The Savannah morning news., 1903-11-08

Washington, Nov. 6. - The sched-
ule of the White House enter
tainments for the coming season shows
the usual number of functions, begin
ming with the annual dinner to the
cabinet officers and their wives on
Thursday, Dec. T. and closing with the
army and navy reception Thursday,
Feb. H. President and Mrs.
Roosevelt have wisely returned to the
traditional White House day in Sc
lecting Thursday for all evening func-
tons. which leaves Wednesday once
more free to the cabinet hostesses,
should they care to return to the hos
pita BILE customs of former years and be
lat home" to everybody on Wednes-
day afternoons. Since time out of
mind Thursday has been known as
white House day" as Wednesday
was cabinet day" Then one could
arrange ones social calendar definite
", without danger of being obliged
to break engagements for doings at
the White House, an invitation from
the President superseding all others
and being in the nature of a command.
The passing of the weekly cabinet re-
ceptions in the early days of the Nc
Kinley administration came about by
chance. First, the President himself
pre-empted several Wednesdays of the
winter for his own entertainment, and
several new and inexperienced host
esses gladly took advantage of an eX-
cuse TO escape what looked to them
like almost insurmountable difficulties.
But it was a distinct loss to the ma
tioHal character Of a Washington win
ter. The women courageous enough to
revive the good old custom, and cour-
teous enough to receive the well dress
ed public in a purely official capacity
half a dozen times or so in the course
of a year, will do more for Washing
ton society in its broadcast sense and
for the pleasure of 1.-The stranger with
in the gates than the woman who
gives two select dinner parties a week
or makes a thousand calls in a sea-
son. Mrs. Hay, wife of the Secretary
of State, and the natural leader of the
cabinet hostesses, is still absent from
the city, but is well known to be
strongly averse to public receptions
So there is little hope of a general
cabinet day in which the calling
public may participate during the pres
ent season or administration. 1t is
greatly to be deplored, but there Is no
longer any opportunity for ladies Wis
iting in Washington to enter the White
House and shake hands with its mis-
tress. The good old days of weekly
or monthly public afternoon receptions
given to ladies by the mistress of the
White House has gone by, so far as
the present administration is concern
ed. Mrs. Roosevelt gives a great many
small dinners, evening receptions and
musicales, but they are all for the same
select few, invited over and over again,
and the public is entirely shut out
Miss Alice Roosevelt, who returned to
Washington last Saturday from her
visit in Chicago, is enthusiastic in her
praise of the Windy City" Every
moment of her stay there was made
delightful by the hospitality of her
hosts and their friends In addition
to daily attendance at the Horse Show,
she dined out four of the seven even
ings of her visit, each time being the
guest of honor, besides which there
were luncheons galore for her, a sup
per at the Auditorium Annex, coach
ing and theater parties, breakfasts and
teas. Miss Roosevelt, young as she is,
knows well how to submit to the pub
lie curiosity with the grace and
dignity of a veteran society campaign
faw cmfw shrd cmfw emf cmfwy
list.
They say that it was the bright and
shining example of Senator Depew
which started such an epidemic of
matrimony among our aged law max
ers. Being ideally married himself,
though on the shady side of seventy,
to beautiful young woman who as
serts that she married him for love
alone, seems TO have originated a sort
of propaganda among his colleagues
which bids fair to depopulate the Capt.
tol of widowers and bachelors. Sena-
tor Platts marriage caused something
of a sensation in Washington; but it
was as mild ripple compared with
that which shook society from center to
circumfrance when Senator Stewards
surprising marriage came to light.
Verging close on his eightieth year,
with a patriarchal beard long and
white, he has for years tbeen known
as the Santa Claus of the Senate. He
made no confidants in this city, or else
where, regarding his matrimonial in
tention, even his daughters being en-
tirely unaware of the impending event
An unwonted buoyancy in his manner
and in his step convinced some of his
washington friends during his last
visit here that Something was in the
wind besides his flowing whiskers
He was seen carefully scrutinizing ar
ticles in iewelry store, and escorting
the handsome widow Cone to the rail-
way station; which, coupled with the
fact that his first wife has been dead
little more than a year. might have
given people the hint. But somehow
1t didn't, and everybody was taken
completely by surprise. The first Mrs.
Stewart, who lived here many years
and was greatly beloved, died from the
effects of an accident. She was thrown
from an automobile. driven by her
nephew, near his home in California,
and never regained consciousness,