Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-11-09
SOCIETY REPORTER.
Duties and Earnings Of Wash
ington Lady Correspondents
How President Cleveland Sat Down
Upon an Obnoxious Young Lady.
Mrs. Cleyeland's Kindness.
White House Evening at Which Boor
Wanted to Force Mrs. Harrison to Shake
Hands-Quesr Experiences.
Special Correspondence Gazette.

Special Correspondence Gazette.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 81 want to give some of
M experiences as a society reporter The do
lngs Of Washington in winning and dining in Civ
ing rec ptions and paying calls are now as i'm
portsnt an article of the acts OF congress.
The social columns are more read than the
speeches on the tariff, and thousands OF dollars
sTes esetnt by the leading journals to tell their
|rS43efs inst what Mrs Senator Smith wore st
me White House and how Mrs. General Jones
decorated her table. The inaugural balls bring
In dollars by the handful to the women CORES
pondents and know one girl who made $50 the
night OF harri sons inauguration, III describing
the dresses for z number o. different papers.
Sne got $40 2 column, ana sent the SINE matter
BIZ telegraph to New York, Boston, Cincinnati
and Chicago. Other friends Of mine make a
government clerks monthly SALARY at every
White House reception. and one bright
correspondent cleared three hundred dol
lars IN three months in getting up. special arti-
her regular society wort. which paid her much
better. Perhaps the best paid society CORE
spondent Washington has ever had was Mary
Clemmer Anes. She made 5000 a year out of
her weekly letter to the Independent, and she
had at the same time contract with the Brook
lyn Eagle by which she got slUg week for a
daily editorial article. She was. however, more
OF ar editorial and political correspondent than
society writer, and though there are perhaps
there none we'll paid. The average earn
ings OF a Washington society reporter range
from SO week upwards. according to the
son, the reputation OF the correspondent and the
A&epnt of work done. The duties arduous
~ De extreme, and as rule, We girls more than
Fear all we get.
ok at it:
the first place we have to be persons of
l. turc and education. Most of us hare by
nth right to place in Washington society.
We have 10 know all about social usages. We
have TO know who is who in society, and
have to have enough friends among the very
highest ladies OF the land TO give the best of
news as soon as it occurs. 1t taxes time and
influence to establish such acquaintance,
and TO fix your position so that you trusted
from the White House to the corgressman's
home, and have, as it were, the eptree to the
hottest of the holes Of Washing.on's inner cir
cles. Then we have to know all about d ess.
We have to carry in our head the toietts OF
dozen different noted ladies al one time, have to
rerlenl Der the names of the distinguished people
al each great reception and be able 10 describe
anything in flowers from buttonnere to the
most elaborate state dinner decoration. We
have at the same time to talk and be pleasant,
and when We write we have 10 work our pens
carefully those of a diplomat-saying good
things of all and offending none. ALI this may
seem easy. But take 1t DAY after day and night