New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-12-23
WASHINGTON SOCIETY.
p,sprTEp POINTS OF OFFICIAL RANK.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2l.-1he latest edltiop VI tn0
Washington standard authority on the subject MIS-
Dahlgren's Etiquette of Social Life" makes an
omiable effort to settle the controversy in regard
% precedence at Presidential state dinners. and
other great occasions. This social problem ante
dates the present century. and, indeed, is coevaI
with the consti ution itself 1t has various ramlnea
lions, and runs INTO numerous puzzllng detans'
There was no doubt a woman at the bottom VI ";
and, indeed so far as history throws light on Inc
subject the ladies have headed the forces on each
side in every one of the ninety and odd campaigns
of tins social war.
Among the radical causes of this overcoming
controversy, the claim of superior rank on tno
part of Senators over everybody else except the
President stands first. From the earliest times
thew have claimed precedence over the members OF
the Cabinet over the Chief Justice aud ms assocl-
ates of the Supreme Court, over all foreign Minis
ters of whatever grade, and over the 'ice-ffeei
dent himself. At least, such was the ground
originally taken by the Senators, under the lead
of Aaron Burr. History shows that TINS Nigh
handed assumption was made in secret oonciave'
and was not divulged, according to Mr. John Gum
cv Adams, for more than twenty years. He states
in his diary that Mr.. Gaillard, of South Carolina.
then President pro tenn. of the Senate, called with
his colleague Judge Smith. at the State Depart
ment and inquired of him, then the Secretary, II
there had been any new rules of etiquette IN regard
IN yisi ing es abshed; TO which Mr.. Adams
answered that here were certainly none TO his
knowledge. They then informed him that rule
was adop ed by Sena ors 50 long ago as when Burr
was member of he body, and drawn up by Burr,
that the Sena OTs should visit only The President OF
the Uni ed STATE s, and that Mr.. Rufus King had
referred them to a book in which it was recorded.
This converse ion occurredin 1918. Burr served
in the Senate from 1871 TO 1907; and yet MIR.
Adams. who served in the same body fromlsO3 to
1908, had never heard ofthe secret resove-wri ten
in n "bookD He could not mean thai the senate
rial code had not been observed. Or 1t may have
gone into desuetude during the radical era OF Jeiier-
sou and Madison, and was now 10 be revived under
the more arlstocratic, if milder, sway OF Mr..
Monroe. Mr.. Adams states that during his Senate
ria term he invariably paid the first visit to each
Secre ary a. the commencement of every session
excepting to Mr.. Galla-in. the Secretary of the
Treasury who never returned his frs visit. He
never af erward visited him excep on business at
his Office II is said that Mr.. Ga latin neither paid
nor returned visits any one, while he was a the
head of he Treasury Department; from which 1T
nav be inferred har he unsocial in disposition,
and that he Ii tie society, unless other dignl-
taries were less exacting than the Massachusetts
Senator.
The assumption by the Senate of dignity supe-
rior to that of The Vce-Prcsident invoves-it must
be Owned--some paradOxes. For, in the first place,
this whole social fabric of the Republican Cour
is only an m alton of hat of Grea Britain. Undera
''srict construction of the Constitution" there is
no place for it in the American system of govern
ment. Analogy to British usage places the Vice
President side by side with the Prince of Wales.
He is the heir apparent, and like the son of the
British Sovereign he ranks all other dignitarleS,
and stands mex to he head of tho Government.
Another absurd consequence of the Senatorial as
80 J, CO. hot nj no
pro tem of the Senate, in virtue of being a
Senator above the COnstitu ional President OF the
body. In other words the temporary substitute IS
placed by it above his principal
There were other knotty problems growing on of
the rival pretensons of the several classes of public
functionaries which puzzled the brains of former
generations. Among these were a christening and
o funeral Mr.. Bagot the British Minister, had in-
yited Mr. and Mrs. Adams to be present at the chris
tening of his child; which happy occasion was to
be followed by music and dancing. This was the
month following the death Of Mr.. Adams's mother.
They thought therefore of attending the chrsten-
ing and leaving before the dance commenced. But
some malicious person put ont the preposterous
report that Mr.. Adams was to stand proxy on the
interest ing cason for the Prince Regent, god
ia her 10 he chi d. The story reached The ears of
the President, MOnrOe who, Mr.. Adams says, was
thrown into s'a of repidafiOn about it, and
called on him-perhap9 to protest against the pro-
ceedings-Or at any rate to acertain what founda-
tlon there for the report The Secretary was not
at all attered by this mark ofExecutive confidence
in his good sense and good taste. The result was
that Mr. and Mrs. Adams excused themselves TO
non-attendence at the christening, on the ground
that they were for the time not in the habit of
going out.
The funeral ceremony which gave rise to ones
ton of official prop-iety was the cOmmemo alton,
in the Catholic church of this city, under the aus
pices of the ,ench Minister. of the death of
Louis XVI This was in 1918. when Charles y.
was on the French throne. VI. Hyde de Neuvlle, the
Minister hesitated about the prop iety OF inviting
the members of the Government TO
be present at the service. The year
previous he had invited Mr.. Monroe the President,
who did not attend. and assigned as reason for
his absence that there were certain circumstances
in the feelings and sentiments of people in this
country which might make his attendance hnprop-
or. NJ. de Melville SAID he was aware of this, aud
Therefore in inviting the Secretary Of State, told
him that il he agreed with the Z esdent that his
attendance wOuld under the circumstances DO i'm
proper he was To consider his invitation as non
ayenur Mr. Adams, without accepting the invi-
tation says he determined to go. He did SO, and
sat in the same pew with Don Onis, the Spanish
Minister. THE mass" he says was sho T. but
there was funeral Grafton read by the Priest ON
the text Eccles. ~ Vanity Of vaniies; al is van
itv: the most extraordinary composition OF Jacob
inism heresv, and piesty doctrine that i ever
heard A the 70 eign Ministers and their egatiOnS
were present and all their gravity cou not restrain
some of them tom laughter"
The National IntegeReeT Of the time has no refer
ence TO this cci emOnial, neither before its occu
renee nor after ard Thee is neithe adve tisement
no notice of il in advance nor report o criticism
afterxa d. The InteltigeRoT was console ed as inc
mode newspaper at that date, and was conducted
on the sentiment which COVE ms IN web ed
society that nothing is 10 DC said about the absent
unless II be favorable IL had no lOcal department
and no ,enn,t Of events nnofficia nnless they