A Treat & a Treatment

The party began to break up, and one congressional couple started for the door. But there stood Lyndon Johnson, blocking the way. It seems that the President had not yet danced with the Congressman's wife, and he wouldn't dream of letting her leave before she took a turn on the floor with him.

That is how things go at Lyndon's breezy, informal parties for Congress. The White House has never seen the likes of it. For years the annual congressional reception was an arduous affair of white ties, weak drinks and two-hour reception lines. The Kennedys began to loosen it up by substituting black ties for white and abolishing the receiving line, but the reception was still quite a crush, with more than 500 legislators and their wives on hand. Now Johnson has scrapped the one big bash for nine smaller, more intimate parties.

Up or Down? A few wives yearn for the boiled shirts and ball gowns, but the Congressmen are all for Lyndon's way. "It wasn't like those mob scenes we've had before," said one. Starting in January, the President took on the entire Senate in three dinner dances, is now working his way through the House. Last week he reached the half way point by holding the third of six scheduled buffet-receptions for some 70 Representatives and their wives.

The affairs get under way at 6 p.m., with many of the Congressmen heading straight for the White House from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, still in their business suits. As waiters whisk through the Red and Green rooms with trays of drinks, the President claps his hands for attention. It is time, he says, to mix a little work with a little play. The members of the House should follow him, the ladies, Mrs. Johnson.

At one party, Lyndon's orders left Illinois Republican Charlotte Reid and Michigan Democrat Martha Griffiths perplexed. Which way to go? Lady Bird quickly solved their predicament. "Mrs. Johnson came over and said we were to go with the men," sighed Congresswoman Reid. "I would love to have gone upstairs."

Cabinet or Chandelier. Downstairs, Lyndon ushers his guests into the State Dining Room, seats them on straight-backed chairs for briefings, usually by Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and one or two other Cabinet members. Some Congressmen feel that this part of the evening is a treatment, not a treat. "It mostly sounded to me like a political tub thumping," groused Kansas Republican William Avery. Still, most of them can hardly help feeling flattered when the President trots out top Cabinet officers for their edification.

As for Lady Bird's tour of the upstairs living quarters, about the only complaint is that it does not last longer. "We've been here 24 years," said Mrs. Edward Hebert, wife of a Louisiana Democrat, "and this was the first time I had ever been upstairs."

A conscientious student, Lady Bird rattles off facts and figures. In the Lincoln bedroom, she points out Lincoln's handwritten copy of the Gettysburg Address, one of five in existence. She leads her guests through the Rose Room, noting that Queens Wilhelmina and Juliana of The Netherlands, Elizabeth II of England and Frederika of Greece all slept there during their U.S. visits. In the Treaty Room, she shows the ladies an immense chandelier that Jackie Kennedy retrieved from Capitol Hill; Teddy Roosevelt, Lady Bird said, had sent it to the Hill because its noisy tinkling bothered him, and he figured it might help to keep some of the legislators awake. After half an hour or so, a messenger from Lyndon whispers something to Lady Bird. Enough work --time to get on with the play.

Around & Around. Down in the East Room, the Marine orchestra begins to beat out easy rhythms like Tea for Two and A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody--no twists, no bouncy Latin numbers. Now Lyndon is in his element. "He went around and around, dancing with all the ladies," said Colorado Democrat Wayne Aspinall. "He wouldn't pay attention to anything else."

Lyndon started off last week with Daughter Lynda Bird, 19. Sometimes Luci (nee Lucy) Baines, 16, gets a chance to dance, provided she has finished her homework and is allowed to come down to the party. Then the President takes a turn with every lady in sight, missing nobody. "It's really terribly flattering," said Congresswoman Griffiths. "Where I grew up you had to have a stag line if a dance was any good. If it's the President cutting in, it's even better."

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