New-York tribune., 1912-03-24
London, February II.
,rs BLENDED

New Nolh ~
~. o,stv has advantages which neither
'on .,,aalo West nor New York pos
pe II is American, but also cos
sss' a.o,. with that kind of cosmopoli-
Sopvn Sr, which does not exclude its own
an,' ,d own people. In three particu-
~' :, has no rival anywhere in the
Ns s,ates 1t will be patriotic TO
Ia q. official life first
P.rbodv W knows Of the official world.
b not everybody knows that mem
~ ~ of that great body is not Of itself
wort TO social life. No more is it
-aon. nor does the English Peer
- Itself confer social position. Here
as' nav be even a Duke, yet the doors
"Drvfair remain closed TO you. In
@'sH,gton you may be even Senator
,occountably unlimited to houses
fl' -on,d Ike to enter. The Senator
lV' .asn often called an Ambassador
s ..u his own State to the Government
n ssn the States, but Ambassadors have
.n.ses which are not his. The linn
p .,o, applies also TO Cabinet Ministers
s,o Judges Of the Supreme Court. To
huge assemblies at the White House
'..y will all as a matter Of course be
-. of more select companies not all
an no invited 10 make part. Nor is an
-r,,ation a thing always to be coveted
,,s own sake without some regard to
,oouences. A case worth considering
: ,het Of a man with a considerable
Thirty in public life who had some
go, found his way into society. He be-
..ns Engaged to a girl whose place and
.,...c,ions were beyond dispute. When
=. as asked whether she knew where
!. really stood in the estimation of her
nzn set she answered:
aob. YES. know he is the jest Of every
s.,wlns room he enters. but I believe in
-. nolitical future, and / am going TO
Marty him. -
And now, alas, even his political future
.,sms clouded The truth is,-of which
.vsp Sovereign States may take notice.
,ssre are Senators and Senators. Mr..
,srieh and Mr.. Lodge, Mr.. Root and The
n,s Mr.. Hoar and some others are
,-naments of any society, but the Sen
sy does not consist exclusively of men
whose gifts and opportunities have been
social
The second particular is diplomatic,
and in that also Washington has and
ran have no rival in America. Ambassa-
sors and Ministers are picked men; and
80 are many of those embryo diploma
tus who are Secretaries and Attaches.
uey bring 10 Washington, most of them,
es experiences Of European society in
rsat European capitals. They bring
ruropean ideas which do not always
raft we'll on the tree of American Lib
uty. but are always interesting. Their
,snge is wider than most mems, since all
heir lives they have been passing from
tne country to another, from one contl-
tsnt another. from one hemisphere TO
another. L have known" says ulysses,
many lands and many men" Women
,lso he might have added. His talk
NAV not always be better than others,
but is always different. l think an Am
tassador is in London or Paris greater
fgure than in Washington, where he
finds himself in an atmosphere more or
less foreign to him. In London or Paris
II s possible TO escape from politics. Is
Il IN Washington? Whether possible or
not. the diplomatic influence tends 10
large discourse. looking before and after
and all about. And they have, Ike the
best people in all countries, polished
manners. the touch of elegance which is
like perfume.
That the diplomatic body is not always
or altogether a happy family is evident
enough, even from the newspapers, which
IN Washington devote unnumbered COL
umns TO social incidents. There were
cases where no indulgence was shown.
a protest appeared in the
The wife of a diplomatist
was singled out for condemnation. She
was accused Of refusing invitations she
ought to have accepted. A guest at hor
own table read out the discriminating
amid an embarrassment from
which the hostess herself was entirely
free. She listened smilingly and said:
Its not true that l refuse invitations.
! accept all get-except, Of course, from
my own Embassy"
Needless TO explain that this lady and
her Ambassadress were not sympathetic
70 each other. The anecdote has no
cher relation to Washington life in gen
tral than as showing how the local press
undertakes at times to act as censor
upon individuals. The diplomatic world,
horeover is a world by itself, governed
WITS own laws. though il might be truer
% say that each Embassy and Lega-
Ton is a world by itself and law unto
iRef. Officially, or in the discharge OF
social functions which might be called
odieal they were all exacting enough.
tad rightly eXacting Not so in what
sSs not technically diplomatic. There
were iealousies; there are always Jeal-
elsies; which we're both diplomatic ana
rrsonal But. on the whole, the EN-
hssies and Legations were less peremp-
'ory than many private houses. What
ue British Embassy was in Lord
fauncefote's time and then during the
lo short tenure Of Sir Michael and Lady
Herbert, ii has never been since, ana
Hrhaps can never be again. There
'se al one time three Ambassadors,
ae British, French and German, and
sso the Nethc ,ands Minister and the
'eslan Minister, who had American
S"es; In each case fortunate alliance
sao Is still happily true of the French.
anse International matrimonial rela-
uOhs we're once held by European For
'sn Offices TO diminish the availability