It's the Small Problems That Start Big Wars!

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 690, 15 June 1929, Page 18

It's the Small Problems That Start Big Wars!

Washington And Its Society Dramas

■ T was thought that the long-drawn-out dispute over the order of precedence in Washington and the position to be occupied by Mrs. Edward Everard Gann, sister of VicePresident Curtis, and incidentally his official hostess, had been settled. But Washington rocked recently with two major explosions, one of which echoed the Gann dispute. This time the combat moved into the front line trenches as the lady of the Speaker of the House pitted herself against Mrs. Gann.

Eugene Meyer, jun., was retiring from his presidency of the Federal Farm Loan Board (says “Time”). A farewell dinner was in order. Mrs. Meyer ingeniously devised a system of four tables to circumvent the troublesome question of precedence. She would head one table, Mr. Meyer another, Vice-President Curtis, a third, and Mrs. Gann, a fourth. Among the invited guests was Speaker Longworth and his popular, influential wife, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, onetime “Princess Alice,” of the White House. Great is Mrs. Longworth's political prestige, great her social power, independent her behaviour. She sent Mrs. Meyer her regrets, making it clear that she declined to sit below Mrs. Gann. Not to be outdone, Mrs. Gann and the Vice-Presi-dent stayed at home that evening! Two men were involved in the other rumpus. The Belgian Embassy at Washington is now occupied by his Highness Prince Albert de Ligne. One recent morning his Highness was shocked, enraged, at the sight of a splurgy front page story in the Washington “Post” in which his recall to Belgium was definitely announced. The “Post” remarked: “The recall of Prince de Ligne . . . was to have

been expected. His training, temperament and fixed attitude are all such as to make it impossible for him to be useful to his Government as envoy to Washington. . . The Belgian Government could have searched the kingdom without finding an individual more unsuited to perform the duties which the Prince de Ligne was expected to perform and in which he has so signally failed.”

Great was the Belgian Ambassador’s perturbation. Washington society gasped. The diplomatic corps was loyally unanimous in its explanation of what lay behind the report and editorial comment. Chorused the diplomats (in effect): “Publisher Edward McLean, of the ‘Post,’ was among the Prince de Ligne’s guests at the Embassy dinner last month. As everyone knows, the Belgian Embassy, like many another, is wet. At the dinner table Mr. McLean dined well, too well. He was distressed. He requested the Prince’s assistance. The Prince gave it—and asked his publisher-guest to leave the party. The ‘Post’s’ outbursts ensued.”

Deeply troubled, Prince de Ligne called at the Department of State to verify his position and Secretary of State Stimson wrote him a public note expressing sincere regret for the editorial discourtesy. And President Hoover, who received the title “Friend of Belgium” from King Albert, expressed the desire to show that Prince de Ligne was persona grata with the Government of the United States. Although the President, according to precedent, entertains Ambassadors only at formal state receptions and dinners, he invited the Prince and his lady to a small private White House dinner. Thus was Publisher McLean, crony of the late President Harding, bluntly squelched.