Cary T. Grayson Diary

Title

Cary T. Grayson Diary

Creator

Grayson, Cary T. (Cary Travers), 1878-1938

Identifier

WWP17171

Date

1919 May 20

Source

Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library, Staunton, Virginia

Language

English

Text

The President after breakfast usually indulges now in a morning walk. I persuaded him to get out in the fresh air more frequently. He generally goes out in the morning and in the afternoon. He has been confining himself too close to the house.

When the President returned from his morning walk he went directly to the conference of the Big Four, which took up the question of the revision of the Treaty of 1839, which defined the boundaries of Belgium and Holland.Belgium is very anxious that this Treaty should be revised so that the Scheldt River should be considered entirely Belgian territory, thus affording Antwerp an open way to the ocean. The representatives of the Dutch government, who were present at the conference, stated that they were willing to make concessions along this line but that they certainly would not consent under any circumstance to any revision of this Treaty that would take away from Holland a single square yard of her territory. The matter was finally referred to the Council of Prime Ministers, who will endeavor to reconcile the claims of the two nations.

There were no guests for luncheon today, and after luncheon the President worked for a brief period in his study, after which he and I went for a motor ride, which terminated at the Hotel Crillon, where the President held an extended conference lasting for fully two hours with the members of the American Peace Commission.

The President returned to the temporary White House at 7:15 o’clock, when the President and Mrs. Wilson had dinner.

I attended a dinner given by Mr. Bernard M. Baruch, at the Ritz Hotel. There were about one hundred guests. Some of the ladies who were in attendance presented a distinctly bizarre spectacle. The tendency of the day was to reduce the bodice, both front and back, to the lowest possible notch, exposing a wide expanse of cuticle. The majority of the women wore enormous masses of jewelry, which glittered in the electric light, but it was very plain that they did not wear these jewels to hide any of their charms but rather to enhance them. Most of the dresses ended at a point very close to the knee, so that when they sat down there was a good deal of stocking in evidence. One thing that rather amazed me was the fact that a good many of these women, all of them leaders in French society, wore silver and gold bangles on their left ankle, with little silver bells that tingled as they walked. The display of jewelry on the women guests was really a wonderful spectacle. I was seated alongside of the Baroness Rothschild, and a description of her jewelry will serve to answer for the majority of the women present. On her left hand she wore two magnificent pearl rings, one white and one black. She had a series of diamond bracelets, probably half a dozen in number, on her left wrist. Just below the left elbow she had a band of solid diamonds, probably three inches in width, in which was set a magnificent diamond-studded watch. Over the biceps muscle of her left arm she wore a series of chains of diamonds, probably three inches in width, in which was set a magnificent diamond-studded watch. Over the biceps muscle of her left arm she wore a series of chains of diamonds. They were clasped tightly about the bicep and apparently were arranged on gold chains which expanded or contracted as she moved her arm. Around her head she wore a diamond tiara, while festooned about her neck was another collection of diamonds, that with one enormous gem suspended over her breast. On her right arm she wore a very heavy gold chain bracelet.

Original Format

Diary

Files

http://resources.presidentwilson.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/PCST19190520.pdf

Citation

Grayson, Cary T. (Cary Travers), 1878-1938, “Cary T. Grayson Diary,” 1919 May 20, WWP17171, Cary T. Grayson Papers, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.