The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-09-23
SoeietD Topics

from present IHuiCdLtOuS lac
social season promises to be a Drilllaht
one. OF course as. yet but comparative
few of the leading coterie nave reiuiaee
from their summer outings, but wen -
that the season promises to open eafieI
than usual. Nearly all the regular cruz
meetings are booked to open a re" uass
earlier than last year, and the
Club breakfast. that feast of feasts IN
woman.s world. where dry toasts ABOUND,
., dry that oftimes the speakers Almost
ehoha win nervousness. will this year
nyol,shtv be4 celebrated october 7 instead
Of October is, as was the case last year.
p,,+ taking fhe season at it's best II
m,st naeds be short. It begins with the
1870 ~ = number of clubs early IN
ootoher 70 be sure, but November is far
ADVANCED before they have gained tnelr
regular attendance because SO many
-sonla are still out of town. Then comes
7rbanksgiving, n once more out nles So
a,a+v - celebrate the occasion in the GOOD
ol5 fashioned wav at the country home
s4ead Of some relative. Christmas Is
usually a stay-at-home day, save TOT tne
,bi1anthrapist who spends it in prison
looking after the poor unfortunate
while her husband idly taps on the WIN
aow name watching the sparrows, put
more envious of the jail bird, SO ma a.
4 rule it is January before society IS lalrts
launched on its round of galety. Ihis
with the summer outing which begins III
Nav leaves but sixteen weeks for what
IS known as the social season"
49,
This year, however, ohers a new altiA
tion which should consume at least one
evening each week of every member ~
society's time, unless. of course, feiasious
~scrupIes prevent, and that is the AcaosHs
of Music. under its new manage MI
Charles Frohman. who has done al n his
power to give the city the opportunity OF
witnessing the best shows and pest actors
on the boards. as produced in tine metfop-
oils. and to use his own, or rather ms
managers expression, 1T is now up u
the Jersey City people"
OF course the theatre has only been open
two weeks. and of course about nall ths
society set are still out of town, winnie
the other half have scarcely awakene
to the fact that they are at nome vel
there is even now a tendency among the
people to raise the standard of the thea
ire If only in the matter of costume.
There Is a marked Improvement from the
po-anv-way appearance of last years
crowd. and man very pretty " en-
Rance the women, while the men, though
not Yet educated up to the dress SUIT aet,
have begun to realize that dark clothes
ore more becoming than light at the
theatre
what the ueople want Is confidence
confidence in Mr.. Frohman, confidence in
bys manage and confidence IN the play.
This takes time, as was proven by last
weeks production, one of the best ever
given at the Academy, but not as well at
tended as it might be because the people
did not know ii, and yet Mr. Frohman
nrom;ses. If the Jersey city people viii
only stand by him, to build, in the course
Of ! couple of years. such a theatre as
shan be an ornament to the city Verify,
,,naer these conditions even the Town
Committee should patron
sze the Academy If only from a sense OF
duty,
with the number Of conventions and
1~ong-duraffon celebrations booked to take
place in the course Of the next few weeks
some Of their leaders might do we'll to
,zive heed TO the law of mental and ply
Stead fatigue-menta for the benefit OF
and their speakers, and physi-
Gil for the benefit Of their audiences.
Programmes, like women. are charm
but also like women. as a rule, they
are @too long winded." They are made
with the idea that each speaker shan
SO many minutes. and no allowance
for accidental outsiders. In consequence,
somebody, instead of taking her three
minutes dealing mostly with womens
meeffngs) takes thirty, and the chairman
as an act of courtesy, let's her go on
too, the Chairman rises Wnen
comes a lull. announcing. have with
us today Mr.. -, the distinguished -
and would be very glad to hear from
him." which distinguished gentleman
usually begins with an apology for peinS
present at all, talks for fifteen minutes
on how brief he will be and is then gooa
for half an hour. This with the usual
lateness in beginning and the unWarrant
ed time consumed by elections, resolutions
and business. makes the hour Of closing
from sixty to one hundred and twenty
minutes later than It should be per
schedule. I
All his is tiresome to the audience. no
matter how interesting, though the chair
man usually thinks herself the only
and. in case there is ar evening
session to follow is unfair to the speaker
as he has a spent, used-up and thoroughly
worn out audience to cater to. often won
deringly unconscious Of that fact.
In the Woman's Club of this city, 1t has
long been the fault that speakers take too
long, but now one bright member has sug-
gested a remedy, which it is hoped may
be adopted. It is that among the flowers
which adorp the presidents table. hidden
from the audience, but In plain sight of
each speaker. be placed a clock that will
tick and tick loud. as a gentle reminder.
Perhaps it might be as well to make 1t
an alarm clock, set for each speaker, to
go of one minute after her allotted time,
then nobody's feelings could be hurt UNI
less the speaker trespassed on the time Of
another.
The programme for the Woman's Club
breakfast is not yet complete, though it
is generally known that the Jour will be
two o'clock. the place. the Jersey City
Club house, and one of the guests of
honor. Mrs. Cynthia Westover Alden, of