| OCR Text |
Show I "The President and Mrs. Taft Request the Honor of Your Presence ' I ! Y WILLIAM ATHERTON DU PUY. 1 fiift four rca(est social jjatlipnnffa J 1 he nation hnows in the span of tho r .',rc. to take place within tho nest "j vt-eks. Those arc the four formal Lntious at the while house in Wash-t Wash-t ' nfon, t0 whit,,l arn ijlvitpd thoso 'r ade'd as the elite of tho official and f ''h life of tho nation. The diplomatic f Sntion on Tuesday next will for- I reallv PP lhis 1,rief Spn" vrheu 11,0 StLial season at tho nation s capital Lv he said to bo at its height. On Foiini-iry S (he army and navy recep- o will end the season for -white house ntcrtaininp and functions thereafter b0 in tho natnro of ante-climaxes. h jj the meantime thero will have hcen ! fc'tld the J',(liciBl reception and that to ViU members of congress. Thero will f lave been interspersed tho diplomatic 'dinner and tho dinner to the suproino i'' court, but these tako second place to io rer.oplioa. And I ho heyday for I? these is now oh. t Tho only society thai, the United St3tcs has that may bo classed as na- II iional is that which rovolves around I ho 'fannies of the official set in "Washing! on , th (he president and his family na its Venter It is in reality national and in-PttanaKoiial in-PttanaKoiial for that matter, or the von-VfLcntativcs von-VfLcntativcs of all .the American people J- litend and the nations of tho world arc Mf i rrorcented by thciv diplomats. It eons''' eon-s''' rafts fitxonRly with tho most elahorato f,' crings in other cities, for those must W of necessity bo local and unofficial, while that at Washington never descends de-scends to so narrow a plane. Just the manner of the. arrangement of theso rocptions. the list of those re-cpivinr re-cpivinr invitations, the way in which the details are carried out nro mailers of more interest (han nnj-tliiinr that occurs oc-curs in social circles on l he ronlinent Tho invitafions, for instance, arc all out lone ajo. Their preparations and the making of tho list, to whom thy might .be sent, has bceli tho work of a corps of clerks and social arbiters for months past. There is tho blanket list of cov-ernment cov-ernment oflipinls as a fouudai ion. These have standing invitations because of their ofiieinl connections and includo all men in tho departments, ranging ;i; high as bureau chief. Quito naturally all members of congress appear on this list. Representatives of foreign countries coun-tries and their secretaries of legation follow. Officials of the army and navv stationed in Washington aro included, vifry ofteu liberal constructions of their positions, for I ho military i ranked high in the social affairs of the nation. To these nre added the per&onal friends and social acquaintances of ( lu president presi-dent and his family for the making of tho lists is entirely m their hands. Those ranked high in social circles in Washington arc customarily included, although each administration has its own guage by which social acceptability is measured. "Society in return has sometimes some-times spurned the receptions al tho white house, and assumed the attitude of! being an arbiter above and beyond it. Again if li'aa assumed the ;nr of scorning it because of having first been slighted. Flood of Applications. Ordinarily acceptability at the white house has lent itself to social recognition recogni-tion and a failure of this stamp of approval ap-proval has worked to tho detriment of those who sought to movo in the best circles. Tho invitations of the president nnd his wife have been regarded as quite necessary to the ambitious of most people in societ.y while they have meant little io those outside of it ojher Ihan the gratification of having been remembered remem-bered fo.y the first man in the land. The desire, for it is eating the hearts out of scores of women in Washington toda3'", while, its receipt is a matter of indifference indiffer-ence o other scores who do not go in for that sort of thing. The social socro-laries socro-laries could tell if they would of stories of false prejense thai might have secured se-cured millions and of quest ionable methods that havo been eniploved to obtain ob-tain these coveted invitations. There is. on the other hand, the congressman and the official who care nothing for them and give their cards to thejr secretaries sec-retaries or constituents from the forks of the creek to use al will. There is the flood of applications for invitations well endorsed and may be approved or not in accordance of the white house. Lists Cut to the Bone. Jt is in respect to this matter of in-vilations in-vilations thai, Sr?. Taft is inaugurating one of the luoyt. marked changes in social so-cial Washington. The. lists are this year to be cut to the bone. Where. HOOO people attended the Roosevelt receptions but lOun will go to the white house to meet, the Tofts. The health of the first lady of the land has something to do wilh this changed order of things. The Tfooscvolts let the bars dovrn to great j hordes of people, f'ougressuien and personal per-sonal friends might well request invitations invita-tions for their friends for the Roosevelt Roose-velt s were likely to accede to theni. The attendance at tho receptions tvas most democratic. A frock coat, a tuxedo, a street suit, even a shirtwaist and skirt have been seen at the Roosevelt Roose-velt receptions- Tho diplomatic corps were hielincl lo be horrified and to express ex-press grave fear for our standing in the eyes of the world because of these innovations, in-novations, but the chief executive shook the. hands of the wearers and worried not at all. Number of Guests Limited. p.,,1 Aire Tofl ? In orivilK- limit- (lie number of guests. To shako the hands of 1000 people iu two hours is no mean task and only the most strenuous will-inglv will-inglv attempts it. Mr. Taft will shake 1000 hands, but for that thousand he will do 'liioio than was done for tho greater number. They -will be served with someVhmg to eal! Hero is rejuve. uated an idea that has laid dormant, for a generation. Visitors at the white house were formerly given something to .eat but tho custom was abandoned many years ago. II is to be revived and through this season at le.-ist all who com are to be refreshed. This program pro-gram offers an additional pretext for the curtailment of the inA'itation list. Will Attend But One Reception. The outlook is not so bad as it might appear, however, to the socially aspiring. aspir-ing. The Tnfts will probably get around to almost, as many people, as did tho I?oo:olfs, but nobody will receive a u invitation lo more than one reception. Members of congress were formerly invited in-vited to thrco out of four of the receptions recep-tions and many other individuals came in for more than one. This vear this .system will be discontinued and but one call to lhe mecca of social ambitions will be extended. Thus the ground covered cov-ered may be extended to comparatively broad circles. As to the manner in which n white house reception is conducted the explanation ex-planation is simple. To understand it tho idea of the main floor of the whito house must be borne in mind. The east room is at one end of this floor and the .family dining room is al the other. Be jtweon them in tho rear are three rooms, in which for a hundred years, history has been made. These are the red room, the blue room and the green room, always al-ways so styled and decorated in accord ance. Above are tho living rooms of tho president and his family and below are tho long corridors leading to the r.'ist. win". Trumpet Gives Signal. At ft o'clock a trumpet is blown ou tho main floor informing the president that tho hour is at hand for the reception recep-tion and is a signal for the starting of tho lino of guests. The president and his wife followed by Ihc official family, tbo members of the cabinet aud thnir wives, descend from abovo and take their places in the room. If it happens to bo diplomatic night the foreign representatives rep-resentatives nnd their families arc let I iu from the southwest gate and arc ro 1 cnived in advance of the other guests. . Otherwise there is no precedence, lem-! lem-! bcrs of congress aro forced to take their place in line with the mass of the guests and see no more of the oflicial head of the nation than do others. Guests Come Early. All the other invited guests have boon waiting for hull' an hour in the lower halls. People come early to tho white house receptions for in this way they get near the head of tho line and l.hev reach the east room before lhe l dignitaries havo gone away. The guests havo put away their wrap's in the east wing. Tho head of tho lino is at the top of the stairs that leads to the main floor. It is solid column of twos down stairs. It is still solid down the great hallway whoro aro displayed the painted portraits of former masters and mistresses of tho white houso and of rich china and silver they have left, to tho mansion as heirlooms. The lino is yet solid through the long hnll that lends lo the cast; entranco, a full block awny according to the ordinary method of measuriuc. Here again the line doubles back on itself in another hallway hall-way and is still a solid phalanx for it takes a long line to hold 1000 pooplo. Lino Moves Promptly. At the sound of tho trumpet tho line begins to move, Tt crosses the grand ontrnnco of tho whito house and sens the first of the reception rooms in the dining room, draped with , rich tapestries, tapes-tries, tho gifts of the empress of Japan, who spent $.10,000 in having made a single hanging for Mrs. Taft. Tho heads of great moose and things of the wihl hold I heir places as a reminder of a great hunter who once dined here with some regularity! Tho lino winds through tho red room and into the middle mid-dle room of the three, that, done in blue. If is in this same blue room that, the family of tho president sit every evening even-ing of lhe week and talk about the things of Ihc household. Near ono window win-dow is a big music box which is known to play a big part' in the passing away of the idle hours of the head of the nation. na-tion. Thai genial individual winds it for himself every night and selects the records that, are to be played. There may be some opera and the classics ma.y figure to a certain extent in lhe musical program. Hut one thing is certain, cer-tain, ragtime will not be forgotten! A1 careful examination of the records would show that those of lhe quick and lively cakewalk variety aro most worn ou ihem all! And be it remembered that once in this same room were heard the sweet strains of the wedding march when Frances Kolsom become one of the most charming mistresses I hat (lie white house ever held. For it was hero that, O rover Cleveland was married. Plumb Into President. In enlering. this room the procession turns a corner aud runs plumb inlo tho president, giving an imitation of working work-ing at the old town pump, and at his side stands his wife, while beyond is a receiving line of cabinet officials and Ihrir wives. Your name is asked by the aide to the president, this season f'apt. Archibald Williiigham de Oraffen-rejd Oraffen-rejd P.ptl ,.and yon arc, announced. The president shakes your, hand, and of old said DE-lighted! ' in so familiar a way that you knew that ho had an absorbing ab-sorbing personal interest in. you. This year the smile is assured but (he phraseology phrase-ology of the presidential greeting h:i3 yet to be developed. Vases Loaded Down. You hnve regarded the evening as be ing iu its preliminary stages until you reach and greet the president and thon, suddenly, you find that it is over. You aro hustled along so that the next of the thousand may have an opportunty lo greet the chief executive. You pass into the cast, room. You remember that Dolly Madison used to hang out the clothes here because there was so much else in the house she hail no other use for it, and that Alice Roosevelt was married life. It. is a nice roomy place and knots of people gather and gossip a bit and sifl away and start home, li'rcat fires arc laid on the andiron? and await but lhe match. Huge, old vases adorn the mantles and here you scent, a mystery, for the vases arc "filled with sand when not with flowers. 1 f you are on the inside you may licit the informal infor-mal ion that, this is done with a well laid purpose in view. The east room is open lo (he public every day nnd Ihc Americans are notorious souvenir limit -1 ers. A'n emply vase might find ils way under a cape, but one filled with sand would be he.T. y and (he sand would be likely lo spill and lead to bclrnyal. Sit Down to Quiet Dinner. When the line of guests has filed past the president and his partv, that dignitary digni-tary lends the way up tho wide and easy stairs to tho portion of the house that is regarded as strictly private and the living quarters of tho family, lie is followed by tho members of the cabinet cabi-net and their families and these sit down to a quiet dinner in a circle all their own. The drone of the carriage calls in tho distance dies away and the midnight quiet settles down on the home of presidents, Mrs. Taft had prepared for maii3" innovations in lhe procedure at Ihc executive mansion under tho present adniinist ration. Her programme included in-cluded many things not wholly in accord, ac-cord, wilh precedent. She had strong opinions of her-owK on all manner of matters aud was preparing to arrange for new things. Her illness of the summer sum-mer and tho fact she is not outircly herself as yet makes it unlikely that she will assume any great activity during dur-ing tho winter and it has been a heartfelt heart-felt disappointment lo her and her fain-ily. fain-ily. Despite it she has taken hold of social arrangements in moro detail than many of her predecessors for many years, ITer band will 1 be felt more directly for she is misfrpss of the whito houso in fact. The invitation list for example comes directb; lo her. This is nsualb left to pome person particularly fitted by long residence in Washington nnd consequent conse-quent knowledge of the question of who is who in society. Mrs. Taft has lived much in the capital city and is as familiar wilh these matters as any one and consequent- will sec to them. Bars Down for Handicap. The season is now on. The bars arc down for the social handicap and there ll are manj- entries for the running, Tho JH season has been a favorable ono for tho 'IH training and tho contestants arc pull jH ing on the bit. One Tuesday night the '11 myriad lights of tho mansion that has IH sheltered many presidents will be all gl ablaze and that procession of carriages Jl bearing the elite of the land will wind "IH its way to tho east wing and empty its load into the corridors that have known more (of distinction than any others on '!iH the continent. The season will run its JH six weeks, making history for that part rH of tho populace to whom such thiugs aro lH the wholo of life and pass as have thoso ilH that havo gono before. It is the firts jH season of a new ndmininstration aud (iH tbo importance of the social develop- rH meats is of unusual significance for IH shakcups aro no less likely in such 11 circles than in thoso of other phases of politics. Nothing to It. il Aud ?o th reception to whic.h vou ''H are invited by the President and Mrs. Taft is over. Asido from somo broken hearts and ruined aspirations there is really nothing more to it and you aro . surprised at its simplicity and at tho sudden ending, i ou had heard so much of these great receptions lhal. you ex- "pcetcd more just, what 'ou cannot say. Still it was a great thing to go to the white house on tho invitation of tho tl head of il and you will tell the folks bade home about it and lhe children. When it is all over and you look back on it there was a lot of fuu in it and JM you would not have missed it for the H world. 'H |
