Increasing Intensity of Social Rivalries atv'Capital
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MRS. THOMAS F. WALSH. WIFE OF THE COLORADO MILLIONAIRE. MRS. MANNA. WIFE OF THE SENATOR FROM OHIO. Mus, KEGINALI) DEKOVKN. WIFE OF THE COMPOSER.
iCiipyi lnlit, 1902, by Waldon Fawcett )
I I tlonal capital Is rapidly resolv-
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no lonsiT merely presents the
spectacle, familiar In other cities,
of rhal social queens competing for the
posit Inn of supremacy, although thla phase
of the matter is not lacking, to be sure.
Hut, underlying and Influencing all the In
dividual campaigns for popularity and tran
scending them In importance Is the geu
eral contest between the people In official
life and as a body and the coterie of
wealthy residents of the city on the Po
tomac, sometimes denominated as the
"smart set."
This warfare, of which the country at
large ulready has some inkling, la the re
sult of latter day conditions at the Amer
ican seat of government. In the early days
of the republic when Washington was bo
unattractive that the nation's rulers and
their families, who were compelled to re
side there, cordially detested It and Bed
Immediately after the adjournment of con
gres In the spring, the social circle was
not divided Into two great rival factions.
The present genteel struggle has come
w0rfit slowly through the gradual trans
formation of Washington Into the most
beautiful city In America. This and the ab
sence of vast Industrial activities make It
an Ideal city of leisure and the most at
tractive place of residence on the con
tinent. It Is not surprising that there has
grown up a colony of wealthy folk, whose
social ambitions have Increased with each
new recruit added to the fold.
About (he Two Seta.
There are not less than 2.000 p rsons
In the official set, which means that there
are that number of individuals directly or
Indirectly connected with the political Ufa
of the capital who are sufficiently prom
inent to entitle them Id invitations to a
certain number of social functions. In
the list is embraced everybody from the
president, senators, diplomat and mem
bers of the supreme court, together with
the women of their households, to the fam
ilies of assistant secretaries and bureau
chiefs of the various government depart
ments, and the army and navy officers.
The list does not atop with the Immediate
members of the families even: there are
not a few people In public life at Wash
ington to pry open the social gates for
nieces, cousins and friends.
The members of the fashionable residen
tial circle are not so numerous, possibly,
os their opponents. Exclusiveness Is the
pride of this elite contingent. However,
this resident set Is a house divided against
itself aa to whether wealth or lineage shall
constitute the password for admission.
There are a number of millionaires some
of whom hae made their money too rapidly
to satisfy the social arbiters at home who
have come to Washington to Idle. While
these affect a certain exclusiveness, they
COUNTESS MARGUERITE CI SINI.
are yet inclined to admit to the social for
tress any possessor of a large bank account
who Is willing to deplete it by lavish en
tertaining, unless mayhap the applicant be
one of those who has refused to let down
the bars for the "newly rich" at a former
place of residence. Such a one generally
encounters the opposition of some one on
the inside who is thirsting for revenge.
On the other hand, there are living in
Washington a number of old Virginia and
Maryland families who are unwilling to
accept this new standard of social eligibil
ity, and in self-defense have grown clannish
and ultra-exclusive.
The AutUKonUm la (ironins.
The antagonism between the two general
divisions of Washington society, which, de
spite the covering of good breeding and
social tact, is growing in bitterness, is due
primarily to the differences in tastes and
sources of power, aud to the exalted opin
ion each set holds with regard to its own
claims of superiority. The official conting
ent has the advantage in some respects,
but must needs be chary of those mani
festations of disregard for public opinion
in which many of the well-to-do residents
delight. It will not do for the office hold
ers to displease the ptople in whose voles
they are dependent to keep them in Wash
ington. There are bound to be certain occasions
ou which the official crowd has a monopoly
of the social swtetmeats. This was forcibly
illustrated during the recent visit of Prince
Henry of Prud.-la, and Incidentally it might
be mentioned that no cilhir one event has
been provocative of so much envy and
jealousy. The ambitious rich folk who had
the houses and the funds wherewith to
entertain the royal visitor la regal style
did not get the opportunity, and Indeed
very few of them even enjoyed the boon
of meeting him. So, too, the people who
are in Uncle Sam's official retinue have
the best of it with reference to social func
tion at the White House, to which, of
course, a certain popular Interest always
attaches.
The reverse of this picture of the ad
vantages of social officialdom Is presented
by the people who have the government
positions, but lack the money to maintain
them, socially speaking. The family that
comes to Washington hugging the popular
delusion that In official life one's social
position is cut out and only awaits assump
tion is bound to be rudely disillusioned. The
congressman who comes to the capital
with nothing but his salary Is likely to
find that he Is no larger a figure on I tu
torial horizon than is a policeman in his
own home town. With wealth he may be
enabled to climb to one of the pedestals
in the society gallery, but without It his
only chance is to wait until he has made
a name in congress, a process which, under
the existing rules In the house of repre
sentatives, is a sadly tedious one, neces
sitating a strong und unfailing political
"pull" at home.
Ureal '( of I'.nterliilninu.
A host and hostess may spend $r,n,n mi
a year in entertaining in Washington with
out their entertainments being exceptional
in any respect or attracting even passing
attention. Therefore, many a congressman
who appears wealthy In the eyes of bis
rural constituents finds it out of the ques
tion to attempt to dispense hospitality in
Washington. The members of the houso
of representatives who entertain other than
on the most modest scale may be counted
cn the fingers of one hand. There are
Senators Hanna, Ik pew, Lodge, Kean and
Hlklns each of these expends several times
the amount of his salary every season
in entertaining, but they arc few In propor
tion to (be total membership of the uppT
house of congress; there are veteran wear
ers of the toga today who are almost solely
dependent upon tin ir salaries and who year
In and year out reside in boarding houses
For most of the assistant secretaries, or
bureau chief of the executive departments,
entertaining in a formal way is out of the
question, since none of them receive sal
aries In excess of JI.T.iiO a year, and It is
by no means an unheard of thing for a
member of the cabinet to reside at a fash
ionable apartment house and Ignore all but
the most urgec' social responsibilities.
Were it not for the st raightened circum.
stances of a number of the people In politi
cal life In Washington the struggle between
the official set and the residential set would
be a very unequal battle. As it Is a number of
the people who have been given social Stand
ing by reason of their occupancy of gov
ernment positions are forced either to
withdraw from social life altogether or
else accept the Invitations of those who
are willing to extend hospitality with no
expectation of reciprocity, and thus the
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VI
MRS. II. C. HANSIIKOl'OH. WIFE OF
THE SENATOR FROM NORTH DA
KOTA. wealthy hostess of the residential aut Is
always aide to till out her guest list with
people of official prominence. It will thus
be seen that each of the two main sections
of Washington society is indirectly and
heavily d( pendent on the other, aud yet
eai h would be only too glad to cut loose
with a declaration of independence It It
but dared.
I'rolVkalouul Illuera-Oiit.
This odd state of affairs has bred tho
diner-out, usually of the masculine gender.
Oesplte the iiuti.Vr of statesmen ami pol
iticians who throng Washington in Beason,
there are many social gatherings where
lin n are at a premium, ami if he lie courtly
ami an entertuining conversationalist, the
unmarried official or the congressman who
has left his wife at home need seldom
be under the necessity of paying for his
dinner. Een In the cas.' of a married
man, the ability to "pay back'' does not
figure at all. For instance, there might
be cited the rase of General .Miles, who,
this season, and particularly since he was
reprimanded by the president . has been
one of the most extensively entertained
men in Washington. Yet the load of the
army is In moderate circumstances and not
in a position to return the compliment to
more than a small portion of Ins hosts.
Even in the si curance of the more desirable
of these professional diners-oui the spirit
of rivalry between the wealihy members of
the residential set and the possessors of
private fortunes in the official Bet con
stantly crops nut. Thus the young official
who is open for invitations Is often com
pelled to choose between two opposing
claimants, and must make the decision with
due regard to future Invitations on the one
hand, and possible promotions or the for
feiture of official favor ou the other.
This "lionizing" of officials has resulted
in the aliiiotit utter neglect by Washington
society leaders of the stage faviiiiKB who
ure the particular prey of the "tuft hunt
ers" in other cities. Tho celebrities of
the musical world are somewhat nioio for
lunate, for they are usually entertained at
the home of Reginald He Kovcn, the oper
atic composer, who, with Mrs. Do Kovcn,
I. n authoress of some prominence, main
tains a salon that Is the hub of the liter
ary and artistic aet In Washington.
I i in ii I lata lit I lie Toil.
The really enviable positions In Wash
ington society are held by tho members of
the diplomatic corps. As in the chhu of
senators, only a small proportion of the
envoys of foreign powers are possessed of
great private fortunes, but practically all
the representative) of leading nations re
ceive from their governments ample al
lowances for entertaining In a manner
commensurate with the dignity of their
positions. These masters of statecraft are
necessarily among the guests bidden to
every official function of any interest or
Importance, aud they ure also eagerly
sought by the entertainers of tho residen
tial set, who prize above all clue the cos
mopolitan atmosphere which the presence
of foreigners lends to a social gathering.
In the shadow of the diplomatic contingent
with all Its glitter and gold lace, however,
lurks that omnipresent bugbear, the ques
tion of precedence, in the breai h of which
is found the rock on which many a social
ambition has been stranded.
After all, the competitive game In which
the official and residential forces of the
capital are pitted against each other most
keenly is the highly important one of pi k
Ing the "coming man." The benefits to b
derived by foresight of this kind nr ' well
Illustrated by the Roosevelt regime in the
White llouae. The members of the official
and residential sets who bestowed at en
tlon upon the Roosevelt family when the
president was merely a civil service com
missioner or assistant secretary of the
navy are now reaping I heir reward. So.
too, the young man who springs Into promi
nence suddenly, as, for Instance, did Sena
tor Ileverldge, ia watched mist closely bv
the social forecasters. Coining events cast
their shadows early in the social doma n
at the capital. For Instance. If Senator
Hanna is to be the next president of the
United States, society In Washington will
be Indicating tile probabilities, while yet
the politicians are moving In the dark.
In a comparison, based (in the hard cash
expended, the advantage Is not ull on the
side of the newly established redeiitlal
set who have selected Washington as the
best place In which to scatter gold. Sec
retary of State Hay, who occupli a the
most desirable residential site at the cao-
(Contlnued on Eighth Page.)
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