Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1886-02-19
NO. g..
vashIsgtOn Etiquette,

of the drawing room circles Of any of the Of
ties of the United States, and as this country
is republic, they necessarily differ from
those OF the court circles Of Europe. Wash
ngton has a court, however, and by a set Of
precedents which have grown up since the
beginning Of our government, II has rigid
set OF unwritten rules governing social action.
Strangers find these rules rather embarrassing
and somewhat hard to comprehend and many
curious stories arise from their ignorance. In
the ordinary American cities the resident calls
upon the stranger, and q person higher in
rank than his neighbor is expected to make
the first advance in the way Of q call. At
Washington strangers in all cases are expect
ed to make the first call, and those OF lower
rank are obliged by etiquette to call first upon
their superiors.
The social world Of Washington is compos.
ed Of three great circles Fret there 10 the
official class, with the President and all Of his
employ G4, officers OF the army and navy, and
Congressman Of both houst second comes
the quasi. official GLASS; or the foreign lega-
tlons and lastly the class which includes res
idenls Of Washington, people who come here
to spend the winter, and transient visitors.
OF all these the President stands At the head,
and his wife-or sister, as it happens to be In
the present case the lady Of the White House,
is the leading lsdy Of Washington society.
| Next to the President comes the Vice Presi-
dent and his wife, then the supreme court,
members of the cabinet, and then foreign
ministers and Congressman. Minor officials,
such as army officers those connected with
the navy. and the heads Of departmental, each
has position in accordance with the preoe-
dence of his office aud in the order Of
state reception, such as that of New Years
day, you will find % degrees of social rank
between the President and the chiefs Of de-
partment bureaus Think of it-twenty Ave
degrees OF rank in the social circles Of q re-
public
The President at Washington has somewhat
! the same rules as those OF the sovereign Of q
! European country as to his callers. He re-
ceives calls, but never returns them, except
in the case of king or the president Of an
independent government, and, according TO
| Washington rules, the king or president in
this case must make the fret call The Pres
ident has the right to regulate his own hours
of calling and Mr.. Cleveland has changed
those Of his predecessors, in that he receives
no callers upon Saturdays, and in that he has
a fixed hour on three afternoons of each week,
when he stands up In the East Room and al
lows all who come to pay their respects to
shake bis hand. Ga such occasions he is able
to get through with his visitors at the rate Of
several hundred per hour. He rarely stops
to talk with any except personal acqusintan-
ces, and only kisses such babies as are espe-
cislly sweet or az are pushed into his face by
anxious mothers.
Cabinet ministers calling upon the Presi-
dent are ushered in without cards during Off
cial hours and senators and representatives
are received every day, except cabinet days,
without cards, from 10 A. NJ. to 12
The title of the President is simply The
President, and when one addresses him the
proper form is "Mr. President" and not
Your Excellency." Mrs. Washington al
ways spoke of General Washington as 'the
| President, and to have called him General"
or Mr." would have been in bad taste. An
| invitation from the President is equal to
command. 1t supersedes all other invitations,
whether accepted or not, and demands an i'm
mediate reply in writing to the President.
The form of address to be used is THE Pres
ident Sir" And the President in answering
never uses Yours truly" or Your obedient
servant" but simply signs his name.
The lady of the White House takes prece-
dence over all others in Washington society,
and indeed in the whole country. She ia
known as the first lady OF the land. She does
not return calls, but her duty is to receive
with the President and preside over his din
ners. At state dinners the President sits in
the centre of one side of the dining table, and
the lady of the White House opposite him.
During the past season Mrs McElroy always
Madison used TO return calls, and devoted
three hours of each day except Sunday to this
duty. When Washington was q village Of
less than ten thousand inhabitants this was
possible, but at present, when the calls OF an
afternoon may reach the number of a thous-
and, the returning of the calls is out of the
question: as will readily be believed.
The President is expected to give state din.
ners-one to members OF the cabinet, one 70
Nha Aff.ln 10 Nha run
court, and one to the senators and Tepresen-
tatives. President Arthur, in addition =
dined nearly all of the prominent W. this,
Washington, and every senator ~ Psopie OF
tative had a seat at his dinipf snd repreSen-
session. President Clsvelp- staoie al each
give only those dinners l.aI sin psoosoly
At these state d9P rs All are h fuII H. drcs i.s
nnitorH oaring the most gorsSous "f tnelr
! rhsi, ---is and the diplomstes coming out IN
( sm court robes and nledals.
The social season Pt washington oeelns, As
| far as the supreme court is concerned, In %
tober a. it relates to Congress, with the
! opening Of Congress, early in Decemberi and
as to general fashionable society, with the
official reception of the President on New
| Years day. From New.Year's to Lent the
| city huns from noon until morning with so
cial entertainments. At the beginning of
Lent the fashionable receptions and dancing
are stopped. and only the quietest forms OF
entertainment are in vogue. The New-YeAra
reception of the President has always been
one of the grendest features of the year.
Then the officers of the government, the di-
plomatic corps and the officers OF the army
and navy, appear in full dress at the White
| House to pay their respects to the President.
Certain days have been fixed upon at Waeh-
| ington at which certain classe5 or rsnks of
society are expected to be at home to callers.
| The families of justices of the supreme,court
receive calls upon Mondays, the speaker OF
the House of Representatives, the members
/ of the lower house and the general OF the
army are at home on Tuesdays. Wednesday
is set aside cabinet day, aud on the after
noon of this day you will find the wife of
| every secretary at home. Thursday ia the
day set apart for calling upon the families Of
| the Vice President and Senators, and Friday
is the day chosen to receive by all those who
are not in official rank. Saturday has hereto
fore been the day of reception at the White
| House.
Etiquette at Washington prescribes engrav-
ed cards for use in calling, and it is customary
for the lady to have printed upon one corner
of her card the day of the week upon which
she receives. Visitors in calling hand their
| cards to the usher or leave them upon the
table in the hall. Etiquette prescribes that
every lady, except the one presiding at the
| White House, shall return the first call OF any
one who calls upon her. This makes the
| life of the wife of high official hard labor.
The returning of twenty calls is good after
moons work, and Mrs. Secretary Whitney, at
late reception of a single afternoon, receiv-
ed six hundred callers. As any one can cali
upon person in official rank in Washington
and be well received, many funny things hap
pen in connection with this custom. The
wife OF an ex cabinet minister found herself,
| in returning her official calls, driving up to
| the shantes of washer-women and dressmak-
era, and a supreme court judges wife de.
scribes the sensation of calling upon the sis
ter of one OF her cooks in rooms over little
meat market far away from the fashionable
| part of the city.
Strangers coming to Washington always
call upon the officials including their own
Congressman and senators, and the wives and
daughters of members of the House call upon
the wives and daughters OF members of the
senate. This rule of calling is never changed /:
the person who would come TO Washington
and not observe 1t would fail to obtain the
entres of it's society. Speaking of the cAbi-
net, the calls upon their wives are necessarily
short. Sometimes refreshments are served
and sometimes not.
Each of the cabinet ministers gives dinner
to his fellow members of the cabinet every