The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-21
A Gallery Of Fame.

We quoted yesterday from Mr. LABoU-
cHERE's London newspaper para
graph describing the present rage for
decorations in English society-for rib
bons OF orders. medals, crosses and the
like A similar passion for the regalia
Of distinction is manifested even in
this republic After the civil war it
was ministered to by the grant to officers
who had served therein Of two brevets
above their lineal rank. Thus a Major
was entitled to call himself q Colonel,
and Lieutenant Colonel General.
OF recent years the qualification of
this passion for distinction has taken
the form Of books Of biography which
seem to have proved handsomely profit
able to those getting them up, for they
have been multiplied greatly. Illustra-
tions of the methods by which some
Of them are prepared are now under
proper investigation by the District
Attorney of this county. The end which
he is striving to reach seems to be not
merely the motives Of individuals in
securing celebration in these volumes,
but whether there are any penalties
imposed for refusing to make the large
subscriptions of money required for
admission to the biographical list.
These books, according to the &C
counts, are very expensive. A man
or woman to obtain notice in them
has been required to pay from $500 to
1880, and in some cases, where the
celebration Of the consequence of the
person was to be especially loud, the
charge is said to have been put up to
~ 500 and even $4,000. One of these
books, still in the press, is described by
Judge DEUEL., a director In the company
which devised it, as the most luxurious
volume ever printed. AS we understand
his proud description, the book, when
it appears, is to be Of an edition limited
in number to the subscribers who have
put up the money for its celebration
of them, and each Of them Is to have a
volume especially printed for him and
bound in some rare skin Of his own
selection. Probably, also, it will con-
tain his portrait, picture of his house
or houses and various other illustrations
indicative of his social distinction, or
at least his wealth.
The volume, too, as we understand
its plan, will also have the advantage
for the people it celebrates that they
can determine for themselves the esti-
mate it puts on their abilities and their
social consequence. That is, it will be
a mirror into which they can all look and
be sure to find in it the reflection which
is most fiattering to them.
OF course, that sort Of thing costs
Only the very rich can afford
to buy such celebration; but it will
have a curious interest for other people,
because it will present frankly each of
the celebrated's opinion of himself. 1t
will put him on the exact round of the
social ladder on which in his own esti-
nation he. ought to stand.
In times past there has been some
discussion among those interested in
of the sort as to the metes and
bounds Of the smart SET" Obviously
such "set, in order to preserve tho
on which it prides itself,
must be sharply separated from the
mass of society, and eligibility for ad-
mission to it must be closely scrutinized
It's limits must be narrow or it will lose
its special distinction. Why should not
the title to admission be determined by
the standard set up in the as yet unpub-
ished volume, designed under judicial
auspices, which the District Attorney