The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-03-28
The Ne7U
Racket.
Society
BY MARGARETTA ROBERTS
Who Has Been Social Secretary in the
Homes Of Some Of the CountTy'E
Wealthiest Famiiies.)

BY MARGARETTA ROBERTS
who HAS Been Social Secretary in the
Homes Of Some Of the Country'E
Wealthiest FamiIies)
GENERAL Of the best known wom-
- en- in society today have en-
tered it via Europe. That may
seem like a long way to go to get to
Long Island, Bar Harbor or New
port but, in the end it frequently
proves the shortest.
Since the war it has been COM
paratively easy for rich Americans
to crash London. London's titled
folk have been badly hit and the
old estates are taxed numerically.
The owners of these estates are not
adverse to taking paying guests"
or perhaps letting the estate to eX-
cessively rich Americans for rath-
er fabulous sum.
And many impoverished titled
women, automatically approached,
will take aspiring rich climbers I'M
der their tutelage and for a very
considerable sum will make what is
generally termed interesting social
contacts"
This method, too has its disad-
vantages. All too many OF the
titled friends brought back to this
country have proved to be owners
Of only second rate titles. or no title
at all.
A good way for a woman to get
a wedge into society is for her to
elect a few good charities and be
very industrious in their behalf.
Eventually this will lead to con-
act with some socially desirable
= eople. The trouble with this sys-
IN Is that it has heen worked to
cath, and now is considered an
5viouS method of attack.
Another method, and one which
growing, is to invite guests to
leet some important actor, author,
musician. Many of the people
invited will come out of curiosity.
The celebrity, the guest of honor,
lay be engaged at a price of $500
$500 for the evening. This is
4 angle Of the society racket, which
as grown greatly during the last
Vo years.
q q
r KNOW one society climber,
L woman who, confronted with the
impending collapse of her first
really big and important dinner,
engaged q particularly popular and
distinguished English novelist to act
as her guest of honor.
1t cost her $1,000 to have him on
hand. but she probably considered
it cheap at the price, for her dinner
turned out to be a great success.
Many climbers depend a great
deal on publicity 1t Is their am
bition to keep their names and pic
lures on the society pages of the
great newspapers and magazines.
To accomplish this, they cultivate
a decidedly cordial attitude toward
all members of the press and, in
many cases. employ on their per-
sonal staff newspaper man or
woman whose sole duty it is to see
that the press is kept fully informed
of the doings of Mr.. and Mrs. So
dIlQ-OO.
Many of the most energetic social
climbers are men. In days gone by
Americans liked to think of society
as a woman'S game; now one finds
san increasingly large number of
'-nen openly out to scale the social
heights.
I worked for one such man. He
was a charming person. Yet he
never quite arrived socially. The
owner of an enormous ranch in Cal
ifornia, he made frequent trips there
in a private train loaded with his
guests.
His hospitality was unbounded,
and it was not unusual for him to
import an entire orchestra, and 1
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