Jackson Day

On Jan. 8, 1815, there was peace--a treaty had been signed with the British. But in New Orleans the treaty was even less than a scrap of paper, for its existence was not known. Accordingly, on that day, General Andrew Jackson inflicted a decisive defeat on a British army before the city. Of late years it has been the custom of Democrats to celebrate Jan. 8, "Jackson Day," once every four years, by a dinner in Washington.

This dinner, coming about five months before the Democratic National Convention, is usually a parade of aspiring candidates for the Presidency and other leaders of the Party. This year, it is understood, there will be no Jackson Day Dinner. Democrats fear such an occasion would be too much like Jan. 8, 1815--peace but no peace. Some of the Democratic Presidential aspirants are at violent odds on policies--the wet and dry issue, for example-- and the party wants no strife.

In 1920 the Jackson Day dinner was a great event--so great that it had to be held in two large dining rooms in Washington. The eight or ten candidates went from one room to the other, speaking twice so that all might hear.