The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-12-31
SOCIAL STAFF OFFICERS.
MILITARY AND NAVAL AIDES
 FOR WHIrE HOUSE.

-EeIat Attaehins to the Appointment
 some or the Duties.
 Four lucky young men have just been appointed as social aides at the White House for the coming winter They are Lieutenant Roscoe c. Bulmer Of the navy, Lieutenant Harry Randolph Lay of the marine corps and Lieutenants Dan T. Moore and Granville R. Fortes- cue of the army.
 These assignments of duty, the hold CTS of which are regarded as extremely enyiable, are distributed not as rewards for military service performed, but merely in recognition of the personal popularity and agreeableness of the re cipients. Grizzled veterans are not chosen for work of this kind. A social aide to the President should be good looking, clever. well hammered and self possessed; he should also be young. ex- perienced in the usages of polite society and beyond criticism in the matter of attire Above ali, he should look well in uniform. All of these qualities dis tinguish the four officers above mem toned.
 Now it ought not to De supposed that these young officers will have nothing to do but help MT. and Mrs. Roosevelt entertain. They have regular work to do at the war and navy departments and for their services at the White House they receive no extra pay. But an appointment as social aide to the President carries with 1t not a little eclat and one Of it's greatest adyanta- ges lies iii the opportunity brings for
 meeting on the easiest and most agree able terms people of the highest dis tinetion. For in course of a season
 great numbers of notabilities eminent and influential men and beautiful and clever women-fow through the draw 1 ing rooms and partake of the hospitali- l tys of the historic mansion.
 Whenever the President gives din ner there is always one of the social
 aides on hand to recseive the guests. It would not be consistent with eti- quette for Mir. and Mrs. Roosevelt to
 await, like ordinary folks, the arrival of the people invited, greeting them as
 they came in. They are obliged, wheth I CT they wish 1t or not, to assume a quasi royal formaiity. They do not come down stairs until all the guests are assembled and the latter are re
 ceived in the red room by the young
 officer who greets them as the represeal-
 tative of the President, introduces them
 to each other, and does whatever else
 he can to make things go pleasantly I When eight o'clock, the dinner hour,
 arrives, te social side goes up stairs,
 informs MT. and Mrs. Roosevelt that l the guests are waiting and escorts them down stairs--not into the red room, l however. but into the blue room. Then he ushers the people by ones and { twos from the red room Into the blue, land presents them to the President
 and his wife. As soon as this fornali-
 ty has been completed MT. Roosevelt
 offers his right arm to the lady who, as
 previously arranged, he is to take in to i dinner; Mrs. Roosevelt takes the arm of the gentleman who has been as
 signed 10 her and the others follow, The social aide brings up the rear l with the lady provided for him. But at large entertainments of the kind, where perhaps three or four of the young off
 cers are on duty, they are not always expected to join the guests in the ban
 quet hall but. after helping with the l preliminaries, may go home or to the
 club for their own dinner,
 \ These young men serve under the di-
 rection of Colonel Charles s. Cromwell, I MT. Roosevelt's military aide, officially
 So designated. He is the master Of
 ceremonies at the White House and l Immediately unler him is Major Charles
 McCawley, of the marine corps, to whom has been delegated the manage # ment of most of the social business of 1 the establishment. It Is Colonel Bron- well who at public receptions as on
 New Years day, introduces each iIldi- ! vidual to the President, while Major l McCawfeY makes the presentations to
 Mrs. Roosevelt.
 1t Is the chief business of the social aides on such occasions to keep the crowd moving, So that there may be
 no stagnation and congestion. When l important personages or delegations I are received at the White House. they go and inform the President that he is awaited, and, on his arrival in the east room tor one of the other drawing rooms, chosen for the purpose,l they present the people to him. If Mrs. | Roosevelt gives a musicale, they tell I the guests where to go, see that they
 are seated, and make sure that those l who ought to have front seats are not l deposited in the rear.
 Lieutenant Granville R. Fortescue is d cousin of MT. Roosevelt. He enlisted las a private in a cavalry regiment at l the outbreak of the Spanish war, and in \ February, 1901, he was appointed sec ond lieutenant in the regular army 1 Only the other day he got into a scrape \ in San Francisco, being arrested for ri. I otous behavior; but the war depart. 4 nent chose to regard it as a joke, com sidering that 9 young man just back
 from the Philippines was excusahle for l indulging in Ia certain amount of reck- less hilarity.
 I Lieutenant Harry R. Lay is a Wash I Iington boy and a Princeton graduate.
 He was appointed from civil life five
 years ago to q lieutenanancy irthe ma
 rine corps, and he will be a captain ! within few weeks. Though only N E7 . ! N .