THE BACHELOR'S CLUB.
Club life in America is a growth of recent years. It is now so firmly
established, and it is so popular that there is not a village or even a
settlement in the United States which has not at least its casino, or
its little coterie organized for golf, tennis, athletic, or merely
social enjoyment. All of these, from the great metropolitan clubs of the
cities down to the very humblest in the "wilds," are governed by club
laws and are regulated by club etiquette. In New York, now a city of
clubs, this etiquette differs much from that observed in London, Paris,
or any of the large continental centers. In London, a man is identified
with his club. He rarely belongs to more than one, and his membership
there denotes his social standing, his pursuits in life, and, above all,
his politics. English clubs are also very jealous of admittance of
strangers, and are not in the least hospitable to the foreigner. There
are exceptions to this among the literary, theatrical, and Bohemian
organizations, but the Pall Mall clubs are "closed." In New York,
Boston, Chicago, and other American cities there are organizations which
insist upon certain qualifications, such as being a university man, a
lawyer, an author, a physician, or a member of a college fraternity, for
admittance; but then the members also belong to other clubs, where their
social standing, or perhaps the extent of their bank account, is their
passport.
If a man wishes to get on socially, he should belong to at least one
good club. It gives him his standing in the community, and places him.
He is no longer on the list of the unidentified.
When a choice is made of a club which you desire to join, the next step
would be to have two members in good standing to act as your
sponsors--one proposes your name and the other seconds. A good sponsor
is necessary, and you should choose one who has many friends in the
organization of which you desire to become a member. The president,
officers, and the governing committee are debarred from either proposing
or seconding a name for membership. The term of a man's novitiate
depends upon the state of the waiting list. Your proposer will notify
you when your name will be reached, as he himself will be notified in
writing by the committee on membership. The rules of candidacy differ in
various clubs. In some, the name of the candidate with those of the two
members proposing him is exposed in a conspicuous place where the entire
club can see it. There is also a book in which other members sign the
application, and the number of signatures, of course, has weight with
the governors.
Again, the name is inscribed in a book kept for the purpose in the
steward's office, and it is not necessary that any other indorsement
except that of your sponsors be made.
Any member objecting to the name of a candidate has two methods by which
he can make known his objection. One is to write directly to the
governors, or to the committee on admissions and membership, whichever,
according to the laws of the club, has the matter in hand. Usually it is
the governing committee or board of governors. This communication is
treated, as are all club matters, with the secrecy of the confessional.
Your sponsors are written to and the objections stated, but the name of
the person objecting is withheld. The other method is, if any one has an
objection to your admission, that he should go at once in a manly way to
one of your sponsors and state it. It is a rare occurrence in a New York
club that any candidate is black-balled. The warning from the governing
committee, or from another member to the sponsors, is a word to the
wise, and the men who propose you should immediately withdraw your name
to avoid a disaster. Otherwise a very great risk is run, as objections
which have any foundation have great weight with the governing
committee.
In the clubs where the names of the candidates are kept only in a small
book, while on the waiting list they are posted ten days before the
election in a conspicuous part of the clubhouse. No candidate can be
elected to a club who is not personally known to two or more members of
the governing committee. A short time before election, if the candidate
has not this acquaintance, it is the duty of his sponsors to take him
around and introduce him, or to arrange that he will meet these
gentlemen in some way; otherwise his name will go over; and after two
setbacks of this kind, it will be rejected.
On the election of a candidate--the balloting being done by the
governing committee--the sponsors are notified, sometimes by posting and
otherwise simply by letter. The secretary of the club will let the new
member know immediately of his election, and the letter, which is
usually a form, will also notify him that his admission fee and yearly
dues are payable. The admission or entrance fee to a club is from one
hundred to two hundred dollars in the well-known New York organizations,
and the yearly dues are from seventy-five to one hundred dollars. These
must be paid at once by check. The rules of most clubs allow a
thirty-day limit. If you are so fortunate as to be admitted after the
date of the yearly meeting, you will only be liable for one half the
current yearly dues; otherwise you pay the entire amount.
It is now the duty of the sponsors to introduce their newly elected
candidate to the club. This is an easy matter. One of them will go with
you, sit in the general smoking or lounging room, and make you
acquainted with one or two of his friends. The responsibility is then
over.
Club etiquette is very simple. It is only the application of the usual
rules of courtesy observed in private life. The club is your home. You
should behave there as you would in your own house as host, and
consequently your conduct toward your fellow-members should be
characterized by the utmost consideration.
The average clubhouse has a large room on the ground or first floor
which is used for smoking, reading, the newspapers, and "living"
generally. On the floors above there are the dining rooms, the library,
and reading and card rooms. The billiard room occupies a special
quarter, according to the plan of the house.
A clever man said that there was but one rule of clubhouse etiquette
different from the general laws of manners, and that was to keep your
hat on. This is true, but then there are many others. Men do not take
off their hats on entering a club, and do not remove them in any room
except that in which they dine. All social clubs are more or less
"closed." Visitors are only allowed under certain restrictions. The
general rule is that a member may invite to the use of the club for a
period of ten consecutive days any one not a resident of the city, but
can have no more than one guest at a time. No stranger shall be
introduced a second time unless he shall have been absent from the city
three months. In some clubs a member may introduce as a visitor a
resident of the city, but he can have no more than one such guest at a
time. No person shall be introduced more than once in twelve months.
Other clubs are open to the admission of visitors at certain periods,
and others again have ladies' days, at which a reception to the fair
friends of the members is given. All this depends on the rules of the
club. As soon as you are made a member you are given a little book in
which these are contained, and you should study them carefully. The name
of a guest should be entered on the visitors' book with that of his
host. If the visitor is put up for a certain period a card to the club
is sent him, and during his stay he has all the privileges of a member.
He can run up an account, but he should certainly settle it before his
term expires, otherwise his host will be held responsible.
A clubman never pays an attendant for refreshment or food served.
Gratuities of any kind to servants are forbidden. When refreshment is
required, you press the electric bell, of which there are a number in
all the rooms, and the attendant comes to you for your order. When he
brings it he has with it a check which you sign. These checks are, of
course, debited to you, and you receive your bill once a month, or you
can make arrangements to pay at the steward's or cashier's desk daily.
You order your meals in the same manner, and when they are ready, the
servant will notify you.
At most of the clubs smoking is not permitted in the dining rooms until
after nine, nor are refreshments allowed to be served in the visitors'
room or library at any time. Books and magazines are not to be removed
from the reading room or library, nor any publication belonging to the
club from the clubhouse.
There is still a prejudice against pipe smoking in many of the clubs,
and you must consult the rules before you attempt this practice. A man
does not remove his coat or sit in his shirtsleeves in any of the public
rooms. An allowance, however, is made in the billiard room.
The loud-voiced man is one of the nuisances of a club. Loud talking may
be endured in the smoking or general room, but certainly not in the
library or the reading rooms.
The "kicker" is another objectionable person. He should remember that
the best way of rectifying abuses is to send to the house committee all
complaints of any deficiency in the service of the club, of overcharges,
mistakes, or defects. The club is not a place to conduct one's
commercial interests. Invitations and special correspondence can be
conducted on club paper, but certainly it is a breach of club etiquette
to use it for business purposes.
The man who bows to a woman from a club window is not a gentleman. By
this action he fastens upon her the most disgraceful odium one of her
sex can bear.
The name of a woman should never be whispered in a club unless it is to
say something complimentary of her. Even this is not in good taste.
It is not club etiquette to "treat." You can do so if you desire, but
you are not obliged to follow this inane custom, which is born of
bar-room ethics.
All the affairs of a club must be regarded in strict confidence. Under
no consideration should that which has occurred within these sacred
portals be divulged to outsiders.
Once a year--usually at Christmas--a subscription is taken up for the
employees and servants. From five to ten dollars is the proper amount to
give.
A few clubs have a ladies' restaurant attached, where members may take
their families or give dinners, or where the wives of members have the
privilege of giving luncheons or other entertainments. Otherwise ladies
are not admitted to the privileges of the clubhouse, except on ladies'
days, and where there is an "annex" they can only avail themselves of
that part set aside for their convenience upon the authority of a
member.
These rules pertaining to the general government of clubs have been
compiled from the constitution and by-laws of the Union, Metropolitan,
Knickerbocker, Calumet, and Manhattan Clubs of New York. The
constitutions of the Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, Chicago, San
Francisco, and other clubs are almost identical.