and i believe merriweather post, of the post family of notoriety, heard about their plight. they were all encamped in anacostia. she actually had her chauffeur drive her to the willard hotel, and she walked in and asked to see the manager. and she asked him if she could order 5000 sandwiches and lemonade and ice-tea for the marchers, as well as several thousand packs of cigarettes. eager to accommodate, the manager honored her request and had the items delivered to the marchers. which gives you an idea of how closely aligned the willard family, over the years, over 200 years in fact, were aware of what the needs were of the city and its inhabitants, whether they were affluent or not. and that tradition continued through the 1930's and 1940's. interesting point of the fact is the fact that the patent office being in close proximity, you , had a lot of people visiting washington with new ideas, innovative ideas, whether it be elevators steam or gas engines, , air-conditioning, you name it. those ideas would come across the willard, either in the lobby or at the round-robin bar