The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-03-03

Army was ordered TO pick cotton.
Later when Manpower Commits
mission Paul McNutt heard
about II, he raised such Q fuss
that the order was rescinded.
Secretary of War Stimson Is
understood not TO have known
anything about his generals cot
ton-picking plans. AS to what
prompted the Army to want
walkers report revised IN order
to put soldiers In the cotton
fields, two unofficial explanations
are offered: ..#
"a The Army wanted to show
Its goodwill with the farm bloc
In order to quiet fears Of too big
all Army and labor shortage;
(2) the Army wanted to show that
Its contemplating would be fall
ure, thus not be bothered with
more demands for soldiers In the
harvest fields this summer.
No explanation was forthcom-
ing from the Army.
NOTE: Labor suspected also
that the Army was going to help
out Arizona cotton planters who
had declined q 30-cents an hour
minimum wage to imported farm
labor. Some big Arizona planters
turned tiA.s down after Oscar
Johnston, Of the Delta growers,
telephoned from Mississippi urg-
ing that Arizona and Delta grow
ers stick together. Johnston, once
on the Federal payroll, manages
British-o plantations In Mis-
sissippi, Is the biggest cotton
grower In the world.
MRS. HOPE DIAMOND MCLEAN
Rationing will change lot of
things around the Nations Capt.
tai, among them the time-honored
pastime Of going out to dinner.
Dining out Is one reason theaters
never have thrived In Washing
ton. A dinner party Is more anus
ing. A potpourri of politicians, dip
lomats, senators could stage just
as good q show as vaudeville any
evening.
Most famous and sometimes
most bizarret Of the Washington
dinner parties, year In and year
out, have been those of Mrs. Ev-
allyn Walsh Mclean, owner Of the
Hope Diamond, whose play-boy
husband, a close pal Of Warren
G. Harding, tried for time to
save Doheny by saying that he
had loaned the mysterious $4,000
to Albert Fall in the Teapot Dome
scandal.
Mrs. McLean's estate "Friend-
ship" was the scene Of many a
Harding party, after which Mrs.
Harding sometimes accused her
husband of smuggling whiskey
bottles into the White House.
The Mclean dinners, continuing
through the years, have featured
such guests as British Ambassa-
dor Lord Halifax and Finnish
Minister Procope, whose countries
are at war, yet who have sat at
the right and left respectively
of their. hostess and kept up an
animated conversations; also head
G-Man j. Edgar Hoover and FBI-
hating Martin Dies; also the glow
ering John l.. Lewis and many
a big business potentate who fears
him.
Mrs. Mclean takes lot OF
people under her wing, some OF
whom are now wondering how her
dinners can continue under ra-
tioning.
II told Lord Lothian when he
first came here" she says, shat
he Just had to know the right
people. lord Lothian, late
British Ambassador, had made
IS trips to the u. s. A. as head
Of the Rhodes Scholar FOunda-
ton, probably knew this cOun-
try better than most Ameri-
cans).
IS sent Lothian my dinner
list. That was why ne was so
successful here. why, even
sent him my dinner list with
the comments written ON the
margin.
"Then when poor Lothian died
and the Halifaxes came, ] did
the same for them. ] phOned
Lady Halifax in Canada and
told her, My dear, YOU must
invite the right people TO din
ner. ! will send you my list
But" continued Mrs. Mclean,
there's one man I won't have
In my house. That's the Rus
sian. LitvinOff has been try
ing 10 get an invitation from
me for years, but l won't have
him."
NOTE: Litvin0ef seldom dimes
out. shuns Washington society,
nrpfars his friends Ia New York