Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-05-02
President and His Wife Fail to
Respond to Advances of
Reactionaries.

WASHINGTON, D. c., May lis
the Wilson administration going to
make good on politics and go wrong
on society?
That's the question which all Wash
ington is asking itself today. Nobody
doubts now that the administration
is progressive SO far as politics Is
concerned. Everybody is wondering
what stand it is going to take to-
wards that great, subtle. but power
full institution-Washin society.
The same old crowd of men and
women in Washington society-people
whose reactionary influences have
been as strong as the purely political
,nfluences-are storming the White
House. 1t remains to be seen whether
they get in. For great many years
they have been getting in. While the
male representatives of privilege have
been sitting in the executive offices,
advising with Presidents, their fe-
male partners have been sitting in
the White House parlors, slipping tea
with the White House mistress.
They have discovered they cannot
get into the White House offices this
time. SO the effort to get into the
narlor is more strenuous than ever.
HAL Flood recently gave dinner
at the Chevy Chase Club, where the
guest of honor was Miss Margaret
Wilson, the Presidents oldest daugh-
!. ter.
Flood is a Democratic represent
alive from Virginia. He is thor
ough-going sreactionary. He was the
man who. made the bitter attack on
William J. Bryan in the Baltimore
convention, defending Thomas For
tune Ryan, the multi-millionaire's
corporationist, from Bryan's famous
arraignment.
Colonel Spencer Cosby, who has
been on intimate social terms with
all the stand-pat crowd that was en-
tertained at the White House when
Taft was President, has just given a
dinner to the Misses Wilson,
Misses Margaret and Eleanor Will
son attended the 'hunt BALI at the
Chevy Chase Club.
This is the select official and mil
lionaire country club. 1t Is the spring
and fall playground of social toryism
in Washington.
Mrs. G. Won L. Meyer entertained
Miss Eleanor Wilson at a dinner
party
Mrs Meyer is the wife of the for
o.etr
secretary. Besides being one of the
foremost figures of the old Roosevelt
Taft social crowd she is an active
leader in the young, exceedingly
smart" society set.
The Misses Wilson attended a SEES
sion of the playhouse" weekly dance
club.
This is the gayest, giddiest and
.smartest" societ yset in Washing
ton. 1t is composed chiefly of young
married cousins whose dances are of
the modern turkey trot" variety,
and have been so gay as to cause
even hardened Washington society to
lift it's eyebrows.
At AFTERNOON tea at the White
House a large number of people here
tofore active in tory social circles
have been personally received. Among
them were Mrs. Franklin MacVeagh,
Mrs Edison Bradley and Mr.. and
Mrs. Preston Gibson.
Mrs. MacVeagh is tho wife of the
former multi-millionaire secretary of
the treasury under Taft The Edison
Bradleys constitute one of the richest
and "smartest" families of Washing
ton.
This sounds like a Bad beginning
as if the old social crowd were cap
turing the White House.
But it isn't!
These are exceptions. The Presi-
dent and Mrs. Wilson themselves
have not accepted single invitation
to any sort of a social function. al
though they have been flooded with
them.
The Wilson's are believed to be feel
ing their way, but 1t is difficult
way. of which they are almost en-
tirely ignorant. 1t is not surprising
that they have not been able imme-
diately to classify the hundreds of
members of what has hitherto been
the unquestioned best society" of
Washington. The interesting thing
is whether they will eventually pass
up the social toryism that is now
trying so hard to engulf them or sue
cunb to its subtleties. For that
reason, everything they do now So
ciallv IL Of kan interest