The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-09-20

girls. George AIDE speaks in one of his
fables of an "old" Chicago family that
moved in right after the fire" Sim
ilarly in New York the new rich of thir-
at least the thoroughly established fam
lies of today. 1t is not their money
which has given them their prestige but
what their money bought. They had
brains and talents and displayed them
in the use of their money and so the
social portals opened to them and they
entered into the promised land married
the sons and daughters thereof and
mingled their own healthy red blood
with the blue blood" of those who
know who their great and even thei1
great-great-great grandfathers were.
We seldom go back farther than that in
America, so after ALL what's the use of
putting on airs? What's the difference
between knowing that your forbears
were Dutch Immigrants or not knowing.
what they were?
1t is absurd to pretend that nothing
but wealth is necessary to the entree to
the best society, by which is meant the
most fashionable society anywhere. ! If
wealthy people are in the preponderance
it is because they can afford the life of
gilded ease which '.being in society
means 1t is not their wealth. but the
advantages which wealth has given
them which have admitted them. If
they were hopelessly vulgar, common
ignorant, all the money in the world
would not buy them dinner invita-
ton to a truly exclusive home. But
having the means to learn. the will to
learn and the wit to learn how to put
up a 'front.'" as the saying is, why
shouldn't they get in? Their money is
a help to them and they couldn't arrive
without it, but they must have had
something else or they would forever
have remained barred.
What Mr.. Watterson does not seem
to have taken into consideration is that
-
and family in the Best Society of New
York, and some with only one of these
qualifications and few with neither.
Only a few weeks ago the papers which
trivial actions of the Smart Set of New
York and Newport were full of accounts
of the monkey dinner" given by MI.
Harry Lehr. This led to Mr.. Harry
Lehr's record and it was learned that
that popular leader of fashionable New
York circles had neither money nor fam
lily nor position but only native wit by
which to gain the entree to the best
houses in New York but he won it,
married rich girl and lived happily
and getting exploited by the enterpris-
ing press
The Four Hundred is a nickname
given fashionable New York society
by the newspapers on account of a
chance remark OF the late Ward Nc
Allister who bore much the same rela-
ton to fashionable society in Gotham
that railroad attorney may to the poll
tics of his state Mr.. McAllister did not
say and did not mean, although that
was the construction put upon his
words. that there were only four hum
bred families in New York At to move
in the best society. He meant that only
four hundred families were represented
in the best society that cares about
dinners and dances and theater parties
and other frivolous gaieties. He knew
that there were plenty of. well bred and
well born and well educated people in
New York who might have been in that
class if their tastes had not led in a
different directions He knew that there