Evening star., 1936-11-04
CAPITAL DISPLAYS
MARD|GRASSP|R|T
Gay Throngs Surge Through
Streets as Democrats
Acclaim Victory.


With jubilation reminiscent of the
recent Halloween, thousands Of citi-
Eens Of the voteless Capital surged
noisily through downtown streets and
hotels as approaching midnight
brought certainty of Roosevelt land
slide.
There was q veritable New Deal
mardi gras as enthusiastic Democrats,
convinced Of a smashing victory for
their chief, vociferously shouted, sang
and honked their acclaim. All that
was lacking were gay costumes and
confetti to give the rejoicing the as
pect of long-awaited festival.
Jams of traffic moved slowly along
F street and Pennsylvania avenue as
scores Of policemen strove vainly in
the din to untangle the masses of cars.
The street celebration did not
really get under way until almost
midnight and continued for a couple
of hours, but in the various hotels and
night clubs the hilarity went far into
the early morning.
Crowd Is Orderly.
For the most part, the crowd was
good-natured and orderly. A few
fights. quickly quelled by police, were
scarcely noticed in the general cele-
bration.
The most enthusiastic of the formal
Democratic celebrations was at the
Hamilton Hotel, where the Democratic
League of the District held sway. Ar
thur Clarendon Smith, chairman of
the league, said he planned for 800
persons and suddenly found a couple
OF thousand on his hands
Speeches, scheduled far in advance,
were banned by the clamor of the
crowd, but parts Of the floor show were
put on.
Most of the Democrats attending the
affair early left the room where the
returns were coming in, confident OF
the outcome, and spent the remainder
of the evening dancing and in gen.
eral merry-making.
Election Returns Supplied.
Many of the other hotels and night
clubs furnished special election in
formation by loudspeakers. There
was big election celebration at the
Shoreham for both Democrats and
Republicans with number of poll
ticians on hand.
The Democratic National Headquar-
ters in the Press Building was ir
noisy contrast to the gloomy quiet OF
the hearquarters OF the Republican
National Committee at 718 jackson
place. In the latter offices, only en-
ployes, their friends and relatives wers
assembled to get election information
over q leased wire. The progress o1
the voting was recorded on a large
blackboard.
Swarms of persons filled the ex-
tensive suite occupied by the Demo
cratic Committee and radios blared in
half q dozen rooms A battery of tele-
phone operators were kept on the
jump until well after midnight.
A midnight supper for the select
few was held in the Democratic
stronghold.
The big stone house at 1900 Rhode
Island avenue, which has been dubbed
Democratic Headquarters" by the
Central Committee, the Democratic
women's National Council and the
Democratic local and State clubs
which occupy it, resounded for hours
with the cheers of hundreds of New
Dealers assembled there to listen to
the returns, announced by Arch Nc
Donald, of radio fame, and John B.
Colpoys, Central Committee chairman.
G. O. p. Crowd Gathers.
At Scott Circle, block away, the
Old Guard faithful gathered under
the auspices of the National Capital
Republican Club to listen to the re-
turns.
Instead of the blaring loudspeaker
of the Democratic headquarters, q
radio, tuned to low pitch, informed
a small group gathered around it of
the elections progress. The rest of
the considerable crowd engaged in
conversation over doughnuts, coffee
and cider.
The only other gathering place for
Republicans was the Landon and
Knox Campaign Club, at 1413 H street.
There, Edward F. Colladay, Repub-
lican national committeeman; James
C. Wilkes, chairman of the Central
Committee, and Mrs. Virginia White
Speel held sway. There were refresh
ments for those who stayed to listen
to the returns.
A reception was staged at 1410 G
street, where the Democratic National
Absentee Voters Bureau was located,
and late in the evening there was a
dance.
Perhaps one Of the largest celebra-
tions was at the National Press Club,
which held open house, with free beer
for all.