The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-03-13
The nIceties Of etinuette.

80 ~ - -
They will play an important part in our
social life this summer
They will be essentials, too. and not
mere afTeCtations 10 be regarded will a
smile and a shrug by the u~nthinking.
We are going to he on dress parade be
fore the nations of the world. and we must
be well-primed and our best social foot in
a foremost position.
Otherwise-but there will be no other
wise.
Cards for visiting. for invitations, for
Introduction and the hundred other OBJ
~servances are a sine qua non. And these
cards must be correct. or the user is
branded by those who really know as a
person of very bad form.
Thu presence OF so many foreigners on
our Missouri soil ought to make US more
careful. and much more punctilious thar
we nave ever been before. For, you see,
we don't want his Excellency. the Gov
eruor General OF Canada. or his Honor.
the Lord Mayor of London. or that de
liEhtful parsonage, the Austrian Commits
sloner, Baron Won Stribal. who now lives
among US for the summer, and who might
for that very reason be TO our faults a
little blind"-we don't want these dis
tinguished people, l say. togo home and
hin things.
A correct man or woman is known by
his OF her visiting card. 1t is the stamp.
the seal, the sign and the thing signified.
If II is wrong in wording. in shape, in
type in size. in any of the innumerable
ways that / might mention, it shows that
the owner buys his stationery at q cheap
shop. or that he doesn't know enough
about the proper kind of card to keep
from being imposed on by a shop that
doesn't know its business, n either re-
Election is bad for the gentleman's friends
and their opinion of him.
I put this in the masculine advisedly, for
It is my observation that most women who
make any pretensions about social OBJ
serVance get their card plate right when
they get 1t at all. and that they change 1t
almost every time the style of type has
a slight alteration. This, Of course, is
good for the stationer's business and keeps
things moving briskly. But it by no
means signifies that because a woman has
her name in script on a card, which is also
guiItless of either her address or her at
home day, that she is in bad form.
One Of the most elegant gentlewomen
fNAANAAA L nav AAAG ACiAS ~ NAVY" az al
Eastern city has used tiny cards about
half the size of the ones We are most
acquainted with, and the pasteboard is
glazed-glazed, Just think OF fiji She has
used the same card for fifty years and she
will never change. But she Is a woman
who car do anything that she likes. for
she is in a way. a n authority. The best
known stationers' firm in the country
makes these 1880 cards for her, Inc for
her alone.
STYLES OF CARDS
THAT SHOW GOOD TASTE.
But to resume: Our official visits and
the introduction to such, which is the
card. Let US consider officials first OF all.
Etiquette is pretty much the same, right
straight down from the President of these
United States TO the Mayor of a city. The
odore Roosevelt and all his predecessors
have had two cards. one for state call and
one for personal visits.
When Mr.. Roosevelt goes to return the
visit of Prince Henry or. a similar high
official. he is preceded by a secretary or
persons of his suite, who make the ap-
pointment as to hour and place, in order
that no time may be lost and neither the
host nor the visitor be subjected to the
slightest inconvenience. This is not tom
my-rot' and all kinds Of continental fool
ishness. as 1 think I hear some of my
democratic friends declaring. 1t is i'm
perative. and without such provisioning
valuable time would be lost and many
annoyances experienced.
When Mr.. Roosevelt arrives at the hotel
or palace or wherever he is to meet his
host, he sends in a card inscribed THE
President" and nothing else. This is the
official pasteboard used by the head OF our
nation, and the style Of its wording will
never be changed unless the Government
changes. Mr.. Roosevelt has another card
which he used long before he became
President, which, indeed, he has used ever
since he was old enough and tall enough
to claim the title of Mister" This is his
own personal visiting card and will be-
long TO him until his death. It is ell
Eraved mfr. Theodore Roosevelt and its
style also will never change.
Cabinet officers follow the same rule.
Mrs. Francis tells me that when the
former Governor was a Cabinet officer he
had. in addition TO his own personal card,
which we all know is lettered MIR. David
r. Francis another official card in
Hcribed: THE Secretary of the Interior"
This wording is adopted by all members
of the Cabinet. and they use this card
whenever 1t is necessary to make an
official call. but never when they are call
ing on their personal friends, sending
flowers with a card inside. or for any
purpose which demands only the name
and not the title.
When Mr.. Francis was Governor OF MIS-
EOurf he had M nffoiaI oarI hnA $780,,
visit of a public nature which he made
was arranged beforehand by a secretary
who preceded him.
Perhaps you would like to hear how a
few diEnitaries throughout the land pay
visits and what is their passport for all
such. 1 wrote to some Governors and
some Mayors a few days ago, and here
are a few of the replies:
Dear Miss Lamb: In response to your
letter of the 4th 1 send you herewith an
official card of his Bxcellency the Gov
ernor of Massachusetts,. He also has a
personal card, which is inclosed. He uses
his personal card whenever he does not
act officially. Whenever the Governor
pays a visit to a private citizen he is not
preceded by anybody, but in case of a
visit to the Commonwealth of a dignitary,
such as Prince Henry. or the President of
the United States, he details a member or
member of his military staff to meet the |
party at the State line. In the case of a
visit OF a naval squadron commanded by
an Admiral. a staff officer of the Admiral
usually calls on the Governor and arranges
for a meeting. After the call of the Ad-
mlral the Governors Adjutant General ar
ranges for a return call of the Governor
upon the Admiral Yours very truly,