The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1937-01-01

preparations for the biggest party in
the capital since the boom days Of
1929. The lieutenant saw Mrs. Nc.
Lean all right, but he wasn't sure
about here celebrated 441-2 caret
blue-white jewel, which she wears
on chain OF smaller diamonds.
Sorry fellers," Lieut.. Grove said,
but she had on so many diamonds
/ don't know whether I saw that
big one or not. She looked all gilt
tery-like-and awful nervous. She
wants you fellers to 60 away"
While the lieutenant thus was
proving he was no newspaper re-
porter, the photographers, who also
had been invited by Mrs. Mclean,
turned night into day with bar
rage of flashlight pictures. A win
dow shade fiuttered on the second
floor, a woman screamed, and the
boiled-shirted butler popped out the
front doom. motioning for Lieut..
Grove again.
Mrs. Mclean Said "Scram"
could hear woman talking angrily.
Mrs. Mclean" Grove announced,
upon emerging a minute later. "She
says scram!"
The red-headed woman, whose
father made fortune In Colorado
gold mines and who herself became
one Of the nations most colorful
social leaders, seemed especially
proud of her arrangements couple
of days ago, when she invited re-
porters to come out for look but
something must have gone wrong
later. Anyway, she changed her
mind, which Is a lady's right.
No hard feelings, Mrs. Mclean,
as far as we're concerned, and we
surely hope that Hope diamond
didn't cause the cake to fall, or the
champagne to explode, or the plas-
ter to fall in that new ballroom.
The last we saw of Mrs. McLean's
party, In any event, was Lieut..
Grove and three blue-coated as
sistants, rigging red lanterns In
Wisconsin avenue, In an effort to
guide in the 300 dinner guests, who
were beginning 10 arrive when we
left.
Some At Party
They included Elsa Maxwell, the
international party giver; Mary
Roberts Rinehart, mystery story
writer; Mrs. William Randolph
Hearst, wife of the newspaper pub
Usher; Joseph Hergesheimer, the
novelist; A. Atwater Kent, the Phil
adeiphia radio maker, and Walter
Damrosch, the musician, and his
wife. They apparently had no trou-
BILE getting In.
Later on, after the ice cream,
Mrs. Mclean asked 200 more folks,
not quite so prominent. to drop In
for the dancing in the newly erect
ed ballroom and the poker In the
many parlors, where loud-speaker
system waited music from the twin
orchestras. They included diplomats,
industrialists, government officials
and friends OF Mrs. McLean's sons.
Lights, which still blazed at dawn
through the pine trees Of Friend
ship, indicated that they, too, got
In.
Rented Half Hotel Floor
Mrs. Mclean rented half a floor
OF the Shoreham hotel for the con-
yenience of these guests and pro-
vided them transportation to her es-
tate, five miles away. She also had
some of the toughest-looking pri-
vate detectives In the business on
hand to guard their jewels, and
hers.
The party was the first New
Years eve ball she had given In
more than 10 years. In those days
her social events were the talk OF
Washington President Harding was
frequent guest. SO was visiting
royalty.
Then came bad luck. One Of Mrs
McLean's sons was killed by an au-
tomobile In front Of Friendship. She
lost large part Of her fortune and
even was forced to pawn the Hope
diamond In an effort to retain own.
ership of the Washington Post, long
property OF her family.
She lost the Post. but soon re.
deemed the diamond. Last night'i
party, she said when she first in.
vited newsmen to view 1t. was a re-
vivaI Of her rev Years eve balls. II
was held specifically as "a coming
OF age party" for her son, Jack.
And that Is every last thing w
know about her ball Of balls. We're
sorry 1t turned out the way It did