Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, February 15, 1903, Page 23

_— Cliques in (Copyright, 1908, by Amy R. Haskell) O THE NOVICE in Washington's I official life, society for the first year is a maddening, mystic maze in which she is perpetually face to face with the least de- sirable reflections in the mirrors. During the second year she succeeds in straight- ening out to her own satisfaction and, in- cidentally, that of her guests and acquaint- ances, the question of precedence. And just about the time that her husband's term expires and they drift back to their native city, she discovers that all this while she might hatve been one of a delight- ful and independent clique, if only she had known the ropes, Social life at the national capital divides itself along two distinet lines—officially and temperamentally. The official divisions are determined by certain unwritten laws handed down from administration to ad- ministrution. These must be obscrved at all functions of an official nature, but, having done her duty in this reapect, a woman is free to make such friends as she clects. But woe unto the womsn who does not observe first these official dis- tinctions, or who, through motives of per- sonal friendship, givos precedence to a civilian when representativea of official life are also her guests. From the president himself to the departmeut clerk, all are slaves to thesé social laws. The woman who is experienced in Wash- irgton life, whose husband has served more than one term, knowa her social code so thoroughly that she dispatches all official duties by routine and has ample time to enjoy such relaxation as appeals to her sisters in private life. Custom and the inordinate clamor for rank and the right of precedence have sep- aratgd the “smart set” of official life into various small cets, or cligues, which en- tertain among themselves and keep jealcusly aloof from all other cliques sa.e on such vecasions as the prescribed state or offi- cial “affairs” make appearance and ostef- sible cordiality almcest obligatory. What might be termed the “White House' set consists of the chief executive and his family, the members of his cabinet and their wives and daughters, and the chief justices and families. In addition to meeting at purely official functions, there is likely to be a more friendly feeling among them, evidenced by informal dinners and even simpler forms of entertaining. The diplomatic corps forms another small clique, marked by the most pronounced forms and ceremonials in the capital. The representatives of the monarchies in par- ticular know their etiquette as the Moham- medan his Koran, and in their limited circle are wheels within wheels, the watch- ing of which gives the humble outsider social vertigo. In the matter of formal entertaining, par- Gleanings From the T a recent banquet in New York ex-Congressman McAdoo of New Jersey presided. His opening words pertained to the coal situ- ation, and he aroused great laughter when he tcld of his returning from Burope lust year. When he arrived he was holding a handkerchief over his eye. A Hibernjan customs officer asked: ‘‘Why are you holding your eye under cover?” “There’'s a bit of coal in my eye, re- eponded McAdoo. ‘‘Ah, bringing in coal, are you, sir? You'll have to pay a duty on that."” PRI iy At the same banquet Hon. Heary Burke of Philadelphia said: ‘‘One of the wittiest retorts 1 ever heard was of an Irish lady in Philadelphia. Her husband had heard a riddle, ‘Why are you like a donkey? and the answer, ‘Because your better half is stubbornness itself.’ It gave him an opportunity to get a glorious dig at his wife, s0o when he got home he asked, ‘Bllen, can you tell me why I am like a donkey?' and she answered, ‘I suppose it was because you were born so.’" -——0,—- Marshall P. Wilder was recently engaged by Mr. Vanderbilt, whose charity is dis- played in many ways of which the general public wots but little, to entertain the in- mates of one of the Keeley institutes. After the entertainment, relates the New York Times, the humorist was taken on a tour of inspection about the place. Some of the patients were still highly delirious, and shouted in their mad ravings in a manner to make even the humorist shudder. One of them suddenly roared from his room that it was full of snmakes, and was wild in his fear of the imaginary reptiles. Sud- denly he changed his tone and declared that there was a woman in his room, and then relapsed into silence. “She must have been a snake-charmer,” murmured Wilder, as they moved on to the next ward. PEECTEY ' “Yes, I am from Minneapolis,” sald E. P. Buss, general western representative of the Berlin machiné works, quoted by the Washington Post, “and I suppose.that it 1s up to me to tell some story lndicative ot the hostile feeling - existing’ betwden my burg and St. Paul, our meat liftle rival across the river. The latest ofe 1 ‘know is of the Minneapolis Norwegian who was being prevailed upon by an importunate “telling stor -Pingree. g et g MRS. ROOSEVELT, IN TFACT as WELL AS NAME, WASHINGTON'S SOCIAL LEADER. ticularly in giving dinners, the hostess is frequently confronted by the question of precedence in its most formidable form. It takes infinite tact to seat those whose knowlcdge of their social rights seems for the thme being their most absorbing prob- lem. While rights of procedure go to for- eign ambassadors and ministers, should a chief justice and his aides be present they hold equal social rank. The senatorial contingent claira the same pogition; hencce the only safe path for the hostess to follow is to avoid entertaining o.ficials cf equal rank at the same dinner, Men 1nay be teco busy to make a social mountain out of a mole hill, but with women it is a burning question. It is still debated whether the wives of cabinet min- isters should call on the wives of the mem- bers of the supreme court or vice versa, and at all dinners daughters of justices and senators expect to precede daughters of private citizens. Many heart burnings and the severing of friendships have followed infringement of this rule. It may be inter. esting also to learn t(hat strangers call upon the ladies of the official world first. Probably the most enjoyable of the sets now in existence is Mrs. Roosevelt's pri- vate musical ccterie, in which are found many of her friends, irrespective of rank or condition—an innovation which may surely be granted the “first lady of the land,” for she may nct show partiality or special friendliness to any one when fulfilling her official duties. As the wife of the presi- book agent to buy & bible. The flaxen- haired man from the cold peninsula was all but persuaded when he happened to glance within the volume and ran across the name St. Paul; he threw the book down in disgust, saying, ‘Aye tank you can’'t fool me into buying a book that has anything to say about St. Paul.’ “At least, that is not so old as the tale of the Minneapclis minister who was fired by his congregation because he took his text from St. Paul,” said Mr. Buss. —_— “It always pays to be conservative,” said Internal Revenue Commissioner Yerkes, quoted by the New York World. “Now, I recall the case of the man from Dyers- ville, Dyer county, Tenn. ‘“‘I can lick any man in Dyersville,” he announced one day on the main street of that village. “There was no response. ‘I can lick any man in Dyer county,’ he then proclaimed. “8Still there was no reply to the chal- lenge. Emboldened by the success of his bluff, the man shouted, ‘I can lick any man in Tennessee!’ “At that a long, lank mountaineer peeled off his coat and wiped up the street with the boaster. “‘Gentlemen,’ said the braggart, as he brushed off his clothes, ‘the trouble with me - is that I scatter tee durn much.' " + A woman with her Irttle son, a child of 4 years of age, inquired of a man standing in one of our railway stations: * n you tell me what time the next train leaves fo! Scranton?"’ . ‘“At t-t-wenty m-m-niutes p-p-past f-f-four.” About five minutes later she again put the same question tp the same man, and he repeated the same answer in the same stuttering way. When she ap- proached him for the third time with the same query he said to her: “W-why do ¥-y-you a-a-ask me s-s-so0 m-m-many t-t- times? I-1 a-a-al-ready t-t-told you t-t-twice.” “I know you did,” replied the woman, ““but my little bey likes to see you work your mouth."” n ‘delegation to congress is about ‘the late Goveérnor The Mich “One night,” said Representative Cor- liss, “‘just before Pingree left the governor- ship, he thought he would like to put out MRS. CORBIN, WIFE OF GENERAL CORBIN, LEADER OF THE MIL- ITARY CLIQUE. dent she nover infringes upon the unwrit- ten laws of precedence, but as Mre. Roose- velt she opens her parlors occasionally to thote who appeal to her personally. These" affairs are of the simplest sort, and Mrs. Roosevelt is usuaily assisted by Miss Hag- ner and Miss Alice Roosevelt, Second comes the clique composed of private citizens, who make up a small pro- porticn of Washington’s “‘smart set.”” These pcople are of large means, entertain lav- ishly and, having no axes to grind, choose their friends from any of the antagonistic official circle. The most exclusive set——and the smallest in point of numbers—is compcesed of the old Washingtonians, who regard with aversion the official element. Their soctal functions consist of quict teas and dinners, given without ostentation or display. The nearest approach to aristocracy in Washington may be found among the army and navy people. Generation after genera- tion, drawing prestige from deeds of valor in many wars, have gone to Annapolis or West Point. No more polished men are to be found in America, and they hold their own in matters of etiquette and cere- monials with the foreign representatives. Social opportunities abroad and the inde- finable polish which is gained only through travel are theirs. The gnen marry women of wealth and family, and while among themselves they adopt a less stringent code, et official functions they are sticklers for the prestige and precedence due their rank. Story Tellers’ a farewell message to his enemies. He wrote about 20,000 werds. He was on the outs with about all the newspapers in the state and he didn't know how to get the message printed. He finally made up his mind he would pay for it as advertising and he called up one of the owners of a Detroit paper by long-distance telephone from Lansing. Pingree told the publisher what he wanted and after a lot of figuring the Detroit man allowed he .could print the stuff for $1,233.25. “‘What!’ roared Pingree over the tele- phone. ‘Now, you git out, young man. I'm willing to retire one member of your firm for this job, but T ain’t going to put them all on Easy street at the same time.' " el iy The teacher had been explaining to the class in etymology the meaning of the word ‘‘gamy” as an ending in compounds and had taken as f{llustrations the three words “polygamy,” “bigamy'’ and ‘“‘monogamy.”’ “Polygamy, ch'ldren,” ghe explained, “is the condition of having several wives; bigamy, the condition of having two wives, and monogamy, that of having only one wife.” After discussing various other roots and words, relates the Philadelphia Ledger, she reverted to those she had first explained and put questions to tést the knowledge of her pupils. ‘“Now, children,” she said, “when a man has many wives, or a woman has many husbands, what do we ecall it?” “Polygamy,” was the response. ““And what is it when there are two wives or two husbands?" “Bigamy.” “Very good. But if the right state of affairs exists, and a man has only one wife and a woman only one husband—what is it then?"’ ““Monotony.” bbdieniiad Judge Adams, the county court judge of Limerick, in presiding at a lecture on Irish humor at the Irish Social club, in London, spoke of the humors of Irish matchmaking. According to the well known proverb, mar- riages were made in heaven, but anybody who knew rural Ireland knew that very often. marriagee were made in public - houses. They were generally made on Shrove 'Monday, and the talk between the parties concernéd was not of love, or con- stancy, or of blue eyes and golden halr, but mostly about cows and sheep, pigs and feather beds. It often happened that a Washington Social Life In both the senatorial and congressional cliques there is much friendliness. This is due probably to the fact that so many of the various members, with their families, came from the same portions of the country and were friends or acquaintances prior (o the exodus to V'ashington official lifo. Again there is, especially among the new- comers, a bond of sympathy between the women In their struggle for recognition, all moeting the same formidable unknown eti- quette of official rules in Washington. It must not be forgotten, too, that there is a vast army of lesser government em- ployes who flock to the official receptions and balls, and who fancy that they are enjoying the highest of social life. This set probably containe the oddest and most amusing of the types, The callow youth who has recently acquired an appointment and who attends his first ‘‘reception,’” is not quite certain whether he should wear A dress suit and high hat at 4 o'clock p. . m., or retain his business suit with his favorite red tia. He usually appears in a motely assor‘ment of clothes, having tried to efféect a compromise, shakes hands awk- wardly with his hostess, stands about for a bit and wishes he had not come. But he usually goes again and after a while learns something of the conventionalities. This type is omnipresent. The women as a rule are more adaptable and make fewer blun- ders. Then there is, too, the eternal visiting, floating population secing Washington, who find it nice to return to their rural homes and tell their friends that they attended this or that reception. In many cases they make the same laughable mistake of not going as casual onlookers in street attire, Among other .interesting sets s one that consists of a small army of young women who represent the four sections of the country—woll-bred girls, daughters pf men of wealth, who spend winter after winter in Washington at some ‘‘finishing school.” They cstensibly take a course in this or that thing, but their rcal motive js to enjoy the social functions to which they can obtain entre. One of the best known and perhaps the most successful and popular of these “schools” has as its head a southern woman of infinite tact and good breeding. She has personally, by birth and breeding an entre to many of the most exclu- sive affairs, irrespective of the social or Jfficial status of the entertainer, and “her girls"” thus often obtain a social footing and invitations where even the most eager of some other set finds it Im- poesible to break down the barriers. These young women hear all the best music, go to all the best shows, are earefully chap- eroned on all oceasions and are perhaps the happiest of all who participate in the queer social life of Washington. Pack bride and bridegroom met for the first time at the altar. A young girl once rushed into the house of a girl friend of hers and said: ‘““Mary, Mary, I'm to be married in the morning!"” “Yerrah, to whom?' inquired her friend. “To ome of the boys of the Donovans.” “To which of them?" asked her friend. “Well,”" said the bride, “’twas rather dark near the fireplace and T didn’t. rightly know which.”” The judge mentioned another case where a woman called out to her daughter an hour earlier than usual of a morning: ‘“‘Mollie, get up at omce!" “Yerrah, for what, mother?” “You're to be married today, Mollie.” “Indeed, and to whom?’ inquired Mollie. “Now, what's that to you?"' replied the mother. _Q_ i In one of the large manufacturing es- tahlishments in Philadelphia an Irishman was employed to watch one of the en- trances. ' One day the superintendent saw the Irish- man was neglecting his duty, and told him to go to the office and get his money, as his services were no longer needed. The superintendent went away on busi- ness that day, and was gone about a week or ten days. On his return he happened to be passing this sam~ place, and was surprised to find the Irishman he had discharged still acte ing as watchman. He said: “I thought I discharged you'a couple of weeks ago.” “‘Sure,” says the Irishman. “Well, why didn’t you get out when you were told?"’ “Oh! T know when I got a good boss, 1¢ you don't know when you have a good man.” Needless to say, he is still there. .y ke One of Dr. Lorenz's compatriots chuckles every time Le tells this anecdote, which s told as an actual occurrence in the great surgeon's career. “The doctor was always very charitable, and treated a gr2at many people grotui- tously, Among them was a poor little girl in whose case he was deeply interasted, One mworning Dr. Lorenz happened to meet her mother, aud was surprised to hear that his patient had died a few days before, “Why dian't you send for me when the change came?’ he asked, “We were going to do so, sir, but we thought it better to let the dear child die a natural death,” was the tearful answer.