Show ads 0 T lid A 1 14 y 1 r 41 04 irv nap I 1 7 I 1 af 1 I L F 16 4 I 1 T lw 14 washington socially stands singular tills this does not mean that in the ordinary ary inter changes of social amenities the capital city Is different from other cities of the land but in the structural aspect and in the method and manner of the doings of its society or rather societies IN washington ashington Is I 1 unquestionably a city apart the fact act that this city Is the capital of a great countr country and that here the chief officials of that country dwell coupled with the farther fact of the presence prence of a large foreign official element accounts for the singularity Ingul arity of washington in its social life there are seen distinct social circles in the city of 11 washington ashIngton each circle has its distinct and each enjoys its own somewhat isolated activities tivi ties and yet there are times when all the circles become concentric and within the one clr cir cum ference the members of all circles mingle does this sound obscure in truth it Is a very ery I 1 simple matter the seven social circles of IN wash ash ington are those of the administration of con congress gres of the diplomats of the army and na navy nay y of the judiciary of the scientists and of the old resl dents so it Is that all through the so called social season NN washington ashington witnesses all kinds of doings which are separate one from another and which are attended only by those were nere bom or have been inducted into the particular circum ference then comes perhaps some greater event and all are bidden and all go now why Is it that washington is as it Is social ly in the first place it Is what it Is because in tills this town except tor for the residential set neither birth nor money can count for anything it Is the office held or the attainments reached as in the case cae of the scientists which determines the position of the man and his family in washington society this Is america and the office and not the man must mut mu st be accepted and honored in wash ington a man may be poorer than the turkey of job and may have been born in a garret garrets but it if he has hag made good and the people have honored him by election to high office he freely can enter a I certain white house which the countey counte y counts as better than any newport or southampton man elon slon it has been intimated that washington society Is systematized so it Is it has to be the presence of so many foreigners of high official and personal position has made precedence a prime me matter in the capital city foreigners are great grent k etick lers tor for what may be called the right of way the ambassador of longest service must precede a the ambassador of shorter service and bis his wife must precede the other ambassadors wife or it there will be dire trouble this precedence has forced system into W wash ash Ing tons way of doing things socially in chicago one man and one woman st ct a reception can walk ahead of another roan man and another woman without mental discomfort to themselves and without injury to the feelings of the trailing couple in washington things are different because american office holders or more strictly speaking their wives have imbibed the precedence draught drought from the cupi of the foreigners and so here the cab cal inet net officer must walk ahead of the senator the senator ahead of the representative and the representative ahead of thomas jones who holds no office 1 all this may seem snobbish to the last degree but litt in a way the thing Is most excellently dem f the precedence given a roan man in washing ton really Is a compliment to the people who elected him to office or who elected the man who appointed him to office here Is where the demoa racy of washington society comes in despite its precedence and same some seeming fol de roll rols speaking of democracy in america who Is the first lady of the land she has bag been a working newspaper woman and an american housewife in a small city the administration circle proper comprises the president and his wife and the cabinet officers and their xvi wives es and famil families leq then ten cabinet 0 officers rank in the in which the departments which they represent were formed the list runs thus late state treasury war justice post lVe navy interior agriculture commerce and labor the social activities of the cabinet abinet part of the administration circle are confined almost entirely to small dinners given during the winter months they begin with the secretary of state and his ills wife as hosts and continue at the rate of one each week until concluded at the home of the secretary secre tari of labor each affair Is given in honor ot 0 the president and his wife and a few guests more often than not these guests are se defected e acted from oot out of town these with rare exceptions are the only functions that the president attends outside of the f 1 77 5 x r white iloie his ills wife ou on the contrary goes every u here that Is she goes to her most intimate friends for any occasion and to oth ers with whom she la Is not so go closely associated for special dents in truth the social head bead of ot this nation la Is the wife of the president and not the president him self although one hears much more about the large largel society affairs which take place at the white house they are few in number compared with the smaller affairs the wife of the president knowing sin nil all the various arious circles wants to do honor to each and in order to auld vate nate acquaintance in a familiar way gives a series of 0 teas and small receptions sometimes in the afternoon and again in the evening luncheon at the white house Is usually an informal affair to which the president invites guests frequently without much PreN previous lous notice the in kited are more often than not out of town friend who nho have lime come to washington for a few dais and have business at the white house it Is only occasionally that the white house luncheon be comes what nhat the society editor calls a function it would be difficult to estimate the extent of the entertaining which Is done in a vear ear 3 at the white house through the small and informal and semi informal affairs the probabilities are that thoa every day when the president and his wife are at home in washington guests partake of the hospitality hospital ltv of the historic house this sort of entertainment without doubt Is the most effective it enables both hosts and guests to become better acquainted it becomes possible for one to say the president and his wife know me instead of 1 I know the president and his big wife great state functions in saying a word for the ermall and intimate affairs there Is no intention to minimize the im tin of the great state functions which in their way amalgamate tor for the time being the various to dons circles which form washington society one Is able to determine to some extent what these huge assemblies accomplish from the fact that from two thousand to three thousand persons attend each of them to be sure there Is more or less crowding when they are indoor affairs but it Is amazing how well they are handled by the dents army and navy aids it has been the custom to hold four great recep hong each season the first Is in honor of the diplomatic corps the second for the judiciary the third for engress cin cn gress and the last for the army and davv no they take place soon after the christ mas holidays and are given ghen two weeks apart fach rach chooses the day of the week meek on which they shall bo be given thursday for some reason seems to have lime been the favorite day may Is the month for incite W alte hous garden parties these affairs are also the special pro province ince of the mistress of the mansion manion for invitations are sent out in her name Ilo however meer the president always Is present and receives with his big wife it Is perhaps needless to say that the parties are large ones one for there Is no reason to leave out anyone who Is eligible the white house grounds aie spacious and I 1 and no finer setting could bt found there are as a a rule tour four garden parties one 4 if ic weft mew until the series ends in case of rainy v either the party must be given in the white house houge much to the disappointment of everybody eNery body the ithe affair then becomes more like one of the winter receptions Is however a marked diffen nce in the receiving line whereas only he the president and his wife receive at the summer partis the wives of the vice president and cabinet offic officers eTs are in the line at their left at the winter receptions rj cry one living in the capital city wants nants to be invited to a white house garden par ty but it is the old re group who mho from time immemorial have considered the garden gardien fetes at the presidents house as their special festal privilege entertaining the corp corps an administration birge affair which jias developed into one of the most important during the season Is the luncheon to the diplomatic corps at which the secretary of state Is host at one time the secretary of state held the luncheon in his home but the expansion n of the foreign corps has made a private house impossible as a banquet hall and BO so the pan american union building of which washington justly is proud Is used each new lears day for the entertainment following the holiday reception at the white house the president also entertains the diplomats at a dinner but only the ambassadors and ministers are invited the state dining room of the executive mansion Is not spacious enough to include the entire secretarial corps other state dinners given by the president and his wife are in honor of or the speaker of the house of representatives and the vice lee president and their wives still an anther dinner includes the members of the su prem bench and their wives politics and society mixed it if there Is one set of people in washington which has an unbreakable entertaining habit it la Is the diplomatic corps this Is as it should be tor for diplomatic relations are maintained more or less through social relations anything or nothing Is an excuse tor for something to be given by diplomats it may be the coming of a new ambassador min ister secretary or then hen again it may b be the departure of some one of their number A wedding within the diplomatic circle Is sufficient reason for a score of social functions before the event takes place there Is also a circle within the diplomatic circle the south and central american countries are a group by themselves which forms the pan american union one of the roost most beautiful buildings by some it Is considered the most beautiful has been erected for the uses both official and social of the union just as the members of the diplomatic corps bring something from all parts of the world so the members of house and senate bring something from every enery state in the union in some ways the latter are the most important part of the life here and one Is made aware of it tn in many of lie the social affairs given for them especially by the members of the diplomatic corps politics and society are mixed up and yet there Is method throughout one of the first things for the wife of a newcomer in the diplomatic circle Is to find out who the members member of congress are in the foreign relations committees and then to call on the tho alies of both house and senate members that opens up a series of 0 calls tor for the senators and represent representatives athes wives one Is sure to see a large amount of entertaining among the diplomats tor for members of congress and their wives other great circles the army and navy generally are classed as one circle whereas they really are two distinct entities in washington however they get got together more inore flum in other the circle here Is a large one de despite aate the fact that there are many departures there are agwayo others to fill va canales and so it Is that the circle keeps going round with hops balls lunch luncheons ems dinners and bridge the members of the sister branches of the government service know how to have hane a good time and to make things move lr it the capital most blest peopert outside of washington may not realize what a considerable part of the population is 13 mida up of the scientists circle there are men working in every kind of science in the gov eminent service alth their families they form a good sized colony the official domicile of the scientists Is the cosmos club part of which was dolly madison s old home there Is no question about the importance and interest which this particular set adds to the social life of the national capital one word about the old residential set which loves loes to style itself the cave dwellers there are not so many of them for as one frequently hears everybody in washington comes from somewhere here else the real ca cave e dweller was I 1 born and raised here ilou however eier there are in the aden hal circle some outsiders who have spent most of their lives within the shadow of the capitol |