St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-05-13
THE MERRY SOCIAL WAR.

SOO11A1I w ahs
President CLEVELAND stands up pretty
well under the pressure of his routine Off
cial duties; he has resisted with admirable
courage the assaults of aggressive office
seekers; he bears the criticisms of the Mug
wumps with the utmost good humor, and
continues to turn a deaf ear to the partisan
fire of BLAINE's artillery. Notwithstand
ing all the fortitude he has displayed and
the wonderful amount of good luck that has
surrounded his administration, the president
sees just ahead of him dangerous rock
against which his boat is bound to strike
and liable to go down from the shock The
momentous question which menaces the
whole administration is that of who is the
first lady in the land The presidents rela-
tons with his cabinet officers are cordial, and
they exhibit commendable loyalty to their
chief. But there is regular Old Harry to
pay among the cabinet women. Who shall
be the ranking woman in the cabinet line is
an issue in Washington life overshadowing
all others. The cause of all this
hubbub is this: 1t has been
an old custom in official life at
Washington that at all ceremonies where
precedence is concerned the cabinet officers
rank according to the order in which their
offices were established-the state depart
ment coming first, next the treasury, then
the war, navy, postoffice and interior, and
last the departm ent of justice. The wives
of these officers were not slow to claim for
themselves the same rank. conceded to their
husbands, and by some sort of mutual con-
sent the custom has prevailed. This inter-
cabinet agreement was not obtained. how
ever, until there had been frequent and
sharp struggles between the cOntending
factions, resulting finally in a treaty in
which stipulationS in accord with the
arrangement given above were agreed to.
In these civil social wars the wife of the
president has been umpire, and when her
decision has been given it has been accepted
as final. 1t is said that in anticipation of
herhusbands election Mrs. BLAINE with the
aid of a few female confidantes had arranged
a program for the incoming administration
with the view of rewarding her fernal e
friends and consigning to social obscurity
the families who had antagonized Mr..
BLAINE's political aspirations. But while
women propose there is an everything
bachelor president was elected. This
brought new complications into social
life at the capital. 1t left the sisterhOOd of
cabinet women without an umpire.
The event which has precipitated a crisis
so early in the present administration was
the appearance of the president at a reeep-
ton with Miss CATHERINE BAYARD, the
eldest daughter of the secretary of state, On
his arm, and the married ladies of the cabi-
net following after her. Miss BAYARD's
mother is great sufferer from neuralgia
and seldom goes out of her own house. She
receives calls, but the duty of returning
them devolves upon her daughters, who do
that part very acceptably. AS the
representative of her mother Miss
BAYARD claims that matron's place
in the line of cabinet ladies. The
married ladies of the cabinet do no
conceal their chagrin at being thus headed
Off They claim that by all the canons of
propriety and etiquette an unmarried
daughter whose mother is still living is not
entitled to precede married ladies of the
same rank as their mother. They quote
as authority and precedent for their position
that in the diplomatic corps the British
minister's daughter. who is the head of his
household, comes after all the wives of the
ministers, although in many cases her father
is further up on the list than the ENJOYS
whose wives precede Miss WEST. Secretary
BAYARD is very determined and self
willed man, and has brought all his powers
to bear in defense of his daughters position.
1t is lively war and is making things
mighty unpleasant for the president.
The wife of the secretary of the
navy has coat Of arms painted on her car
rage, and she is not the woman to back
down in case of this kind. The young
wife of the secretary of the treasury, whose
social ambition was the chief reason for her
husbands acceptance of cabinet place, has
no idea of marching in the procession after
the unmarried daughter of her husbands
colleague. The wife of the secretary Of war,
who has the bluest blood and the oldest
name in Massachusetts, is not going to
tamely submit to this anomalous condition
of things. 1t is understood these ladies
have organized to assert their rights at the
next reception, and in case they fail there
will be RIEL rebellion in cabinet circles.
In the meantime the president views with
no little alarm the approaching crisis. He
has resorted to one preteXt and then an
other for staving off the time, but he knows
very well it can't be averted forever. The
shock must come sooner or later. He
knows also that the good common
sense of the country is disguised
with the vulgar display of shoddy aristocratic
ideas and unrepublican customs connected
with these questions of social rank in Off
Clad life. But it is one of those abuses
which have crept into Washington society
which he is not able to reform. There is
only one apparent way of escape for the
president from the dilemma. That is to ask
the resignation of all of his cabinet officers
and then fill their places with bachelors.
By the time he gets through with one
womanless administration Washington So
ciety will have had an opportunity to
straighten itself out.
MIDDLETON,S POSITION.