The Irish standard., 1904-12-31

It is the talk of the clubs in Wash
{ngton that there is a marked inch
ing up" toward the manners and GUS
toms of royal courts at the White
House. It is the gossip Of the
kettledrums that they are at last
learning how to do things properly in
America, says the New York Herald.
The men look on it with sort Of
cynical liberation. Some think 1t Is
un-American, but this is big country,
and what is the difference?
Tlhe women buzz over it with de-
light. They think the more formal a
thing is and the more snowy it's ac-
COMMITMENTS the more desirable it is
that it should mark the goings-on in
the home Of the head of the govern
ment. And some of them unconscious
ly speak of him as the "Ruler."
Yet if you asked one of these gossips
of the clubs and the tea tables where
in the formal and social procedure at
the White House now differs from that
of three, six or twelve years ago, they
would be unable to specify. They only
have a vague idea that it is different.
That we have left behind the staid
simplicity of Buchanan, the near-the-
ground way of doing things that Lin
coin had, the headquarters ways OF
Grant, the country house hospitality
of Arthur, the ice water and pink tea
elegance of Hayes, the richness of
Cleveland and the domesticity Of Nc
Kinley, they all admit. In a general
way they know that there is more of
the martial spirit revealed; that there
is more gold and lace and more epau-
let's; that the rough rider neglige of
the president in public disappears in
his own drawing room and that there
appears verify a great parsonage. But
they cannot go into particulars.
AS matter OF fact the social do
ings at the White House now, and
especially since the verdict of last
November, differ in widely marked
degree from anything ever known be-
fore. There is something in the for
NAL etiquette, of increased gold braid,
which hints at court rather than the
home of the American president.
The most remarkable innovation in
the White House ceremonies is that of
having a constantly increasing num-
Der of army and navy officers in at
tendance. This has been custom of
slow growth. Former presidents
adopted it and then abandoned it, as
the custom suited them, and then
adopted it again. But it has now in
creased into proportions so great as to
cause widespread comment.
1t is not generally known, but there
are at this time eight army and navy
officers on the White House official and
social staff. These men have various
duties assigned to them, but they all
figure at official functions, and most Of
them at musicals and teas. This is a
part of their military duty. Some Of
them are to march ahead of the presi-
Dental party to dinner. Others are
to stand about respectfully in waiting
at official receptions. Some are to
make the announcements to the presi-
dent of the names Of callers Others
are to assist in keeping the line NOV
ing. Still others stand about ready to
be of any service for which they may
be required.
But whether the functions are Off
cial or semi-official, or merely social,
some of these young army and navy
officers are always on duty in full uni
form and assist in the festivities. At
small affairs, such as state and official
dinners, nearly all these aid officers
are on hand. They wait until the
president and Mrs. Roosevelt descend
and make and assist in making the
presentations. They are not always
invited to the dinners. But frequently,
having made the presentations and as
sited as the official escort, they take
their departure.
The army and navy officers whose
duty it is to report at the White House