Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-08-25
THE SOCIAL SIDE OF ST. LOUIS.
Business First, a Good Time Next
ldleness and ExcIusiveness Nowhere.

ldleness and ExcIusiveness Nowhere.
"A Leader OF Society" in Ainslee's
MISUNDERSTANDING, superla-
lively, sayagely, ST. Louis is big city
| of business. Nevertheless there is
nothing sordid about this business; on
the contrary, it is delightfully."- relieved
by sense of necessity, and men go
about 1t in that cheerful spirit which
necessity engenders.
IL has been said, with what degree
CT truth | know not. that st. Louis is
one of the most threading cities in the
United States. The six best-selling
books OF the season, we are told by
our booksellers, do not rely upon the
trade reports from st. Louis to keep
up their general average until such
time as they fall by their own heayi-
ness into the pit of past greatness.
st. Louis has two weekly periodicals
OF character more or less literary.
The editor of the older weekly de-
clares that his circulation is greater
per square mile in the cities of Kansas
than in st. Louis; while the publisher
while he has received thousands of
subscriptions through personal solicit
tation and schemes" in ST. Louis, his
list of voluntary city subscribers is
very much lighter, per square mile of
population, than the country town list.
These observations are not made
with view to indicating that we st.
Louisans are ignorant, for that is not
true; as class, we are keen-minded,
ready, alert, but we have not arisen as
yet out of the bcgs of business into
the serene atmosphere of artistic ele-
gance
st. Louis has no cultivated leisure
class, in the sense that Boston and
New York have it, and we feel no
shame because Of its lack.
But It must not be taken for granted
that, because of our devotion to bust
ness, we have no social ideals or as
pirations. This big town aspires
nightly, and in the gradual working
up to the realization of it's ideals it is
measurably active In social festivities.
For the most part, the st. Louis So
ciety folk are approachable they do
not require a confagration to thaw
their dignity before warming UP to an
interesting person who is outside thu
breastworks.
A poor girl. if she possesses meas
ureable culture needs but an introduc-
ton through the proper channels to
be placed on the invitation list of the
Cabanne set; while a person of known
bad character cannot buy his way into
the inner circle.
The social side of st. Louis this
year is more brilliantly in the lime
light than is the case ordinarily, be,
cause of the worlds fair Our city is
hostess to the world. The guests are
gathered from the foremost capitals
of America. Europe and Asia 1t is
not unsafe to say that they find the so
cial side of st. Louis neither concave
not convex, but sufficiently smooth to
mirror without absurdity of grotesque-
ness the many phases of entertain
ment which society demands of all it's
tlevotees.
1t is whispered, by the way, that
since the opening of the worlds fair
the local invitation list in certain
quarters has been reorganized. and
that now there are three classes of
eligibles-A, B and C. For functions
of state character. such as the en-
tertafnmentSof Prince Pu Pun or Miss
Roosevelt. class A is listed. For an
affair such ss reception in honor of
a foreign commissioner, class B suf-
! fees. Glass C is invited along with
the others. to ordinary things like
punch-bowl parties How true this
Itriple-letter reorganization story is
am not prepared to say, but it is obvi-
Gus to any one on the spot that the ex-
position has introduced into st. Louis
social life an element of arrogance
that is distinctly painful to many of
our old-time aristocrats.
However. this condition is but tenn
porary. THE captains and the kings
depart" and after the Juror Of the
present season we doubt not that St.
Louis will quiet down into its custom.
airy routing of social life-just semi
Southern, southwestern. wholly hos
pitable community, which still loves
money because Of the fun of making
it. and not because grandfather hand
ed II down