The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-03-13
wAsR1NGroN's FOUR HUNDRED.
The Question of Precedence is Vexa-
tious Forever.
From the Neao Yorb World.

From the Ne1o Yorc World.
WASHINGTON, March 10.-The relations
between the ladies of the cabinet and those
strained, and the war of precedence between
the two sets is as old as the government.
The senators are nearly all self-made men,
and sometimes the JOB is not completed, but
at whatever stage the process is arrested the
self-made man Is satisfied with his handi-
work. When the senators get mad on the
subject their wives are worse, and men who
never used anything save a business card
before they entered this political heaven
lay as much stress on visiting card as they
do on the clauses of treaty. The ladies of
the Cleveland cabinet tried to reverse the
old etiquette and wait for the senator's
wives to call on them. They sat down and
waited awhile, and then most of them took
up their card cases and the congressional
directory and made the calls
The hubbub from that rash attempt has
not died out yet, and senators and their
wives who survived the shock of that rebel
lion like to talk about it now by the hour.
The senate is very tenacious of its privileges,
and at many executive sessions social mat
ters are discussed informally. There was an
executive session of senators and their
wives at a dinner at a brother senator's
house lately. and of course the conduct of
the cabinet came up.
"Have all the cabinet ladies called on
YOUR asked one white-headed millionaire of
the hostess.
emo, not all of them"
"Did you see those who did callY'
"N-no; was not receiving, and l found
the cards when l came home-or, no, they
were brought up stairs to me-"
ibid you look out of the window and see
who brought them and howp asked the
senator eagerly.
why, no.
swell madam, you should" he said,
pounding the tableIand calling every ones
attention. Zone member of this cabinet
and his wife have dared to send their cards
to u.s."
"Per bicycle too,n said his wife. ~ saw a
government bicycle back up and leave an
envelope one morning. The man brought
it up, and there were Secretary So-and-So's
cards and his wife's."
Then the whole table was in arms and re-
lated similar experiences, and told how
they went down the line at a White House
reception and ignored the erring secretary's
wife. The company hanged, drew and
Quartered the sinners before parting, and
from that episode the name of bicycle"
has been given as prefix to a distinguished
cabinet name.
The wife of a recently ennobled, or rather
elected Commonef, mas cau8nG Un9 dinner
giving fever now raging, and gathering
herself for a mighty effort, sent out sixteen
invitations. She wanted to have an aggre-
cation Of greatness, a regular three-ring
and chariot race performance, and she
asked supreme justice, cabinet officer,
two senators, foreign minister, the gen.
eral of the army and the admiral Of the
navy, with wives or ladies to match.
When she received acceptances from all and
began to think about the seating Of the
company at table she found a puzzle
in her hands worse than pigs in
clover or the fifteen blocks. Every
man of them belonged at her right
hand and might fight for the place if he
did not get 1t; certainly their wives would
scratch her eyes out after the men went to
smoke. She took her list and her own dia-
grams to the white house and asked the
help of the executive clerk, Mr.. Pruden.
He studied awhile and gave it up. Take
it to the Chinese legation; it's puzzle to
beat Them" he said "for in all the Presi-
DENTS state dinners of thirty years nothing
like it has ever come up"
Mr.. Adee of the state department, great
authority on such matters, was implored to
help. Mr. Adee looked, thought and
studied alike. 81 will tell you the only
way you can do. You must die or fall sud
denly i'll, and postpone this dinner, nothing
else will save your