The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-01-04

war and the flush times Immediately
following was the desire of everybody to
get into society. Pretty much every
body did manage to get in. Camp fol-
lowers, suffers, army contractors, the
numerous persons who had grown sud-
denly rich By lucky speculations or by
the rise of values, each and several want
ed to shine in the social armament
Many Of these shoddy magnates spent
money lavishly, and it was in that era
that Washington broke away from the
simple means of dissipation which had
been sanctioned by the bon vivants of
nearly a century. Plain, good whisky
would never do for these newly rich per-
sons and their sycophants, nor was the
mutton and fish and oysters which Clay
and Webster and jackson had Toasted on
sufficiently luxurious for their tastes. 1t
was then that the champagne and terra
pin season set in, and, as q result, cham
payne and terrapin have been the gas
tronomic models of swelldom ever since.
AS for the terrapin, that has become, in
fact, fad. 1t is liked simply because it
is expensive. If the little turtle cost a
nickel instead of 50 apiece no one could
be found to take a mouthful of him.
Terrapin is an acquired taste, and though
it was served at many New Year lun-
cheon yesterday, as it will before spring
be served at countless dinners in this city
of dining, not one man in ten who par
takes of it and pretends to like it really
does like it.
The war and reconstruction era gave
us that shoddy sort of aristocracy which
depended so much on the cost of enter
tainments, of houses and eauipages,
Mrs. Hayes helped society to get away
from the evil influences of that era, not
SO much by her temperance resolutions
as by the admirable example which she
set in other ways. Year by year since
her day the society of the capital has
been growing better, and in this city,
where almost everybody forty or fifty
years ago was more or less intoxicated
on New Years day, drunken man was
yesterday an object of curiosity on the
streets.
In one important particular the official
society Of the capital has not been much
changed in half century. 1t is still as
easy to get into society here-official So
ciety, mind you-as it is to get into
political or marching club during pres
idential campaign. All you need is the
regalia and to have your name printed
on package of calling cards. As mat
ter Of fact, the official society of Wash
ington is species OF political campaign
ing. In order to keep in the good graces
of the public the wives of cabinet minis
tiers and other members of the govern
ment throw open their doors. No one is
denied admittance, no one is treated as
less than equal. Every precaution is
taken against offending even the hum
blest, for in this country even the most
loy.ly may have social ambition, and
all enjoy the right of expressing
their opinions at the ballot boxes.
AS ] saw the president and the ladies of
the cabinet standing by the hour yester-
day. doing honor to thousands of the me-
chanics, tradesmen and other good, but,
as we say without meaning offense, COM
mon people, thought they would not
be doing that if the mechanics and the
tradesmen, and the husbands of the wo-
men who were present in such large
cumbersome Of the women were
washerwomen, too-were not sovereigns
Of the republic.