Evening star., 1954-05-22


ernoon, $4,000 will be sent to
the wounded in Indo- China. It
wasn't a gay, dancing, bang-up
party such as the ball would
have been that was originally
planned for last night. The trag-
edy of Dien Bien Phu changed
all that. But it was a charming
gathering of the Capitals creme
de la creme society who had paid
$25 per and were concentrating
like school children on walking
off with one of the prizes con-
tributed to the benefit.
And just about everybody from
the President on down got a
prize. Neither the Chief Execu-
tive nor Mrs. Eisenhower was
present, but each won a bottle
of fine French Armagnac.
Mrs. Nixon hit the jackpot.
She won a case of French cham
payne. Schiaperelli perfume, a
compact and Canadian whisky
which means that she bought
four tickets.
For the second year in a row.
Mrs. Joseph E. Davies won a fur
capelet-this one of blue fox,
And the top prize, a diamond.
sapphire and gold pin from Car
tiers, went to Mrs. Arthur
Woods, niece of j. Pierpont Nor
gan. That's life, I guess.
Mrs. John Foster Dulles won
a case of champagne and bot
tie of Armagnac, Mrs. George
Humphrey, eau de cologne. and
Mrs. Sinclair Weeks and Secre-
tary Oveta Culp Hobby. perfume,
And so it went. The roster of
prize winners was the most i'm
pressive Washington has ever
heard.
Mrs. Alice Longworth, of all
people, who has worn more or
less the same style of broad
brimmed hat for 40 years, won
the chic little Lily Dache model
Senator Theodore Francis Green
wasn't there to hear his name
called out, but he fell heir to the
lady's silver cigarette case. And
eligible Bill Walton was on hand
to discover that he had won a
permanent wave by Michel of
the Waldorf. Needless to say,
these announcements brought
forth exclamationS and laughter
Mrs. Nixon was among the first
arrivals at the $50 o'clock re-
ception. She was greeted by AM
baSSador and Nine. Bonnet in
the foyer and introduced to some
of the committee for the benefit.
They were the American women
who dreamed up the party as a
tribute to Nine. Bonnet, who has
for several years raised large
sums in similar fashion for our
Red Cross.
Guests gathered on the terrace
where a champagne bar was set
up or in the dining room where
there were both bar and a table
full of hors d'oeuvres and
cookies. Most Of the guests were
going on to 8 o'clock dinner
parties originally planned to
precede the ball.
At quarter past 6, Mime. Bon
net, surrounded by members of
the embassy staff and their wives,
stood high up on the big STAIR
case and signaled the beginning
OF the main event. She first
thanked everybody present for
their generosity and their loyalty.
particularly Mrs. James Pomeroy
Hendrick and her committee, for
making the gathering a success.
She announced the huge sum
they had raised, remarkable in
that many tickets were not sold
that would have been had it been
gala ball. Then she told her
guests that there were 228 prizes
to be drawn. You could have
heard the oohs and abs out on
Kalorama road,
The stairway took on the ap-
pearance of an assembly line.
Counselor Pierre Millet held the
box full of ticket stubs. Nine.
Bonnet dipped her hand in and
drew each number. Mime. Sey-
doux took the stub and taped it
onto the prize that had been
fetched by the Countess de la
Grandville, etc. The latter was
a picture in an off-white satin
suit printed with French roses
and a white sailor with a rose
velvet crown.
Grouped on the lower steps,
waiting till all numbers had
been drawn before dispensing
with the prizes, were the COM
mittee MEMBERSHIPS. John
Simmons, Mrs. j. William Full
bright, Mrs. Hendrick, Mrs. A. S.
Monroney, Mrs. Richard Wig
ellsworth, Mrs. William T.
Mann, Mrs. DeForest VanSlyck
and Mrs. w. John Kenney.
Scattered about at the foot of
the stairs, standing in doorways,
seated on tables or even on the
floor were q good slice of Wash
ington's carriage trade There