Open Up or Pay Up

Set on 250 elegantly manicured acres in suburban Bethesda, Md., the Burning Tree Club counts among its members and honorary members Vice President George Bush, Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger and House Speaker Tip O'Neill. For 62 years the club has been the exclusive golf preserve of Presidents, Cabinet members, Congressmen and corporate chiefs. So long as they were male, that is. Women have never been admitted as members, guests or even maids. Last week Montgomery County Circuit Judge Irma Raker ruled that until Burning Tree begins admitting women, it can no longer enjoy a special exemption under which most of its property taxes have been waived. That exemption currently amounts to $186,000 a year. Said Raker: "Private discrimination may be characterized as a form of exercising freedom of expression, but it has never been accorded affirmative constitutional protection."

According to Burning Tree's lawyer, former U.S. Attorney Benjamin Civiletti, the club will appeal. Said Burning Tree Member Senator Barry Goldwater: "Frankly, if they admitted women, I'd leave."