Evening star., 1937-01-31

BAllSlaCClOn LnHC ne ACKNOWLEDGE
the splendid response the Nation ha!
made In answering the call Of suffer
ing which calls to US from the Ohit
and Mississippi Valleys"
The flood emergency will be met
the President promised, and through
national effort on a national scale, we
shall hope in the days to come tt
decrease the probability Of future
floods and similar disasters"
Thanking those attending the
birthday party from "the bottom Of
my heart" the President emphasized
that every dancer and ticket pur-
chaser was helping to carry on the
fight against infantile paralysis.
The fight would not end, he de-
clared, until "the disease itself is
brought under control and proper aid
has been rendered to all"
The President also hac birthday
party of his own in the White House
to which he invited his old birthday
gang" In the center Of the table was
. cake bearing five candles, one for
each Of his years past so.
Some of that group-newspaper
men assigned to the Navy Department
when he was Assistant Secretary-have
attended his birthday dinners for 20
years. OF his old friends, only Louis
McHenry Howe, his journalist sec
fetary who died last year, was missing
But while Mr.. Roosevelt celebrated
his birthday in comparative quiet.
virtually outside his door there was q
whirl Of gayety. In the seven hotels,
where the ball was being held, thou
sands tried to dance 50 that others
might walk. But less than third Of
them were able to find either gliding
or shufling room, so great was the
congestion.
1t was an Indifferent crowd, however.
which didn't seem to care whether
It danced or not. The hundreds who
couldn't get into the ball rooms
merely milled around the hotel lob
bies to catch a fleeting glimpse Of
celebrities and the Hollywood stars
who have taken Washington like
influenza"
Diplomats, Government officials, in
fact, everybody in Washington with
Blue Book" value attended at least
one Of the seven balls. And rubbing
elbows with them in the jam were
Just the ordinary proletariat-gasoline
station attendants, department store
clerks and Government employees,
many of whom procured tickets with
an Il. o. u" because pay day does
not come around until tomorrow.
Most of them were in formal attire
but many lacked the customary white
shirt and tails"
The ball rooms Of each Of the
seven hotels in which the ball was
held - Wardman Park, Shoreham
Mayfiower, Hamilton, Willard. Raleigh
and Washington-hardly had breath
ing space left when the crest of the
crowds was reached about 10 o'clock
The Hobbies in all of them were i'm
passable. In many instances, police
found it necessary to clear a path
for the celebrities as they arrived and
departed on a dizzy excursion of the
seven hotels.
Mrs. Roosevelt. of course, was the
center of attention. She visited all
of the seven hotels, and added the
George Mason in Alexandria, Va,
to her list at the last minute. in an
effort to show her appreciation OF
public interest in the Presidents
birthday anniversary, and the bene-
fits that will accrue to the Nations
infantile paralysis victims from the
thousands of dollars poured out for
ball tickets.
But Mrs. Roosevelt was forced to
share the limelight with the screen
idols that came to Washington to con-
tribute to the success Of the seven
birthday balls.
The women, naturally-and there
were hundreds of Washington's own
whose beauty, accentuated in dazzling
evening gowns. outrivaled some Of the
queens Of Hollywood-naturally sought
out Robert Taylor. And John Trent.