Evening star., 1961-05-29
BY BETTY BEALE


Gus speech at the Democrats
$100 a plate birthday din
ner for him.
He said he wanted to
thank the chairmen, Ralph
Gardiner and Mrs. George
Wheeler, who arranged the
dinner - then he hesitated
for a second with the timing
Of a pro - land Stu Udall
who handled the publicity,
and all the others"
THE REMARK WHICH
B r o u G H T DOWN the
house referred, of course, to
the much publicized, ILL
fated letter. supposedly pro-
voked by the Secretary of
Interior, which asked gas
and oil men across the
country to subscribe to the
dinner Serious, earnest
Stu'S only comment later
was, He disciplined me-"
The President tossed quite
a bouquet at the Speaker -
who's held the job longer
than anyone in history-by
telling a variation on a Joke
that's going about town.
Someone called the White
House the other day and
asked to speak to the Presi-
dent, he said. but was told,
THE Presidents in Canada"
:. We'll, then, let me speak
to the Vice President"
The Vice Presidents in
Southeast Asia" was the re-
ply. Then let me speak to
the Secretary Of State"
"The Secretary Of State is in
Geneva. Who's run
ming that Store?" asked the
now exasperated caller, and
back came the reply from the
White House spokesman:
THE same man who has
been running 1t for years -
Sam Rayburn."
John Kennedy also drew
laughter from the 5000 din
ner guests when he said,
THE thing that surprised us
when we got in office was
that things were just as bad
as we had said they were"
The ease with which the
President drew laughs must
have reminded Comedian
Jerry Lewis. the featured en-
tertainer of the evening, that
the question he had put to
Mr.. Kennedy earlier hit the
nail right on the head. When
the President first arrived
and greeted the actor and
his wife backstage, Jerry
asked him, How does 1t feel
to be in show businesS?"
According to Jerry the
President replied, Its
tiring." but he certainly
didn't show 1t.
THE HOLE HER
ARCHY Of the party in
power turned out for this
dinner with the exception Of
the Secretaries of State,
Treasury and Defense. It Is
understood that Mr.. Kennedy
suggested that none Of the
three be asked to come to the
fund-raiser because Secre-
tary Of State Rusk should
stay out Of partisan politics.
and Secretaries Dillon and
Mcnamara are Republicans.
All the party bigwigs and
their wives sat at the two
head tables but, as usual,
couples were split up in the
seating. Hence it started ro-
mantle talk when bachelor
Senator Scoop" jackson Of
Washington and his attrac-
tive date. Helen Harden,
both sat at a head table
where it was rumored he had
asked to have her placed.
The Armory never looked
prettier for a political dinner
than it did Saturday night.
The two long. facing head
tables had gold colored back
drop curtains and were COW
cred with pink tablecloths.
Originally the key to door
prizes was to have been hid
den in the balloons, but the
idea was discarded, and 1t
is just as we'll. Before the
dinner was half over, all the
balloons had been destroyed.
The lucky prize winners were
all subscribers whose pro-
grams had a star at the top
Of page A..
SENATOR JENNIN GS
RANDOLPH won a watch:
Dorothy Vredenburg won a
collapsible aluminium outdoor