Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-08-13
SARATOGA'S SOCIAL BATTLE.
The Effect OF the SeIigman-HiItoI
Affair on Business at the Springs

Il
The Effect OF the AeIigman.HiIton
Affair on Business at the Springs.
Saratoga Cor. Now York SUM-
The first battle of Saratoga, be-
tween Gates and Burgoyne, result
ed in the complete surrender Of the
British commander. The second
battle Of Saratoga-a purely social
one--between Major-General Hen
ry Hilton and Brigadier-G General
Joseph Scligman, has been waged
over the same ground again this
summer, and as the smoke of bat
tie lifts, hasten to give you the
list of casualties, and the names Of
the killed and wounded.
How has the battle of the races
affected Saratoga ?
Well, it has affected the town
more than it has the hotels. About
1900 wealthy Jewish people before
the battle used to frequent the vii
lage boarding-houses, and spend
their time listening to the music in
Congress Park and on the hotel
balconies. These 1900 have entire
ly disappeared = gone to Sharon,
Richfield, and the Branch. Their
change of base has not lessened the
actual paying guests of the hotels,
but it has lessened the crowds on
the balconies, and made vacant
several hundred seats in the hop
room.
What has beome Of the wealthy
and aristocratic Jews who used to
frequent the Grand Union?
The leading aristocratic Jews,
like the Nathans and Hendric kses,
the Harris and Aaransons, have
left Saratoga together. They say
they will not come to a watering
place where their privileges or
standing is a question of discus
sion. Other wealthy Jewish fami-
lies who look for personal comfort
and don't resent the social discrim.
nation which has aiisen, have
quietly gone across the street to
Congress Hall, where you may see
their familiar faces in long lines on
the balcony-the men smoking
cigarettes or cigars, while their
wives, surrounded by throngs of
black-haired children, arrange
themselves in family cliques. In
many instances German IsraeliteS,
who uS.d to speak German entirely,
| hear now carrying on their con-
versations in French. This change
in dialect has made many guests
here mistake them for Cubans or
French creoles.
What has become of the old eris-
tocratic element which used to fire.
quent Congress Hall? | mean the
Vanderbilts, Garrisons, Sanfords,
Phelpses, Belmonts, Shoemakers,
Enos, Chapins and Spragues.
They have all moved up to the
United States.
So the war that drove the Israel
ties from the Grand Union has not,
thus far, filled their places with
other guests. 1t did not set the
tide Of aristocratic popularity to-
ward the Graud Union. Madison
and Fifth avenues still gravitate
toward the old United States,
How is the crowd at Saratoga
compared with previous years?
The Grand Union is ooing a fair
business-that is, it is about three
fourths full. Congress Hall is
making more money than it did
last summer, and the United States,
as far as good rooms are concerned,
is full. Every one of its sixty
cottages are taken. The general
business of the States has shrunk
about ten per cent, and that of the
Grand Union about twenty per
cent, ten per cent. of this loss being
the wealthy lsraelites, who have
gone over to Congress Hall,
Judge Hilton is satisfied with the
results of the fight, and he would
make the same fight over again,
but as an old locker on at Saratoga,
| can see that the issue has not
benefited the Grand Union finan-
cially or socially this year, while it
has benefited Congress Hall fnan-
cially, and added to the social ele-
ment at the United States.
Finally, in answer to this ques-
ton constantly asked all over the
country; "How is the attendance
at Saratoga this year ?" | will say,
taking all the hotels aud boarding
houses, the general Shrinkage has
been about twenty per cent. on last
year.
-a.-o-p
A New Cure for women.