Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-04
By SALLIE V. Fl. PICKETT.


perform the other duties to the absolute
satisfaction of the American people and
the world at large, but If he is remiss
in giving to each man that NEED OF
social glory which his position demands,
or Ii he ignores we'll defined rules, he
is all but lost.
From the very inception of the Gov
eminent this has been the question
paramount to no other. and men on
the pinnacle of Official life have found
it the cart across the road to impede
their progress, or at least heckle their
affairs Of state,
You would scarcely believe 1t, but
cabinets have been In a terrible state
Of ruction over the question OF VINO
came first and where and when they
were to be invited and where they were
to sit at table. For an early British
Minister the food at the White House
table tasted badly and he almost took
his things and went home because he
could not have just exactly the chair
at table-counting to the right and
left of the President or. the right and
left Of the First Lady of the Land-that
his position, according to court eti-
ouette, demanded.
Mr.. Merry of England, who came to
represent the person Of the Queen, was
quite certain that the man who wrote
"all men are created equal" was not
thinking Of dining out or making calls
in Washington.
President Reprimanded.
Within a session or two of Congress
the question of precedence came up
when the head of a practically newly
created office under the Treasury de-
manded a recognition beyond that OF
some of the Oldest officers of the Gov
eminent, and for time 1t looked very
much like he would really rank above
the body that confirmed his Office A
Chief Justice halted the arrangements
of a state reception TO the judiciary
in the White House within the last 20
years because when he arrived there
he found that he was not the ranking
guest, and no less a parsonage than
the stanch old politician and one time
Speaker, Joseph Cannon, reprimanded
the President for not according to him
the full honor of his position.
Many amusing stories and jokes are
told and constant fun is poked at ON
Gals on this subject, but. after all, no
matter what the established rule Is,
ANYTHING is better than being thrown
into chaotic state with the passing
whim of some bigot. 1t Is very con-
venient to have a rule at the State
Department that tells him when to go
back and sit down.
There is a suspicion that 1t is the
ladies who always throw the social
boomerang into the oficial midst. It
is almost always mere man. The
great question is not whom you are to
invite, but where you are going TO seat
him.
No less a parsonage than George
washington found this out, and imme-
dtately after he was made the choice OF
the people for the first time he faced
the problem seriously. He was a Viz
GINA country gentleman, flnancier,
general on the field Of battle, tip-top
sportsman who loved his horses, dogs
and good Observation-Disclosures in the
Mount Vernon stills-and he could step
right merrily and gracefully In the
dance, but when it came to acting as
master of ceremonies for one countrv
to another he was ren1iss. It was far
greater and more serious problem than
merely extending hospitality at his
country seat.
Code Is Enacted.
II was no. a primrose path for any
of the first Presidents who had not
experience to guide them, and only
after throwing the new Capital into a
state Of turmoil over the calling code
and the matter of seating guests &C
cording to precedent. peeving diplomats
until they refused to speak to cabinet
members and witnessing the disgraceful
site OF a First Lady of the Land keep
ing open the doors of the White House
and receiving mere half dozen guests,
that the real situation dawned upon
the newborn Capital and the some
what faulty first code established for
George Washington in New York and
Philadelphia became active in Wash
1ngton.
Rumors are afioat that neither the
President nor Mrs. Hoover care for So
ciety, and that the White House will
experience a Wilsonian relapse into in
activity, but this Is not likely Presi-
dent Hoover, more than almost any
President who has preceded him. has
had opportunity Of knowing what q
social alliance means, and had the
Latin American countries he visited
after his election merely opened the
doors of their factories and great man.
ufacturing plants and other utilities to
him instead Of their drawing room
doors and extending to him the glad
hand of hospitality, his trip would In
deed have been in vain.
Fixing the social code for the Pres
ident Of the United States has been
fraught with almost as many disasters
as any other phase of life that surrounds
him and especially where international
hospitality is concerned. Through
more than a century Of discarding this
or that subject thought to have been
thoroughly settled and adopting q
newer and better way, the State De-
partment has come to tolerable under
standing Of the social duties Of the
President. There are many discrep-
ancies in the code, as even the highest
authority in that department will attest
but until some real open ruction occurs
the real cause of all reforms, the matter
must stand just as it is and the same
runblings of dissatisfaction be heard
Rule Of Precedence.
Since the Government pays all the
expenses of the White House manage
ment except that of the grocery bill, il
behooves a President to sit pretty ano
start nothing to upset affairs. unless
indeed, it becomes a vital question
There is none of the grandeur anc
ceremony Of Old World courts in the
etiquette of our White House, but 6
rule of precedence that must be re-
spected.
The master of ceremonies of the STATE
Department knows this subject, anc
while he cannot administer 1t to {
President, even in broken doses, he /!
there to be called upon. OF late year,
1t has been thought best to place some
man accustomed to the most forma
rules of official etiquette at the dis
posal Of the President and the FRS
Lady OF the Land, that they may with
out trouble TO themselves steer clea
of the pitfalls that beset their posi-
ton.
Two men connected with the Whit
House for many years and who as
sisted in guiding the wives Of Presi
dents through many intricate highway
were Mr.. Warren s. Young, who TO
more than 80 years was the social ex
ecutive oficer. and Col. w. H. Crook