TIIE OltEGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY MORNING, OCTOBER, IS, 1903
7
'A
Vt.
A.
vL:aTuse iiDn JDiairai: an
& 2v
'ff''. 1,
, J. Mi
r
3
i
VV
GW
i
fir ttomw of the United States
engagcA in a ma& riot f extrava'
gancef Are they leading the
women of the earth in a wild pace of reckless
money spending?
Are the sermons preached about their
excesses, are the books published of their ex
travagances, spending feats and the warn
ings of danger justified? Are the fair
women of wealth infected with a spending
mania? ' '
The world has been told . thaU Afiss
Giuh a Morosini, of New York, spends
$200,ooom year for dress; that Mrs. Clar
ence H.'Mackay bathes in a $$0,000 bath
room; that Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr.,
of $0,000 garden-party fame, wears a new
and costly cloak with every costly opera
dress; that Mrs. Burke-Roche Batonyi was
charged by her father with spending $375 a
day, of which $50 was for flowers. These
instances are typical of many less known cases
of extravagance.
"Who can estimate what the women of
America spend recklessly?" a writer asked re
cently, and added: "As well try to count the
sands of the sea or the hairs on one's head."
lowing Item will give you an Idea of what Mn.
Multi-Milllonaire pay or la supposed to pay-for her
clothei:
Blue cloth jacket and skirt, style of bio Francis
mTan 'velvet wit. ityl of Claudlna, from Doaulll.t. I10
Black taffeta and velvet ou1 dren, atyla of Faquln
black, point de France laco, 2o0.
White velvet, with nold and aablo fur pwn, 1410.
Real lace dreai over pink, high neck, transparent
alrcves, endlna- at elbow, ItlS. , ....
Blue faille drees, style of Doeulllet s blue, $110.
Tellow radium silk embroidered dress, style of beer
yellow, embroidered with sheaves of wheat and silver
ralloon,, real antique laoe, orchid pattern, 1420.
Blue rope Mlgnon blouse, $70.
Imported wMte flannel blouse, (95.
Blue white flannel blouse, flOO.
Black spansled and Jet dress. Callot waist. r?a Irish
lace, large des.sns. spangles on skirt, )43i.
Blue chiffon velvet dress, f!S0.
Mauve taffeta and velvet dress, tllO.
f7
i
Sfrs.
IS??''
If
v if .
. i . J I I K sk
5. All ttl.O
1 III
' t 111 "Us
rvtv i n
- : . .S
J
VrtMvitym
1
SPEAKING upon th! aubject not longr ago, Mn.
Hetty Green declared!
"The women of America have helped to make
hard time. All they UVe for, all they care for
It clothes the latest ahapes in hats, the newest
fangled sHlrts. And they are none too particular how
they get what they want or who paya for It.
"I am not saying the American women are not
moral. But I do aay that they do not care what price
their husbands and fathers and brothers pay for the
luxury and finery they demand. More men are driven
to dishonesty by the white hand of the woman stuck
ail over with jewels than by their own love of horses,
rich food and gay times,"
Some time ago the wife of a New York millionaire
selected a string of pearls at her husband's request.
Without demur he paid $286,000 for the gift.
Another millionairess, returning from Paris,
brought $55,000 worth of clothing with her. There
was Included $13,000 worth of underclothing. There
were $5000 worth of parasols and many thousand
dollars' worth of wraps. Evening dresses there were
galore, costing from $1000 to $2000 apiece, not to speak
of the silk stockings, lace lingerie, fairy frou-frous of
adornment all running Into the thousands.
What does she spend for her clothes the lady of
wealth? It Is difficult to tell. Shoes may average $25
s pair. Hatpins, $2000, $3000, $5000! Tiara, $50,000.
Necklaces, exceeding $100,000. Possibly every few weeks
something In this line may strike her fancy!
REVELS IN LUXURY
Let us peep into her apartments. The walls are
hung with tapestries 'and priceless brocades. Paint
ings costing many thousands are there, as well as
rare bric-a-brac and china. Jeweled brushes, mirrors,
manicure articles and other toilet articles worth a
small fortune. And then the bathroom, a marvelous
place, with the tub sunk in the marble floor a small
swimming pool. The fittings are of gold. Palms sur
round the room warm In winter as a summer day.
But this Is not all. We peep into the closets. There
are 120 feet of deep clothes-presses, filled with thou
sands of dollars' worth of dresses, lingerie, hats,
wraps, etc Such a sight would, perhaps, deprive you
of speech, madam, you, who spend less than f 100 a year
tur your dress. '
'There Is Miss Morosini, for Instance, who wears
a dress harmonising in color with every vehicle she
drives. Naturally she is the sensation at the Horse
Show. She drives a tan horse In tan harness. Then,
you mar be sura, her costume Is of tan. Or the har
ness Is pigskin, with blue satin rosettes and gold
mountings. She wears .tale blue silk trimmed with
Irish lace. It hat been stated that she spends $20,00
a year for dress.
Have you ever been to the grand opera In New
- Tetkr ltls In New York that the women go to excess
In dresa. Last season Mra Cornelius Vanderbllt, Jr,
was the cynosure of all eyes. With every as opera
dress she wore a cloak to match. One evening she
would be seen wearing a gown of white satin, with
a rloak of the same material lined with ermine. The
next performance would see her la blue-green velvet,
with a blue-green velvet cloak trimmed with chin
chilla. Again 1e would come hi white velvet, with trim
ming of pink ross. Her atnek would be wonderful
creation of brerade, with pink roses en a white sur
face. Mrs. Vanderbllt set style. Caa row Imagine
what others srnt. imitating her on cloaks alone T
About a rear as Mrs. Mower Oould Is said te
have rtt)tract4 a debt of for Jewels. Whea
he rerelred the bill. Mr. Ooald declared he'd aer
rsy ft. Mrs. Oeald Is aotod for her reeklee expendi
ture on drees, and enme rears a so, when she refused
a sr a bUl ef $170, it was made public. The fel-
Lone black velvet coat, Francis tan. $220.
Mauve cloth coat, 1145
Tan cloth and velvet coat. I ISO.
But dress la not all of milady's life. She must run
her household. Mr. Moneybags allows Mrs. Moneybags,
perhaps, $350,000 a year for this. She and every
member of the family must have their personal at
tendants. There Is a secretary, there are maids, mas
seuse: there are tutors, governesses arid valets for
the children; the housekeeper has a staff of servants;
the butler another staff, the chef a staff, etc.
She pays her chef $160 a Jnonth. a butler $75. She
Is a good housekeeper that is, her friends think so.
"She sets a fine table" with peaches at $4 apiece,
strawberries at 60 cents each, grapes 10 cents apieoe.
For wines, food, etc., she may spend $350 to entertain a
few friends at dinner.
Mrs. Burke-Roche Batonyi was declared by ber
father a few years ago to be one of the most extrava
gant women alive. He said she spent $375 a day,
without any part of it going toward her maintenance,
since she lived with him at no cost.
"Of course, I do," she said: "flowers alone cost
me $50." Her father declared that he gave her an
allowance of $60,000 a year, and that she regularly
ran beyond it.
Mrs. Batonyi thinks anything less than a diamond
collar for ljer spaniels decidedly unworthy. And
speaking or writing of dogs, for blue-blooded ani
mals. Miss Multi-Rich may spend thousands of dollars
each year. She may pay $1000 for a tiny mite of a
Pomeranian. Or she may show horses, ownlntc a dozen
or more valued at $5000 each. She may enjoy $10,000
turnouts. Or, if she races, she will employ a trainer
at $10,000 a year and a Jockey at $5000.
And don't forget the social race. Mrs. Stuyvesant
Fish may give a colonial ball. It is the talk of society
the most splendid success -of the season! What -Is Mrs.
Cornelius VanderbilC, ' Jr.", 'Ao do? Excel her, of course!
What must she do but revive colonial dress for her
footmen, three-cornered hats, powdered wigs, and all!
Quite easy. But another leader does something extra
ordinary. What can Mrs. Vanderbllt do next? Why,
bring a theatrical troupe to Newport and give a $50,000
fete.
And so the merry-go-round goes round.
"In Boston there Is an Immense amount of wealth
and luxury," writes Gertrude Atherton, "but there
are traditions behind a great deal of genulue culti
vation, pursuit of art and literature, high American
ideals, and the simplicity that characterizes well-bred
people everywhere. In the language of one of the
cleverest men In America, money in Boston does not
'stink," but it does In New York.
"In Philadelphia, the South, San Francisco, money,
although rated at Its proper value, has never assumed
the brutal Importance that It has in New York. The
millionaire society of the middle West may be vulgar
or absurd, but it is In the main Kood-natured and gen
erous; its principal defect is that It envies and emu
lates New York that frigid manner and cool aloofness
peculiar to those of the seven generations, the suc
cessful mask and lordly arrosrance of those whose
millions have becomo Its bulwark. The real thing as
It may be seen in England would only excite their
scorn, and, for the matter of that, It Is little enough
understood In New York." " 'T
In New York several "seasons" ago It was an
nounced that one society matron spent $100,000 for
an opera dress and its equipment of gems.
Foreigners coming to this country stand amaxed at
the extravagance and dominance of the women. Dr.
Emll Reich after a visit declared:
"The American woman Is not womanly; she la not a
woman. The whole of the United States government
is under petticoat government. She commands tha
men. Men do not count In America. The last man that
came to America was Christopher Columbus."
Exaggerated and distorted, of course, but that Is
the view of many foreigners.
Bridge Building While You Wait
AN UNUSUAL- feat in pontoon bridge bnilding- has
been accomplished by a company. 100 ... strong,
drawn from four cavalry regiments of the BerUa
garrison. Arrived at a point where the Spree is very wldex
the guardsmen, assisted by a dozen pioneers, constructed
in forty minutes a bridge of steel boats and plates,
108 feet long and ten feet broad. -A squadron of
cuirassier guards was the first to try it. riding twice
across. Then a loaded baggage wagon, drawn by SU
horses, traversed the bridge repeatedly. ,
The New. Alaska Bano-fie Dance Haiaji
I f 1 V -rr; i II I I dtC - - y
ill it n hv '-!5v ' ra? in mi hit.ti i js:-.
mm II V ... ' w" ' -- . BBBJJ. - W- F JR I J i. V . . . 1 II MM skk
zl?J nw-i i
IlCSf
WWWIS il.W B Bt
i
t
L.-:?-i-'.
i'l M t , t . eV
m-i nil t y
I
m
THE broad-shouldered man with the full
beard and the nugget watch charm handed
his eminently proper silk hat to' the man
t the dining-room door as he passed into
the brilliantly lighted, richly furnished show apart
ment of one of New York's swell hotels. The dap
per 2few Yorker who accompanied him smiled a
superior smile, and observed, as he noted the kin
dling glance his companion vouchsafed the sur
roundings: "Some different from your Alaska dance halls,
ehf
The quick resentment of the Alaskan could not
have been exceeded by the New Yorker himself if
j4 JTeTnerYi
or fre
an Englishman had smiled superior in conceited
London.
"Dance hall!" exclaimed the gold finder, in
proud surprise. "We have comparatively few dance
halls in Alaska now, at least, of the pioneer day
kind. W have been past that atage for years
yes, a whole couple of years now. We talk about
our gilded haunts of vice as complacently as you
do and there's more gilding to them than you
fellows put on here. Why, we have our own home
grown celery and lettuce, our own fine wliest bread,
our own potatoes julienne. If our summer would
last only a little longer, we'd raise our own bananas
and oranges."
THAT, ef course, was stretching things a little.
But the Alaskan, was moderate enough In his
claims as te everything except the bananas
aad eraagea.
The day ef the daoce ball is shoot ever la the
inest populous part ef Alaska. Within a d"n yar
fsfore the boy bera whew Alaska warmed te the
flush ef its first Americas geld fever could ja1t e I) oel
the transformation of the wilderness has come about.
oU)lag like that transformative, has ever
ltew Im the world s tivtltsatloa. Ia the art West.
Its facilities enhanced b limitless vlstae el arable
plains aad vast areas of the most anagalOceat climate
ever awaltiag the adveat ef man. halt a century
elapeed, before the crude p leas s res ef the camp were
replaced by the tides ef aa ordered elvUlaalloa an
the oncosts, crude dance hall, that srrnbot aad em
bodlmeet ef the rerklMS freeuer. la odd plara.
linger yet fT the pointing ef merals by the ecerafuU
sore elegantly et-aa-bd Cast.
Bet Alaska with Its ersee terrttery that wso!1
bury half the Dakotas. all ef Kaseaa, the better pert
of Nebraska, nearly all of Wisconsin,' Illinois and
Missouri, the whole of Minnesota and Iowa, and have
enough left over to aide Sew Kngland Alaska, with
Its 5SS.40L square miles, and Its scant 100,000 scattered
people, has rusned on to civilization within a decade.
In fact, with this sudden leap Into the world's
eijr of living. Alaska is now closing, probably for
all time, the dance hall era. that most picturesque
feature of American frontier existence, with dime
novels, the bang of the six-shooter and the toe of the
dancers punotuatlntc their pages, serving as the swan
Song of the dance hall's ending.
only three years ago Alaska rose in its pride to
demand of Washington that it be dealt with as 4a
Integral part of the United States, and that its popu
lation he accorded their rights as American cittiena.
Today. It Is preparing to show the world how
thoroughly modern and advanced It la. In Its prepara
tions for the Alaska-Yukon Paclflo Exposition of 10,
In Seattle.
Then the territory which was bousrht from Russia
In 1S7 Its J7S.26.40 acres for 17.200,000 wfll show
how. within thirty-six years, the government has re
ceived in revenues. S2.SOJ.O0S more than the original
purchase price; how. If its productions be grouped
with those of the Canadian Iskon adjoining, the
world has received riches amounting te tlTS.e00.0O0;
how there Is ever llfS.OOO.OOS capital Invested; hew
Alsska alone baa an annual eutpnt ef gold la excess
ef I! 1.004 eOO. The ambitious little community that so
etideavltself opoe Including the few score thoaaande
,luk. who are basiling there today. Is destined
te embrsie the millions of the state tt will be, a few
declared President
he are la this aodi-
eet be eld swa eerore tnery ee ees cr mm
f Vtf V
)
if L
tin
mm,.:
mi
Ii f i
".--iseVv.--:---, -i.- mii. ssl
veers to corse.
-The me ef any
fteeveH U a recent rrpp. "w
... .id before tl
rnateet aad seost populous states ef the entire I'nlee
IWAlTske: lredet that Alaslca. within the .est
i--t.V wCI sarport popmlatioa as large Is sup
ported "by the entire Scandinavian peninsula ct i:
rope."
There are IS. 004 miles ef railroad already rnd
co instruction, or dednitely projected, a ml lease greai
than the combined Union faciao. Northera lacte
Erie systems. CnsrsMiai coal areas, sucfi as will r
rlakr relieve the world of its dreaded coal fair,
have been disclosed by the geological survey i
searches, while iron and copper are making rra-.v
dispute with the gold the pre-eminence te efiica t
have attained In ether etatee. ... , ,. .
The fallacy of imagining that Alka Is wr
land of snow and le has Tees "uwrtij ' '
promises evee rreeter rh-e In f t" "
tneasared espaseee ef territory lie tee rt. !
tiae ef truck farms umVlnt la swre te -.,
eeeds ef any popelatioe wht-h te '
of the territory, snay BP1-.. ,.fc ...
The farnser Is eiread there, at " '
the fanner, wit fe his eseaoca i
iiiorblng hnsbendry. clr er.'t .
The 7af.ee baB. e-el f tee r-H i
fpale emir lwve in is-rei m-n. is
Is about grew-a ap.
f