Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-08
EARLIER MATINEES

Il wonder pertinen1y inquired lively
little matron whose husband Is a govern
ment official. why it wouldn't be good
scheme for the Washington ,theaters to
give their matinee performances at l
o'clock in the afternoon. instead of at
o'clock? This would help some, as the
saying is. There are SO many hundreds OF
women in Washington, the wives of depart
mental men, who find it difficult or inn
possible to attend the o'clock matinees
because Of the early hour at which their
husbands come home for dinner that 1
should think the / O'Clock matinee plan
would work admirably. When the male be-
ing becomes used to having his meal at
certain hour, that's the hour at which he
wants it, and none other. A very great
many of the government men In Wash
lngton want to sit down to their dinner just
as soon as they get home from the office,
about 80. The majority of them, 1 should
say, who are married and have homes OF
their own, are used to having their din
ner at that hour or in the neighborhood
OF 5 o'clock.
Il think it may be taken for granted
that most married women like to attend
to the preparation and serving of their
husbands dinners themselves, but Q wo-
man can't go to a o'clock matinee and
get home even for the dinner hour, much
less in time to see to the preparation and
serving Of tbs dinner. The matinee per-
formances rarely begin until a quarter OF
half-past two, and not many of the per-
formances are finished much under
O'Clock. Therefore, the wife Of the depart
mental husband who goes to the matinee
has got to intrust the dinner absolutely
to the servant girl, IL she has one and is
willing to take chances, or simply remain
away from the matinees. On several oc-
casions last winter 1 visited the matinee
performances of plays that 1 couldn't
drag my home-loving husband to see at
night performances, and on every occa-
sion that l intrusted the dinner-getting to
my well-meaning, but bunglesome servant
she made frightful mess of it. She burnt
the steak to crisp, or she forgot to put
milk in with the peas, or she served the
chops raw, or nearly raw, or something
And upon arriving home I'd find my hus-
band sitting g1oomily, with a beautifully
worked up martyrs expression, at the
table, casting wounded, reproachful glances
at me out Of the corners of his eyes, sigh
ing deeply every once In a while, and act
Ing generally as If his wife habtualy and
deliberately neglected him.
"A great many women of my acquaint-
ance whose husbands are in the depart
mental service tell me that their DOOR I'M
fortunate husbands carry on in exactly the
same aggrieved way when they, the wives,
rush in at, top speed, after having attend
ed matinee The average married man
can certainly put on the most pitiful look
estlv believe that most Of the poor, clumsy
things secretly enjoy these opportunities
that permit of their acting as If they were
abused. Nevertheless. a woman whose
husband is due home shortly after O'Clock
always feels more or less guilty or worried
when she's attending a matinee, and she
can't get away from the feeling that, after
all. 1t NAV be selfish in her not to be at
home when her husband, after his day s
work. arrives.
THE l o'clock matinee-matinees that is
to say. that actually began at / O'Clock
sharD-would make great difference. One
could about get home then in the neigh
borhood of 4 o'clock. and superintend the
final fixing of the dinner, and il the ser
want girl had made any mistakes in the
preliminaries there would still be time to
rectifv them before the arrival home of
ones husband. 4 am sure that a great
many women in Washington who never go
to matinees now would attend them If the
hour were fixed at 1 o'clock. Some of
these women rarely have a chance to go
to the theater at all. finding it impossible
| to get their Observation-Disclosures per-loving
husbands out of their armchairs to attend
evening performances at the theaters
1.-The base ball games in Washington be-
gin later in the afternoon than they do
anywhere else. to accommodate the govern
ment clerks Why shouldn't the matinee
hour be adjusted to accommodate the gov
eminent clerks wives?'