The record-union., 1896-10-08

technical theater hat, put up anxious
nands to see that nothing was unduly
inflated.
Then, just before the curtain went up,
down the aisle came Hat. It was an
Alpine that would have made the Alps
themselves shrink by comparison,
white dome with a mass Of plumes
sweeping defiantly out at the side, a
Parisian inspiration cutting three CUBIC
feet out Of the atmosphere. 1t winged
It's way majestically past the dress cir
Gle to the orchestra and slowly alighted
In its allotted space. The woman under
IT was young, charming, wealthy, fash
lonable, everything in short that the
owner of a Paris hat should be. The
people behind reread the notice on their
programmes and smiled contentedly at
| one another. The bigger the hat, the
more fun it was to see it come off.
| The orchestra played and the lights
went down and the people behind the
| hat heard voices on the stage, proving
that the curtain had gone up, but still
they saw nothing but the white Alpine
with its nodding shrubbery.
| "She didn't see the notice. She will
| When the curtain goes down." they
| whispered, and whiled the time away by
drawing sketches on their programmes
But the next act came, and the next,
! and finally it was time to go home ana
| they had enjoyed three hours OF solid
| millinery at a dollar and half apiece.
For, though hints and comments were
freely passed back and forth, quite dis
| tinctly enough to be heard three rows
| away, no one was bold enough to sug-
gest to the owner of the hat how much
'han'somer'' she'd look without It,
| The management of the Baldwin has
now adopted a new plan for dealing
with cases Of swelled hat Formerly II
| anyone complained that his view was
being shut off an unhappy usher was
s'nt in, in state of abject apology, 10
ask the removal of the offending Gains
| borough or Leghorn. Now hats have so
increased in size and theater-goe have
become so rabid on the subject of an
unobstructed view that cards have been
| engraved with the apology and the re-
| quest to be handed to the person COM
| planned of.
| This is the card now handed to ladies
as they enter the Baldwin,:
| THE management sincerely regret
any personal annoyance this may cause
you, but must respectfully request that
| you remove your hat, as complaints
have been lodged that it interferes with
the comfort and enjoyment to which
| those seated back Of you are entitled"
| Very few women could keep their fin
| gers away from their hat pins after
| that Not even an engraved card, how
| ever, is as effective lesson as the sight
or woman perSisting in her millinery
while large and fashionable audience
sits bareheaded.
| The papers are always inclined to
throw stones at the theater hat, and
Life is charmingly sarcastic on the
subject, but the strength of the new
movement against it is largely due to
the New York "Herald's" campaign.
| There have been several attempts made
| to legislate ON the subject Of crowns
and brtmS, ending, of course, in utter
| failure, for no good American will
stand having her personal liberty in
fringed on. Christianity ought to con-
quer the hat, for q number of it's chief
laws about neighbors and unto others
are involved, but even that does not
seem to work. The only thing for it
Is public opinion, and lots Of it. Make
1t bad form, i'll bred. not the thing, and
1t will slowly but surely yield. for over
the feminine world fashion has power
far beyond law or religion.
On the other side of the Atlantic 10
well-bred woman ever dreams Of ap-
pearing in a theater with her hat on,
and If we are so ready to adopt foreign
millinery, why not govern 1t by the
foreign rules2
| The white Alpine would have been
stared at with amaZement, and very
possibly Kissed in a theater Of it's ma
tive city There is a slight difficulty in
the way Of going bareheaded here in
that we have not a cheap carriage sys-
tenn, and are apt to go down to the per-
| fornnance in plebeian cable cars. where
| hatlesS or scarf-covered heads might
appear odd. But If the little hat is
not obtainable, there is always a olace
provided where the big one may be left.
and 1t Is always possible to simply take
it off and hold it. Pretty hair is Just
as pleasing as a pretty hat, if women
would only believe it.
| While all this hue and cry Is being
raised about women's theater hats-and
women are selfish and inconsiderate
and deserve every bit of tit might be
| we'll to put in a word about another
| theater annoyance. At the end of every
| act 1t is trying to have to rise, push up
your seat. drop your opera glasses.
smash the aigrette of the hat you're
| holding, and get your toes stepped on.
that some man may keep an appoint
ment with a cocktail. You have barely
| become settled and put yourself to
rights again before he is back once
| more with a matter of-fact apology.
| and scrambleS past and over you with
a nonchalance that takes no heed of
aigrettes or patent feathers If there
Is any reforming to be done why should
for their share of it and become con-
siderate and unselfsh, too?
F'rom the Call)
Ladies 30 years old and upward Will
be permitted to wear their hats in this
theater. Younger ladies will please re-
move their hats"
This Is the inscription which a witty
and somewhat satirical actress has
proposed for the adornment of the drop
curtains of every theater in San Fran
CISCO
That would take off the theater hats
and permit the general public to see
u.s." said this actress.
Would 1T? The managers Of all thea
ters admit that it would be a good move
If all the ladies would take off their
hats while attending performances,
The size of his 'if' is undetermined.
They all hailed the suggestion of the
thirty-five year limit last evening with
hilarity. Their glee ranged from
somewhat elastic smile to a resonant
ha ha.
The hats came off at the Baldwin