The Savannah morning news., 1904-12-19
SOUTHERN SOCIETY AND ITS LEADERS
Social Conditions in Savannah and Atlanta as
Seen by Amulet Andrews.

f%--NA say AOfAGWH the SOClClY OF the
South and the elements that go to
make it up. This is what she says
about Savannah and Atlanta:
Atlanta and Savannah are, from a
social standpoint. as Numerically op-
posite as Jack Sprat and his wife. Let
the stranger within the gates of Savan-
nah come with a broad smile, a full
purse, and a genial desire to amuse
and be amused. yet if he bring not
with him family-tree upon which the
Savannah aristocrats can hang their
faith, he might just as well give his
dollars over for paving stones. Birth
is everything. and with it all things
are accepted. You may work for a
living and wear a five-year-old bon
net, if only you have blue blood.
Nothing else counts. There are. more
over, certain rules one must hearken
TO before being allowed the freedom of
the city-strange rules. indeed. are
these to the untrammelled girl of At
lanta; for whereas there she is free
to regard the denizens of the Capital
City Club reading their newspapers on
the colonnade, and even to eat and
drink in proximity to their retreat, she
may not even lift her modest eyes to
the balcony of Savannah's Oglethorpe
Club, which overhangs one of the
broad thoroughfares of the downtown
section. This is manifestly quite I'M
fair. since the men from their lofty
perch may look down upon feminine
shoppers without even naughty
How dare you. sir!" from the eyes
of the oppressed. If it be a breach of
social decorum to gaze at the club por-
tlco, it is social anarchy and high
treason for any woman of position to
be seen walking, in the light of day
and the UNFOLDING consciousness of
her own honesty upon any street
along The Bay" the cotton dis
trict of the city. 1t is dirty
and smells of oyster-shells down
there, so no woman would wilfully seek
it as a promenade, but the more pro-
gressive and free women of broader en-
vironment rather resent the fact that
they cannot with decorum walk on any
street they choose.
These be some of Savannah's mar
rownesses and restrictions. more than
made up for by the beauty of the city,
the simple manners, the unpretentious
hospitality of the people in her smart
set to such newcomers as are admitted
to its circle. Like Philadelphia, Sa-
vannah has intermarried much. Every
body is more or less related to every
body else. The Elliots, the Schleys. the
Lawtons, the Cunninghams, the Cor
dons the Understands are all connect
ed with one another in some way. Mrs.
Willie Gordon may be mentioned as
one of the social leaders, and besides
her Southern affiliations she has the
distinction of having been the first
white child bern in Chicago. Mrs.
Alexander r. Lawton is another lead
ing woman of Savannah society; she
was the daughter of the late Bishop
Beckwith of the Episcopalian diocese
of Georgia. There is much riding and
driving in Savannah, the principal
drive being the great white shell road
shaded by live oaks that leads to the
clubhouse at Thunderbolt, where there
are famous fish dinners. Walking is
also, strange to say, fad in this semi
tropical city. Bull street is the city's
Mall, and along its walks and in its
statue-ornamented squares one may
see all the younger portion of society
between four and six in the afternoon,
for it is an outdoor city. In the sea-
son there is of course the usual round
of formal dinners. but in the autumn
and spring the entertaining is contin-
uous but informal. This easy, open
air life on the proper street perhaps
makes up to the Savannah girl for the
restrictions about the Bay and the
club. Savannah has always been more
in touch with foreign life and its So
cial elements than most Southern cit
les. Being a coast city it is brought
in contact with European countries
through its foreign trade, and num-
Der of Savannah women have made
brilliant foreign marriages"
atlanta, by reason of it's growth, it's |
progress, it's newness, has been called |
the Chicago OF the South. 1t is diff
ferent from any other Southern city |
in nearly all respects. 1t is the city of |
initiative. 1t is the biggest city of |
it's size in the universe; its scandals, !
its enterprises, it's entertainments are |
all on a colossal scale. 1t is always |
to the fore always in evidence. IL
sensational happens in an
other city, Atlanta is sure to go 1t
one better by producing sensation |
more startling. Just as society has
been dulled and contracted by the |
selfishness and egotism of many other |
cities. so has society expanded and |
blossomed in Atlanta, through the UNI
selfishness and breadth of its leaders. |
Atlanta is the Gate City of the South, |
and the gates stand open. Streams
of new people pour in constantly and |
are absorbed into the city's life. These
take their places according |
to their individual merits and tastes. |
The clubs, of course, have the accepted |
standards for membership, and the |
stranger to be admitted must bring |
proper credentials. but social Atlanta |
makes no great point Of pedigrees.
This is paradoxical, since the majority |
Of the founders of its social fabric are
men and women of most aristocratic
birth. The president of the Capital |
CITY Club Mai. Livingston Minis, en-
bodies in his personality those qualities
which made the Old South's reputation
for gallantry, picturesqueness and fine
lineage, and yet he is the most pro-
and democratic of men. He
has lived up to the times and taken
on the spirit of the New South.
"In the loyalty of Atlanta people to
Atlanta lies the city's power for so
eial growth. They love their city and
i've for 1t. work for 1t. entertain for
Il. Society accepts newcomers on
their own merits, It Is true, but these
must have merits. Any
newcomer, no matter how much money
she has how well she dresses or en-
fertains. makes herself unpopular the
Instant she shows herself the least bit
II a snob. She then learns. to her
,hagrin. that Atlanta's generosity is
,ase OF noblesse oblige; and II she
,annot be one in spirit with the we'll
.-od ,,pprafauffofa leaders of the smart !