The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-02-22
s'ALLIsTER's CENSUS.

More talk is bestowed on Nj. Ward Nc
Alster and his attempts TO classify New
York society than he or lis calling war
rants Neither the one nor the other de-
serves aay attention. Nj McAlnster IS
nlIing an Office which, II not exactly calcu-
lated 20 satisfy tie ambition Of a gentle
man, is ney rtneless uselu, in is way, and
not necessarily 10 be despised. Ia every So
Getty there must he some che who vii man
age tie details Of invitations, music, sup
peTs, flowers, carriages, and other matters
pertaining TO social festivities, which re-
quire experience and judgment. and yet
which are TOO delicate to be committed to a
head waiter Such an official Is as neces-
sary as tie decorator who festo0DS the bali
room with flowers, the uph0lsierer who lays
the crash or the caterer who looks after
the supper and the wine. McAllister seems
to have discovered hat the bent Of his
mind naturally adapted him for the post.
and he assumed its duties when the death
Of Brown, the sexton Of Grace Church, Gre
ated a vacancy. According 10 his own ac-
count, be has discharged them &c the salts
faction Of his employers. and apparently
not without profit for himself. What may
be the exact value Of the services Of a
master OF ceremonies is not generally
known; but no one in this mercenaiy age
is expected to work for nothing.
In New York, as in other American cities
the confines Of society ale dim and UuceT-
tain. We have no titled nobility, and 10
presentations at court. as they have in Eu-
Topean capitals. There IS no social regis
ter IN the United States which determines
without appeal who constitute society and
who do not. A party Of ladies and gentle
men of congenial tastes and habits agree to
associate together, and after time, as the
capacity of houses and bathrooms is linz
tied, they restrict their invitations TO their
own Sc {. People who would like 10 consOrt
with them find obstacles in the way, and
the original set thus crystaIlizes into what the
world calls society But there is nothing
to prevent those who have been excluded
from that paradise from declaring that they
and they only are society, and from black
balling the members Ct The original confed-
Grafton Of angels. There may lie half a
dozen societies in each city. each claiming
on equally good grouBds-that it and it
only is really the cream Of the cream.
A man With a few millions and fine
house, a clever wife and a couple Of
pretty daughters, may IN any American city
give cut that he aud his friends are the
only genuine patricians; and If he has tact,
it is odds that he will make good his claim.
As to Nj McAliister's pretension to limit
New York society TO four hundred OF one
hundred and fifty friends of his own, Il is
simply mpudent bOsb. OF his social leaders
the grandfathers in many cases dug pota-
toes, or pedded small wares, or traded in
slaves, and according to the laws # heredity
the grandchildren Of the present arlstocrats
are as likely as not 10 fetch up on the same
level before they die. The four hundred
have a perfect right 10 associate exclusively
with each other, and they may call them
selves society, as they may call themselves
cherubim and seraphim, If they choose
But that does not prevent another set Of
four hundred wel!-bred, cultured and refined
people from forming another exclusive as
ISOLATION and calling themselves the only
true, genuine and original Jacobs.
It is right and proper that social inter
course among young people should be pro-
NOTED. 1t Tehnes the men and educates
the girls. Dancing and suppers and theater
parties and picnies are not perhaps the
highest pursuits in which people can en-
gage, but they have their merits, and if
young men were more assiduously devoted
to them there would be less. dissipation
among our gilded youth. But after a time
social pleasures are neither satisfying nor
very improving People whose minds are
engr0ssed with cotillons are apt to be shall
low. Social intercourse with them recalls
the saying Of cynical philosopher who was
invited to a O'clock tea, and observed that
he had found it pretty dry picking"
Persons Of common sense smile when
they read of the squabbles of the New
Workers over their social census They
are amused to observe the steadily
diminishing numbers Of the genuine blue
bloOded. Forty years ago a member Of this
same Astor family over which McAllister
crows found ten thousand persons in New
York who were "in society :" two years ago
McAllster found only four hundred, and
now two hundred and fifty Of these have
dropped out
TIE LOGICAL CANDIDATE.