New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-01-03
CLUB LIFE.
WHAT IT OFFERS TO MEN

|
.ocrAnurry OF WORKERS As COMPARED
IN OTHER crrrEs-rHE DOMESTIC NAN
AoEMExT OF CLUBS
The proposed consolidation OF the Ca!ume' S'.s
| with the RACQUET and Tennis CIuo' ai'er . '."
| attempt to form a similar partnership VIZ" u.,nr
| Metropolitan Club. has revived the ou s' 49,,
Wondered by so many a house comm't'ee' """'
makes a club succeedT ..,on NJ
rs,v new nembers to the Union Club rom 's
large waiting list seriously anect tne .Ne"
and Calumet clubs and not the NM
club? Why does the Manhattan Ci"D '"oo IT,.
a,G,c,lties In this professedly Democ'"uo s
causing 1t to- stretch forth 'onsns 80. p.nub,can
cIub further up the avenue. whiie 's ,s
,,.o, tho Union League seems to be IN ho"'''
inc condition? or why does the kncherpocn.'
Athletic Club succeed where the Mammalian Az"
ietic Club went under! -
An insight into the financial ana interha, n'""-
r.r,ert NJ some of these clubs would propao'y w
able any man OF affairs to answer mos' VI '"."e
uos,,ons while others could be answered ny VIII
n,o reference to the inherent attractions an" o'a"
hacks or I'm other words, the raison cure " 90
club In general, II may be asserted ''a' ."'' "
more reasons why a club should succeed WA" WI.
1, should fail AS shown by the continued eAs'ence
Of certain clubs under circumstances ' " -
yate enterprise could survive.
A LARGE NUdBER OF CLCbo.
,..,.,. from ths surprisingly large number OF
c,ubs and associations that have been Iormeu ;"
Ncw-Yor< within the last twenty years the na".
of which alone cover more than eieht Vi ''' ~.
printed pages of the city Directory the '"p"
club together for some purpose must certainly "
strong Whether this be for the Transparent. co"-
,.,, ,rros. a, tho eight hundred and odd Raines
climbs so frownngly defined by Judge Beekmah :"
his famous definition OF what constitutes c'uo'
mr. for the more legitimate II less apparent pun
nose of the strictly social clubs, seems ~ a".
little difference as the alleged common Dono VI
singing does I'm the internal life Of our old German
cubs the Arion and Liederkranz, as long as the
main purpose Of meeting others OF the Same se,
attained Yet It Is a current saying that cIuD lie
in New-York has reached the limit OF us e~-
pansion.
How true this Is may be inferred from the fact
that whenever some new sport or rad creates d
new community Of interests. clubs cutivatns SUCH
interests at once spring UP like mushrooms over
n,vht Thus We have an untold number OF bicycle
cubs few of which can boast OF an age exceeding
Ave years while In the face OF such compeu'io"
no less than thirty golf clubs nave recently o.e"
formed in the Immediate vicinity OF New iorN Win
aftaen more to come, OF which only the 81 An
draws and shinnecock Hill~ date back further tnah
two years.
so too. the good athletic clubs. Notwithstanding
rho formidable rivalry Of the club.lke armores OF
the National Guard. suffer for no lack OF men,
bcrship and It takes peculiar drawbacks or SIN
gular mismanagement to bring 10 gr'el al u'"'e'o
club that really offers all the advantages OF
gymnasium and outdoor sports compheo VIII" '"e
comforts of city clubhouse
Given a community Of tastes or interests inc suo-
cess Of a club as Of many other enterprises
rests almost wholly on the advantages u oiei' "
other words. most men, except those Jew "o'ao.e
who are pressed into club service as ORNAMENTS.
agureheads Join a club for what they Cd" se'
ont Of It. and stay In 1t only so long as such mem
horsh,n ,s MAINLY worth their while. though there
no those who will endure much for loyalty's sake
Tins newly married ere apt to resign from
their clubs or to absent themselves IN sucn
manner that 1t practically amounts 10 resisha"o"'
A similar dropping of has been observed IN the
case OF those clubs where motives or economy nave
caused the cooking and service to deteriorate Inc
advantages that may be derived from club men,
bership are almost manifold as the CLUBS them-
selves and In most cases suf,cient'y OBVIOUS
to constitute the distinguishing feature OK each
e'u' A CLUBS ADVANTAGES
u,rs, of all advantages of course comes social
prestge and this no matter whether 1t be I'M
mediately conferred by membership In ciup OF
whether It be regarded merely as the due recog-
milton OF social rank. In this country. where we
profess to do away with class distinctions. the
membership in o club must often serve the pur-
ticularly when 1t comes to entertaining foreigners
who have no other standard whereby to form
Judgment. Such prestige lies obviously within the
realm of those clubs, whose all-important END Is
social exclusveness, e.. the Union Nnickerpocker'
Metropolitan and Calumet. OF these the Union,
New-York's oldest and richest club is populary
supposed TO be reserved for the older men OF So
cety. though a number Of young men have been
recently admitted, who In former years would prob
ably have shortened the tedious waiting list period
by Joining the Knicxerbocker or Calumet, while the
METROPOLITAN or "mIllionaires club" so-called by
OF its palatIal quarters partly. Is supposed to
be the place where that distinguished generation Of
Americans which, according to the familiar saying.
hoyers between shirt sleeves and shirt sleeves. Is
supposed to congregate. None OF these clubs are
mutually exclusive after the manner Of secret So
cIeties or college fraterntes: the contrary,
they are so many centres Of mutual hospitality
though such hospitality Is restricted within the
bounds of very limits Is, indeed the rule
at all Nsw-York clubs OF any social pretensons
whatsoever Few clubs. for instance. will allow
the introduction OF more than two guests at
a time except on special occasions nor can
member introduce the same guest more than once
within a stated period. or introduce more than
stated number Of residents OF New-York within
certain time limits and this Is impossible at
our best clubs In the framing OF these rules the
new clubs are apt to follow the well-established
laws of the older clubs. which In their turn bor-
rowed largely from the English clubs. Thus, though
none Of our organizations go. so far as those In
London which almost universally confine smokers
to special smoking rooms. most New-York clubs
forbid pipe smoking. regardless Of the fact that
the pipe has come to be a more fashionable thing
than the cigarette
said to be the recognized models Of NewYork club
dam, xyhi he climbs of this CITY DrOtOypcS