely
Spaniard in pale yellow chiffon,
made with Grecian draperieS.
The lonnosed, amusing
fan0n De Valera of the Irish
Free State came into the ball
room looking anxiously for the
red roses the wife Of the Belgian
delegate had sucked in her pro-
gram and forgotten. Mr.. De
Valera is very near-Sighted.
They say In another year he
probably will be blind.
The Princess Cantacuzene, OF
White Russian memories-big,
ardent and bespangled-chatted
with Madame Kollontai, the
Soviet Minister to Stockholm
and the delegate to the Geneva
conference.
While Mr.. Litvinov was in
whispered conversation with
the monocled Madariaga, Of the
Spanish delegation. an artist
was sketching them both.
Senator Paul Boncour OF
France, as short and buShy.
haired as he is in the caricature,
remarked to a pretty young
thing from England that many
fascinating women were pres
ent, as indeed they were. 1 have
never seen as dramatic and in
teresting a crowd of people to-
gether. And never shall again
probably.
In the supper room the Czecho-
Slovakian Minister to Paris,
Stefan o. Susky, wearing a par.
ticularly fine assortment Of dec
orations, philosophical over a
glass Of white wine and a plate
of cold chicken on friendship
and love.
"Many friends" he said,
rmean few real friends. Many
loveS-no loves"
The food of the evening was
superb. So was the drink. M.
Benes, the host, drank nothing.
He is a real prohibitionist.
Czecho-Slovakia has just passed
q prohibition law.
I had hoped ir my evil way
that the concert that preceded
the dancing might be a sort of
music of the hemispheres-na-
tional anthems and hearty
cheering-a preliminary and
patriotic skirmish before the
war they are talking about so
much. But no. Madame Benes
was discreet. The program was
Czecho-Slovakian music entirely
Into the ballroom we wan
dered again after supper. The
dancing continued to the most
enchanting music played by an
orchestra in white uniforms on
a platform between huge clus-
ters of red dahlias. Madame
Chen of the Chinese delegation,
a gorgeous creature poured into
a robe of silver brocade with a
skirt slit to the knee and high
collar and large, round, ruby
earrings, was saying at the mo-
ment to the Geneva cartoonist,
who is the Don Juan of the
Geneva meeting, that the music
was the most enticing she had
ever heard.
The crowd seemed unable to
make up its mind to leave. It
was a really special evening, a
sort of historic fiddling while
Geneva Scorched. About 2
O'Clock a big Norwegian dele
gate said to a young English