The Washington times., 1917-05-02
WOMAN JUST GETTING
CREDIT FOR HER DEEDS
Men Becoming Less EgOistical,
Mrs. COburn Believes.
By FLORENCE YODER.

smarter or cleVerer OF DusleT lOuoS
than they ever were.
The only difference is that they
are beginning to get credit for 1t!
Men are becoming less selfish, less
egotistical. less self-suffcient. That
is a kind method of saying II. That
was the way Mrs. Coburn expressed
the idea, when she talked to me yes
terday.
And when l said: "The men simply
can't get away with it any longer"
she also admitted that THAT was
the idea.
Mrs. Coburn. with Mr.. Coburn, has
put The Yellow Jacket" the play at
the National Theater this week, on
the books of theatrical history for all
time. Also, with Mr.. Coburn, Mrs.
Coburn takes a role in the production.
Mr.. Coburn is Chorus, and Mrs. CO.
burn is Chez Moo, the mother of the
hero. Woo Hoo Git.
There has not been a Mr.. and Mrs.
Somebody on the stage for a long.
long time. Women in theatrical life
always prefer to use their own par
ticular names as a means of identi-
ncation.
No Professional Jealousy.
They very rarely are billed as Mr..
and Mrs.
But Mr.. and Mrs. Coburn manage
to get along beautifully. There is no
professional jealousy there. Mr.. Co
burn doesn't lay awake nights try
ing to devise some means of stealing
a foot OF stage from Mrs. Coburn at
the next performance. Neither does
Mrs. Coburn eat her heart out with
jealousy because Mr.. Coburn gets an
opportunity each night to come out
before the audience and make a few
remarks.
This is all because according TO
Mrs. CoburnD Mr.. Coburn is a fair
minded. just. sensible man, who is
perfectly willing to give his wife
credit for her share of the work.
Mrs. Coburn is a middle-westerner
from all over the country. and as
broad mentally as her education. She
Is quite as attractive off the stage
in American clothing, as she is on
the stage in Chinese garb. And she
has the most delightful sense of hu-
NOR. When she saw me she wore a
green sort of one-piece dress which
was relieved by little Oriental touches
OF beads in the corner here and
there. And she had a dear little
green hat to match.
Women just Getting Credit.
But even if she had been dressed in
one of those disillusioning service
camp khaki uniforms she would have
been attractive. Simply because
most of her attractiveness comes
from within.
We began naturally to talk of the
immense amount of work there was
for women to do, and she spoke of
the fact that women were taking so
IL.
latest historical drama.
They are only getting credit for
what they always have done,' she said
with a sly smile. Take any great
man, and II there wasn't a great WON
an just beside him, or just behind him,
always ready to hold the reins. or
whisper words of counsel and wisdom
in his ear, then this whole reward is
uncalled for.
More women have done big things
than they can ever get credit for.
however" she continued, mo matter
how fast the world moves in that di-
rection. For years we have had to
let men carry out our plans and our
ideas. And the men have always got
the laureis.
at was not considered at all nice
for the wife of a great man to be con
sidered great woman. The fact that
she might have written the speeches.
and kept house. and directed the hus-
band in the proper political path made
not one bit of difference.
Quitting Ostrich Attitude.
Men just closed their eyes to all
OF that and stuck their heads in the
sand. But they are coming out OF
that ostrich attitude amazingly. There
is a whole class of them willing to
give credit TO women whenever and
wherever it is due
Then Mrs. Coburn proceeded to say
a whole lot of nice things about her
husband. which we will not print
Suffice il to say that the lady of the
house of Coburn appreciates very
highly the sense of justice shown by
the master of the house OF Coburn.
Perhaps 1 shouldn't have said mas
ter" but Mrs. Coburn probably won't
mind.
The interview lasted much, much
longer than IL takes to read this story,
and, as might be guessed. a pleasant
time was had by all We women do
have great times cheering ourselves
these days. Under cover of interest
in the war. we come right out in pub
lie and tell all sorts of family secrets
about how the Great Man Of the
House never can do anything without
Us. But Mrs. CobUrn and went even
further than that
Genius From Middle West.
We found out that We both came
from the middle West. Warmed by
the pleasant approach to the subject
Of the exposition OF our own great
value as women. we proceeded to dis
cover individual charms Of exceed
ing merit, due entirely to our middle
Western training. environemnt, and
ancestry.
Mrs. Coburn even went so far as to
insist. with flushed checks and spark
ling eyes, that out of the West were
to come the highest expressions Of
art. drama, and literature Of the
world. And naturally. since we are
just as bright and clever and eager
TO work as we always have been, a
large portion of that number OF
geniuses will be women.
Yes. To be sure. Both Mrs. Coburn
and the writer qualify.
Oh, IL was grand interview!