The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-12-04

Tossiplt hCctuent now the
Danger Has Been Obviated-Cards Sent
Out.
WASHINGTON, Dec Especial. There
Is quite tempest In the social teapot OF
the national capital. New rules for the
series OF card receptions held at the White
House have been promulgated, and there
Is trouble The first objection is from
those members of society who think they
have been Disseminated against In the is
suance of the invitations. To make the
matter perfectly plain, IL should be ex-
planned that after New Year the president |
and his wife following the precedent set |
at the beginning of this century, are to |
give "a series of five evening receptions at |
the White House The last of these is for |
the general public, and no invitations are
issued for it, but to the other four all the
guests are supposed to be hidden. Hereto
fore the practice has been to invite all tn,
persons whose official or social position en-
title them to the honor to attend all of the
events The result was in many instances
IA serious and even dangerous crowding OF
the White House parlors and corridors.
The Card Receptions.
It should be remembered that the official
and social circle of Washington Is now
very large one. 1t includes all the diplo
mats and their secretaries and attaches
and families; all the judges, supreme court
and other federal; all the senator's and rep
resentatives; all the higher officers of the
executive departments all the army and
| navy and marine corps officers, and all the
| hor of tho fourth pstatp the Ipnrc-
sentatives of the press and of course the
wives and daughters of the families of all.
Nor have the invitations in practice been
| limited to these. The cards read Mr..
| Blank and ladies' OF course this has
been taken advantage of to bring as many
ladies as one likes They may be cousins
or nieces of neighbors or even ones land
lady or laundress. No questions have been
| asked at the door. 1t was not even neces-
sary to show cards
Imagine what crowd there would be ii
all these people were to respond to their IN
yitations The number of cards sent out is
usually about 1000. But that means, III
case all are responded to, an assemblage oil
$1,000 or IL, 900 persons. The reception
hours are from Otto IL. In those two hours
all the guests wish to get in line and pass
before the president and his wife and theii
assistant hostesses, the wives of the mem
bers of tho cabinet Now, the executive
mansion is not great palace. 1t Is simply
"a little, old fashioned country house. II
has a vestibule, one large room, three
small parlors and corridor That Is all
A thousand persons can just about ge
around in comfort within this space. FIJI
teen hundred persons make a dense crowd
Two thousand form crush. Three thou
sand are we'll nigh impossible, and tn
danger line is passed.
Danger of y Crush.
, Now, in order to obviate the danger o
, | a crush, in which lives might be lost, i
the White House, it was Thought advisapi
to divide the guests, in SO far as possible
into squads-that is to say, congress Is III
yited as a whole to the first reception
which is given in honor OF the DIPLOMAT
: corps. the supreme court and congress
But to the other three receptions only
part of congress Is invited. 30, TOO, VIII
2 the press. which Is almost as large hume
= ically as congress itself. part OF I'll
e press is asked to each of the last three r
e ceptions and mono to the first one. III
r officers of the army and navy and marii
$ corps. instead of being invited to all fo'
. receptions as formerly, are now asked
{ no nresent only at that function given
their special honor. In this way 1T W
boned the great crush of humanity in Il
White House might be averted.
A Common Sense View.
Wherein the scheme is Objectionable
= any reasonable human being no one mas
Y, vet pointed out, and yet there are COZ
d nlaints and growls. A common sense we
r. of the matter is that 1t is vast deal pet'
y, to have some such arrangement maze al
~ a calamity averted than 1T is to have I
n American nation disgraced by q Irienti
r disaster i'm the home of the presluei
v, There Ia the more need for caution nc
ID than there will DO next year, and for
r, vorv simple reason When q new preside
comes to the White House, every one
:. anxious to attend the first receptie
n Tbere Is curiosity to see not only
an president. but his wife and the ladies
: the cabinet. The result Is that the init
% reception Is always crush.
It. have seen moments in the White Ho'
during the last ten years when panic q
a disaster seemed Inevitable. have &c
,yomen crushed till they tainted and
". "a be carried out rs soon as a way couid
ut found to do 1t. 1 have seen women, nal
1y somely attired. come out OF these iootn
es melees so dishgured ana awry onae y,
40 have Immediately gone home In humi
q. tion and tears have seen others unc
T. scious, but simply carried along Tor !
v. an hour In the midst Of whirlwin'
er humanity in which they had been caue
FL unable to escape and kept from falling
ms the floor to be tramplcd on only ny
"a strong arms of their escorts
90 Again and again have w.ltcrs ior
va press. myself Included, pointed out
RS. danger of these crowded receptions "t
go White House. The mansion II nos
no too small; it is ~ trap There l. h''O
''oGg door that * used on these r'c,P
co, eel nights. or that could well bc uSco'
ir- this j. the entrance For al io1r or , =
ng Mt the height of tlS Clu. 80, u a. ul9cheV
ms Inv the new arrivals i.-c OILY '"t
O@ across sort OF ladder or sJ"N"ty'
iected through awinuoT oNer tn "4ca'
AZ most two persons caa wis anF
m through this narrow. awkward oit"
Y. and even then IN nnMiheot dilet'
9 stumbling All around the mansion
IN leap OF some IS or more iceU TO
Re- ground Imagine Che terrible conscque
rs, ,.F ftp, flf. al her cause OF ID