A Bigger but Cheaper Bash

Those inaugural balls will be known simply as "parties." Party goers will be admitted for under $25, instead of paying up to $1,000. Most of the parade route will be open to the public, free of charge; the usual tickets, at as much as $50, will not be required. When he is sworn in as President, Jimmy Carter will wear a dark business suit rather than a formal cutaway.

Those are just some of the ideas already adopted by a team of Inauguration planners headed by Washington Attorney Bardyl R. Tirana, 38, a Carter campaign aide. The object is to make the incoming President look more like a man of the people than did his immediate predecessors. Between 300,000 and 400,000 guests are to be invited to the Jan. 20 festivities--including virtually everybody who in any way helped Carter on his long march to victory. The prospect gives some cause for alarm (see page 10). But the Carter team hopes those who attend will have fun. There are plans to hold as many mass parties --at least six--as the size of the crowd requires. Carter intends to stop in at each one. The capital's museums and tourist attractions are being asked to stay open late to accommodate visitors. Says Tirana: "We want everybody, regardless of what party they belong to, to feel they are welcome in Washington."

Despite inflation, the planners expect to cut the overall Inauguration costs by one-fourth--from the roughly $4 million Nixon spent in 1973 to $3 million. Instead of asking private businesses to furnish automobiles and oil companies to donate free gasoline, Carter's aides are announcing that private donations up to $5,000 will be accepted to finance these and other expenses--a limitation meant to exclude undue influence from wealthy corporations. Initial financing will come mostly from a $500,000 advance from Pennsylvania's Franklin Mint on the sale of souvenir inaugural medals, bearing Carter's likeness. The sales may eventually net the inaugural committee $1 million.

Behind the scenes, a gentle family tug of war seems to be under way. "Just plain Jimmy" is not fond of black-tie dress for those nighttime parties, let alone the white-tie-and-tails costuming of inaugural balls. But Wife Rosalynn, out of understandable sentiment, is apparently determined to wear the same blue satin gown she wore on the evening of her husband's inauguration as Governor of Georgia in 1971. That would mean Jimmy would have to dress up too. Intimates are betting that Rosalynn will win.

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