Show f 1 I washington the nation s social capital i special correspondence nov IS JS social cov the to become washington ington the such are ital of the nation indications has been the while the city always activity by reason center of treat social distinction of the people of the of with the administration connected in its various departments it has in the last few years been at of great wealth acting many people and prominence in society not connect ed with the government this tendency Is now more noticeable than ever before and the indications for the coming season are that the col THOMAS T WA JaHS KEW ony rf fashionable folk will be greatly increased many rich new are coming here and the seat of fashion la likely to bo transferred from fifth avenue to dupont circle for tho season at least whether the smart bet will make its permanent winter home here remains to be seen but it is not unlikely the wave of wealth and fashion which tor some years has been landing to the metropolis multimillion aires from all over the country reemt to be receding and the tendency h now to seek other habitation it la therefore not unnatural that washington tho most beautiful and artistic city on this continent should lecomp winter capital as newport la its summer scat A notable group 0 newcomers likely to take front rank in washington so claty the coming season are the three wilson el mrs ogden and mrs jr or new bolfe and mrs michael herbert wife of the new british ambassador to the united states they form a boccal combination that can hardly be equaled mrs herbert la known as a woman of great tact and many accomplishments her husband who comes of a lineage among the best in england became british charge daf faires at wash ington through lord sackville westa terrible blunder and has since advanced steadily in the diplomatic field while his wife haa kept eyen pace with him in social distinction mrs godet Is the widow of ogden goelet who as favorite heir of reter godlef came in tor a large share of a estate shortly after bla marriage the union of the younger sister and cornelius despite his fathers opposition Is still fresh in the public mind iier social triumphs are BO recent and have been so widely heralded as not to require enumeration among the most notable of these was her entertainment 0 prince henry of j another new yore woman of social prominence who has lately come to washington to make her home Is airs jvan rensselaer bruger known to the world as jullen gordon and ito her neighbors aa the princess 1 she would not be jullen gordon did bhe not surround herself with a roman tic atmosphere so that when mrs cru eer came to washington last tall in tead of a bouse in the tash portion of the city she chose a phalby old mansion on the corner of twenty fifth and K streets it was breather beaten and worn and quite tor lorn in its aspect but it bad a history i the house and its garden belong to the old peters estate and this old mansion was the first british legation in the capital it Is over years old and within W walls many a scene of diplomatic and interest has been jen acted for in its day it bad no superior in the splendor and elegance of the entertainments which went on under its roof A memory of those old days to cling to it still prominent among those not anwash ington official life who have established homes here la thomas P walsh the colorado mining king who is worth at least besides being the of these millions mr walsh has become a famous man of the and la known on two continents as tae gaoat hospitable and lavish of it began this way mr walsh was appointed commissioner colorado to the paris exposition tn and while tn the french capital beavo a series of entertainments that were the talk of europe he chartered a steamboat on the river seine turned it into a floating palace and gave a dinner with distinguished men as his guesta hla wine could not bo surpassed the music was furnished y artista from the grand opera after athla extraordinary feast clr walsh with hl and friends chartered a train of five balaco cars luxuriously fated up with the kilts and decorations used on the bleamer for the banquet and began a tour of france and eel plum t it was while on this tour that king leopold of belgium met mr marsh at ostend and they bad a grand t hotel altz at which the azars czars band plarea and the great singers of paria were beard in the course of this en ti orally twuwa to abo irine wm be wa only per cart on ills investments Invest menta mr bateh in an chey graceful manner said he waa always bure of 10 per cent on bia investments from to arc wat woula have been more accurate he tw bably did sot want to atie ana B put abe branes in taft be was eel alb attle that 1 l gate and develop the property in good american stylo while mr walsh did not go there himself he entered into a business arrangement with the king and sent trusted exports to size up the mines and heir value so it was that a european monarch became a elde partner 0 the colorado miner mr walsh insists that he doea not care for society but thai whatever he docs in this direction Is for the sake ot his wife and daughter of whom he is very fond and proud it delights him to see them leaders in the social world ills wife by the way was a pretty wisconsin girl with whom he fell in love anu married when he was a poor man As he grew wealthy and her social life widened she was equal to every emergency in tact she became a social leader and when those dinners were given in europe she was the queen of the hour fascinating brilliant and overflowing with kindness and hospitality mr walsh Is now building as his permanent washington home a light stone palace on ho west massachusetts spoke of the dupont circle which Is becoming the hub of wealth and fashion it will when completed be a close rival of the majestic winter palace of leal Z leiter the chicago merchant prince and father of the of india the leiter castle which Is on the opposite spoke of the dupont wheel from the mansion of senator dark of montana was built of milwaukee cream colored brick every brick it Is said being handmade nand made and coming anto washington in a separate wrapping of paper the letters who have made their home here tor some years have become one of the most prominent families of the national capital society will not however have an opportunity to enjoy their brilliant entertainments the coming season as mrs leiter and miss daisy leiter have gone to india to attend the delhi durbar as the guests of tho viceroy and mrs letter carried with her the most elaborate wardrobe owned by any american woman even among the costly regal robes of the princess of india it will scarcely be surpassed for splendor her jewels are unsurpassed by those of any american woman one rope of rubies alone being worth hundreds of thousands ot dollars to this are added five diamond necklaces and long ropes of pearls with a dozen diamond brooches and pennants pendants pend ants and a coronet of diamonds and aher rare jewels of fabulous value mrs leiter owns several lace gowns that have occupied years of the lives of lace makers and a white batan gown embroidered in jewels her other laces are worth several hundred thousand collars Mol lars miss daisy leiter spent two years in india with lady curzon and became famed for her beauty and brilliant riding mrs letter will return to america in february or march but miss loiter will remain abroad for some time another chicago millionaire whose home will be on the dupont circle Is robert allson patterson who succeeded the late joseph as editor in chief at the chicago tribune and whose wife Is elinor daughter of the distinguished journalist mr patterson Is building a magnificent white marble palace which will be flu I 1 ishad in time for the coming gay sea eon george westinghouse the pittsburg airbrake air brake king has lately acquired for hia wife the blaine property obliquely across the dupont circle from the leiter mansion the house which Is of red brick four stories high was long mastion considered one of the finest residences in washington it was for a number of years the homo 0 the for which they paid an annual rental of abo family have spent the winters in washington for some years living at the arlington where they entertained lavishly in the neighborhood of the dupont I 1 wheel of fortune are the homes of other persons of wealth and distinction among them the rev J A aspinwell a millionaire episcopal clergyman mrs alexander graham nell wife nf the millionaire telephone king and mrs richard townsend the occupant of what is known as the ghost palace lately built on massachusetts chu avenue these arc n few of the many millionaires conspicuous in the civilian society of the capital though not connected with the administration of the govern ment whose presence here justifies my introductory observation that washington Is becoming the social aa well ax the political capital of the nation t SAMUEL 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