Evening star., 1940-04-15
Cherry Trees
Draw $4,000
To Tidal Basin
Visitors Continue
To Crowd Area Today
Despite Weather

The blossoming cherry trees-a
colorful border around the Tidal
Basin-drew more visitors today, to
add to the thousands who visited
the scene of the annual festival
yesterday.
Today's gray skies continued the
plague of bad weather which hung
over the festival during the week
end. But the weather did not dis
courage Washingtonians and Wis
itors to the city.
Park police estimated that more
than $4,000 persons viewed the
blossoms yesterday. Only hand
full were present last night, how
ever, when the formal Cherry Bios
som Festival was concluded.
Metropolitan police not only
placed extra men on duty at traffic
intersections, but also took a special
traffic count at three important
points.
Capt. Milton D. Smith of the
traffic division reported today the
check indicated an average of 1916
cars hourly passed three heavily
travelled points-Fourteenth street
and Constitution avenue; Wiscon-
sin and Massachusetts avenues and
Bladensburg road and New York
avenue.
This check, based on five-minute
periods between noon and 2 pm,
showed that at Fourteenth street
and Constitution avenue there were
3,408 local cars per hour. including
District of Columbia, Virginia and
Maryland automobiles, and 1904
out-of-town cars. At Wisconsin and
Massachusetts, avenues the count
was 522 local and 276 out-of town
cars per hour. and at Bladensburg
road and New York avenue there
were l,224 local and 1872 out-of town
cars per hour.
50 Patrolmen Added.
The Police Department had 50 ad-
ditional patrolmen stationed at
downtown intersections, and % mo-
torcycle men on duty at the prin-
cipal entrances to the city.
Attended by a skeleton crew OF
princesses and wearing a fur jacket
over her gown. Miss Rose Coli
flower, queen of the fete, presided
over a crowd of several thousand
chilled subjects" as the evening
program was given its second per-
formance
Six of the original complement OF
10 royal attendants appeared, three
wearing pink. three blue capes
Those arraying themselves on either
side of Miss Collihower as she
took her place on the throne were
Grace Dexter. Holton-A School;
Mary Jane Harrington. Maryland
University; Mary Irving Corbett
Georgetown Visitation Convent;
Jane Winchester, Marjorie Webster
Schools; Rosemary Burns, Martha
Washington Seminary, and Nora
Stuart, immaculate Junior College
Procession Opens Program.
As it had the previous night, the
presentation opened with an aquatic
procession, led by the queens
"barge"-the familiar Tidal Basin
swan boat, equipped with throne and
festooned with strings of lights and
springs of blossoms. The craft was
conveyed by paddle boats and
canoes, the occupants of which bore
red flares.
Thomas P. Morgan, jr, chairman
of the Coronation Committee, at
tired in top hat and evening cape
received the queen and her court at
the dock and escorted her to the
dais. constructed among the cherry
trees, as the United States Marine
Band played. The coronation cere-
mony of Saturday night was not
repeated.
The audience then was greeted
by Miss Collif1ower and by Edgar
Morris, general chairman of the
festival. Bob Ellis, baritone, sang
Arthur Godfrey's pale Potomac
Moon," theme song of the celebra-
ton, and there was "silvery
moon" above, as the lyrics said, but
many in the crowd. their coat COL
lars pulled about their ears, chuckled
as the singer referred to a South
ern sky"
The reserved seat section was
slightly more than half filled as the
Evelyn Davis dancers took the
stage for presentation. in costume
of several American folk routines.
The Columbia Light Opera Co,
directed by Miss Ethyl Manning
who wore fur coat over her eve
ming dress, gave her arrangement
OF excerpts from Sigmund ROM
berg's Blossom Time" and the
United States Marine Band con-
cluded the program with "The Star
Spangled Banner" to the accom-
paniment of a burst of fireworks.
Earlier in the day those viewing
the blooms paused to hear music
by the Mckinley High School and
Metropolitan Police Boys Clun
Bands and to watch a model boat
regatta on the Lincoln Memorial
rejecting pool.
Although Saturdays storm and
wind did considerable damage to
the annual display, the blossoms still
were able to put on a good show for
the thousands who circled the basin
in automobiles and on foot during
the day. Dozens of sightseeing buses
made the circuit.