Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-03-18
GETTING INTO SOCIETY.
The struggl les of Wen ana women
of Ambition 10 Become Leaders

StH X HCD VI iAOAA e1.s~. ~
of Ambition 10 Become Leaders
of Society.
A society man, speaking the other
day of the efforts OF people to get into
good society who had not enjoyed so
cial distinction in their irlier years,
said that the variety of schemes and
the ingenuity displayed in attempting
to get q social start would lead any
one to suppose that the end to be
reached was absolutely necessary to
existence. Women Of forty, fifty and
even sixty lie awake of nights invent
ing aud celebrating plans that would
do credit to the genius of the most in
veterate OF Washington wire -pullers.
He said that, without any exception at
all, men and women who had
been struggling for wealth all their
years would, as soon as wealth had
been secured, turn their attention to
the matter of securing a position in
society, and though this meant en-
tering into second struggle, quite as
bitter, and filled with as many disap-
pointments as the first, they would
carry it On without finching, in the
face of innumerable obstacles. until
advancing age and diminished ply
steal powers retired them finally from
the scene. Even then, when they
sJaid at home, their children took up
the struggle and carried it forward.
This gentleman said that he knew of
women Of wealth going to well-known
society women begging them With
tears in their eyes to help
on the social career of their daugh-
ters and in some cases their sons.
The story is told of one woman, the
wife Of successful stock speculator,
who told q society leader here, whose
name is perfectly we'll known to news
paper readers, that if she would exert
her influence in favor of her daugh-
ter, her husband would make a turn
in stocks for her down on the street
and guarantee her a profit of $4,000.
The woman in question who was thus
tempted found the temptation a strong
one, as her means were then not
equal to the maintaining of the social
position which was hers by right of
birth, but she gently and firmly re-
fused the offer, saying, however,
that if it fell in her way to do the girl
q service she would not fail to avail
herself OF the opportunity. AS
matter OF fact she did take the girl up
that very season, invited her to the
opera, and had her at several Of her
private dinners. The girl was hand
some, and her fathers wealth. of
course, enabled her to dress with ex-
treme richness and effect. In dre
course of time she met young man
here OF good family, but very little
money, and to tho delight of the
girls parents mutual affection
sprung up and the two were married.
The husbands position gave to his
wife's family, under certain restric-
tions, the entrance into society which
had been SO eagerly sought after, and
the other girls will doubtless make
desirable matches. The $1,000 was
never paid because it never would
have been accepted. The old people
always rated the service which the
society women had done them as
something far beyond price and
only short time ago the old man
was able to help a member of the
family. whom he b b.lieved had been
of such signal service to him in a
very substantial way. Indeed, he
rescued him from absolute failure in
his business.
The same society man, remarking
on the exclusiveness of some of the
social organizations of New York, like
the Patriarch balls. said that the lead
ing spirits here we're not willing to
widen the scope of their entertain
ments or extend the list of invitations
in any way. But the same social
element which was responsible for
these balls had, with desire to mod
ify and disarm criticism in the mat
ter, started second series of enter
tainments, where the requisites for
admission were not so so stringent
and where dozens of families we're
welcome who could not hope dur
ing this generation to succeed
to the select circles of the Patri-
archs. The difference between the
two series Of entertainments was, of
course, not stated, and to the outsider
they we're practically the same, so
that when some OF the aspirants for
social honors received their invitations
their heads became almost giddy with
delight. For the first season or so,
these supplementary entertainments
were great success, but very soon
the men and women who had been
trying for years to get into society and
now fanced that they gotten there,
on looking around the ballroom dis
covered there the families of successful
lawyers and well-to-do brokers whom
they knew had been engaged for years
in the same struggle that they had
been. This discovery startled them,
and they looked around the room
again. They perceived then that
there were no real swells there at all.
When they found this out they were
staggered. They had not engineered
and pulled wire and planned and
schemed to get into the society of their
equals, so far as social position was
concerned. What these ambitious
women wanted to do, and what the
men wanted to do who were ambitious
for their wives and daughters, was to
Rcb iutO tuO oOClCty VI tlOoO WIZ
were higher and more fashionable
than they were. Reviewing the situa-
ton, they were afraid that if they
remained where they were their social
position would become fixed on this
lower level and they would find it
more difficult than ever to rise. In
consequence they retired one by one
from these entertainments and with
drew the support which they had
given them, proceeding, of course, at
once to storm the social fastness which
they believed they had already won.
In consequence of these developments
the second series of balls lost in at
tendance and popularity month by
month, and this season it was an
nounced that no more will be given.
I'M " Mail