The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-01-30
MUST
PAY FOR music
Late Hours Spent in Revelry
Unfit Both Men and Wom-
en- for Work.
BY FRANCES sHAFFER.


They were big. splendid young fellows
and as they hurried along at a lively,
swinging pace, they talked things over
as they had happened the evening be-
fore.
They had been out to a jolly little
social affair. with the usual pleasant ac-
compartments OF dancing, feasting, and
late hours, and evidently the charm of
1t still fingered. for there was not critI-
cism to make of anything. except
The late hours.
And when they reached that point,
these young men. who were far and
way from the "molly-coddle" class, had
a lot to say. You see, they were the kind
who worked very earnestly when they
worked and were no less enthusiastic
when they played. And apparently they
had played TO hard and too long for the
good OF their work and the greater good
of themselves.
II was well on In the morning hours
when the dance broke up and they went
home for snatch or two of sleep-one
reckoned four hours to his credit, another
confessed to less.
Going on for Weeks.
And the trouble was that was not the
only dance they had attended, the only
night of shortened sleep. 1t had been
going on for weeks at a stretch, and not
once did they get a chance to rest as
they should.
It's hard on fellow when he comes
TO pay the fiddler, and almost impossible
to keep up the standard of work" That
was the way they figured il cut, and one
OF them. quite young. very sturdy and
mighty fine looking, frankly said he had |
had good time but ne was beginning
to wonder IL IL paid. Because, four hours |
last night, a few more or less on other
evenings-and where did the average
come in?
He did not get home from business very |
early. SO he said, and when dinner was
over and he had arrayed himself I'm his |
finest for the Forthcoming pleasure he |
scarcely had time to look al a paper. bare
~ chance to turn around. And when the !
festivities were over-welI, there was
nothing then but bed. and wofully little |
OF that. |
A Hit Of Revolt.
That was the young mans angle of OBJ |
servstion.
And here's where the staid married man |
comes in:
y press dispatch from Philadelphia an |
nounces the fact-it seems rather unim- |
portant for so much publicity-that mar
ri"d men high In the city's social life and |
gravely and seriously announced TO local |
hostesses that dances must end earlier. |
else they would he conspicuous by their |
absence. They must be permitted to re- !
tire from the scene of festivities not later
than u clock in the morning-that WAS 4
the suggestion made.
So 1t seems that there's a bit OF mascu-
line revolt all along the line. But what
or the girls and the married women-how
do the late hours affect them?
When IL is possible to sleep until all
sorts OF hours in the morning TO offset
the evening strain there 10 not the wear
and tear on the human machinery that
comes when the sleep Debt is rolled up
night after night. with no opportunity TO
borrow from another day.
But the most luxurious debutante of
all. who can spend as many morning
hours as she likes in rest is not can
not be, quite the same once she begins
the late dances, the midnight suppers
and the trick Of failing to sleep when
sleep should be nearly over
And the fact is that not all of the
young women dancers and devotees of
evening fun chance to be luxurious deb
utantes, who can plan their time as
they like. Many of them. when the new
day begins. must be alert. clear in mind
and physically fit for the work before
them. which calls just as insistently
whether the evening before was spent in
rest or play. -
Wonderif IL Pays.
For them, four, five. six hours of sleep
evening after evening, In the course of
time leave a pretty heavy mark, and
then comes the sage reflcction-"I won
der il it pays"
When the dance or other festive af-
fair is on. nobody thinks of the price
to be paid, but when the next morning
comes, with it weary aftermath of work
when the mind and body yearn for rest
then follows the wish that late hours
were not quite so popular.
1t seems to make little difference
whether it is young men or married
men, young maids or mstrons-late
hours take their toll without any mercy.
And 1t is not so strange that now and
then one reads in society columns, hears
on the street or in the inner circles a
plea for saner hours.
Once in a while, it Is all very we'll.
but once in while is just a beginning.
so the protesters say: and while pleas
ure. recreation, dances and all loom large
. h. /