POLITICAL NOTES: Dandy Walker

Magnificent is the Lord Mayor of London, either in his crimson velvet robe to greet his Sovereign in the City, or in his gold-trimmed black robe for Lord Mayor’s Day, or in his scarlet robe for the opening of his Central Criminal Court, or in his violet robe for the oath of office. No less magnificent when he kisses his wife good-bye on the morning of a parade is George Granger, coachman of the Lord Mayor of London, in his tricoin white-plumed hat, his gold-trimmed jacket bright with a rosette, his pink silk stockings, his shoes with fancy bows. Not magnificent at all, compared with them, is the mayor of the City of New York, in his silk hat, plain cutaway and striped trousers.

It seemed at least an even bet that Mayor James John Walker of New York, famed for his dandyism, felt almost humiliated when he visited London in 1927 to be received in state by the Lord Mayor and driven about in the Lord Mayor’s coach by the Lord Mayor’s coachman. It seemed more than likely that Dandy Walker had longed for finer feathers when he received Prime Minister MacDonald at Manhattan in October. So last week the London Daily Chronicle told its readers and astonished U. S. citizens with this story: That Mayor Walker would soon burgeon forth in ceremonial robes every bit as magnificent as the London Lord Mayor’s or his coachman’s. According to the Chronicle, Mayor Walker had sent “a special courier to England commissioned to find robes gorgeous enough to symbolize the wealth, prestige, dignity and history of New York.” Willie Clarkson, London theatrical costumer, had prepared designs, which he described: “One is that of a burgomaster of the 16th Century, with certain modernization. The City of New York was originally New Amsterdam and therefore the headdress is pure Dutch. . . . The second design is a cross between the Lord Mayor of London’s robes and the Burgomaster of Amsterdam’s, with some reference to the old city of York.” Also, said the Chronicle, there would be a trailing red cape, embellished with gold and ermine, a tricorn hat fringed with white feathers like Coachman Granger’s. New Yorkers waited attentively for the press to ask Mayor Walker if it were true. Emotions were mixed when he denied the tale, hat, robes & feathers. But Dandy Walker’s emotions were not mixed. Equal to any such occasion he remarked: “It’s the best English joke I ever heard.”