The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-01-07
A GRAVE SOCIAL QUESTION.
Wives of Washington Of6eials Disturbed
Over Regulations of the Court Circle.


Over Regulations of the Court Circle.
Washington Special to New York Graphic
Just about this time every year there
breaks out a sort of social war among the
official ladies of the national capital. The
Ofhclal lady is power III Washington. She
has her friends III the snug and coy places
of the government departments, and she
keeps them there through all political
changes. She is usually most adept office
seeker for her dependents, and she is almost
invariably successful. Perhaps she is the
member of the Cabinet, or she
may be one of the society magnates
who rule the social life of the
city. The question of official calls is. the
disturbing element every winter, and it is
the trouble was between the wives of the
Senators and the wives of Cabinet officers
as. to which of them should call on the
other first, but that has been settled
reigns in this quarter. The new strife has
arisen over discussion as to what extent
the calls of the untitled and persistent
thousands must be returned in person by
the ladies of the Supreme Court.
The wives of the justices are all middle
aged or elderly women. They have hand
some homes, and nearly every one who is in
or out of public life or society makes the
rounds of those homes at least once in
winter, and some repeat their calls many
more names, and all of these calls-haif of
them from entire strangers--are expected
TO be returned IN person during the two OF
three months of the winter. 1t is a great
tax upon their time and strength, and
by the proportions that the calling bust
ness has assumed here, an absurd idea for
the justices wives to have to give up their
days and weeks driving from end to end of
the city and giving a few minutes CONVEX
sati0n to any one who CHANGED to stroll IN
I'm ia
height of the season they have quite enough
to attend to their social engagements and
their necessary calls of courtesy and duty,
and 1T has been proposed for them to make
stand with the coming of a new Chief-lus-
tees family, and return nOn-official calls
by cards delivered by messenger.
Mrs. Fuller, as the wife of the Chief JUS
tice. finds no one here Outranking her or emit
tied to first call but Mrs. Cleveland. 1t
was an easy assumption of her hOnOrs to
have only the one first call to make at the
White House, and it is the more absurd,
therefore, that she should be expected to
return the calls of everyone who chooses to
call upon her any Monday afternoon. The
members of the court circle are nothing if
not conservative and tenacious of the old
customs and traditions of their circle, and
tney really hesitate to make the change;
Mrs. Fuller is domestic in her tastes, and
society makes upon her, and her daughters
do not care for society at all. The Misses
Fuller are musical. artistic, studiOus and
everything. else but worldly butterflies of
society, and carrying cards and DISTRIBUTE
ing them all over town in the mechanical,
perfunctOry way of a bill-poster, does not
appear to them as any chief or valu-
able. end of life. 1t is even re-
lated that these young ladies bitterly
opposed their fathers coming to Wash
ingtOn, and wanted none of it nor its
gilded society. One of them, it is said, de-
clared open rebellion to the move to Wash
ington, and preferred to stay in Chica go
rather than occupy pedestal in the e nm,
permost circles of Washington society
Their grief at coming here is only matched
by the heart-sickness and woe of certain
other girls who have to leave Washington
OGbey ana whose oca PaPas end their
that time is fairly gallOpirg towards.