Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-11
A MATRIMONIAL MART.
Fate of Unmarried Army and Naval
Officers in San FrnnciscO.

THAT settles it: he will be married be-
fore the year is out said the wife of re-
tired army officer to a young Washington
bride referring to the assignment of a
young and handsome lieutenant to the Pre-
Sdio.
'Of course. dear, since your husband has
never been stationed at the Presido the
military post In San Francisco, you cannot
be expected to know the remarkable affinity
that delightful place has for matrimony
among the bachelors of the army who may
be stationed there They really are not
safe. If l were bachelor and disinclned
to matrimony l would use my strongest in
fiuence If l were ordered there to secure a
transfer or an exchange. l caught my hus-
band at the Preside; he says 1 captivated
him: same thing.
You interest me-
His own remark when he first saw me-
In California 1t is the quarry that stalks
the hunter. In the city on the seven hills
on the shore Of the Golden Gate an ensign
or lieutenant is as big as a commodore or
colonel in Washington, and the scale as
cends The military man is the social lion
When he shakes his name and growls the
people timid and awe-stricken When
he roars they flee. His name appears con-
stantly in the social columns of the local
press. He is invited everywhere Those su-
peror beings, the native sons of the golden
west. meaning the young men born in the
state deferentially stand aside as his spurs
jingle and his scabbard clanks on the pol
ished. tesselated floors of the palaces on
Mob Hill. The sun shines every day in the
year for him. The maidens smile the ma
irons glow, the papas are content the big
brothers proud, the sisters envious, and
all others respectfully distant and quiet"
The girl who has two three Preside
or Mare Island officers at her function is
happy. The girl who Is attended by one is
delighted. The girl who is engaged Is low
Gus. while the girl who is being married to
a uniform is delirous until the ceremony is
over for then, dear: as you know she be-
comes one of us. The post is one of slo-
rious sunshine. ease and social prestige.
Every few weeks notice like this appears
in the local papers:
Married-Ramona, the eldest daughter
of Mr.. and Mrs. Placer Mine, to Lieut
Manly Sharpshooter. first lieutenant. 9Th
Artillery. U. S. A.
It's quite wonderful, the accuracy of the
fire of these pretty Californians. when they
decide upon whom. they will bring down. I
have seen in a single season dozen or
more brave fellows go down before it. The
girls are all rich, you know. and an indie
pendent income contributes so much in
army circles toward ones comfort
Governors Island, New York, is not CON-
sidered especially desirable from a matrimo-
NAL standpoint The officer. especially in
the lower ranks. like so many others is
lost swallowed up, in that huge, high-ten-
stoned, pulsating whirlpool of humanity
which has the Harlem for its outer eddies
The gllded youth of the town ask when bis
ship got in, his next probable station and
| what he thinks of Dewey. The army man
is asked his opinion on the relative supe
riority of the volunteer officer over the req
ular-they think the volunteers Whipned the
Spanish-or some such pleasantly. and then
they invite him to have more chamnapne
and still more champagne. Talk about the
| admiral or the general and the flash of
gold lace and epaulets, with glistenjng
scabbard and noddlng horse hair plumes or
courteous cordially only.
IT'S the same with the girls They are a
| trife more effusive. The feminine eve is
undeniably attracted and the heart moved
| by the manly form in blue and gold lace
| but their glances have their genesis and
revelation usually in admiration. Of1cer,s
| pay can't provide town houses. countrv
seats and broughams. and their social no,
| sition being assured, they do not have n
marry, except for love, and they eneas
| themselves to the young man. usuaIIv
| slightly bald, sometimes with eyepIasseS
who goes down town every day in a busi,
| ness suit. and scoops In or loses a few fhnu-
| sand bones, as my husband saws. before
| luncheon.
In Washington? Here dear. at the seat
| of government is the proper place for the
| military man. AS matrimonial cobweh
| the capital is all right. and each year we
see the uniformed flies struggling-they only
pretend to struggle of course-in the siIken
meshes SO skillfully woven by Cupid"