The Washington herald., 1919-10-12


satisfactorily settled Of washington,s
behind-the-times official calling code.
Mrs. Marshall has about decided that
as soon as she Is settled In her win
ter quarters at the Willard she will
resume her Wednesday afternoons at
home. Wednesday Is Cabinet Day."
you know. She also plans to try
TO return all official calls made upon
her and to have several semi-oficial
receptions during the winter.
The First Lady OF the Land Is
faced with no such problem as that
which vexes the lesser lights Of Of
fcial society. for the presidents
wife is not expected to return calls
made upon her. However. Mrs. will
son has devised a particularly gra1 4
cious way OF complimenting the
ladies who have called upon her. in
viting them to the White House, q
few at time. to take tea with her.
These little informal gatherings In
the Red Room or on the south YER
anda in warm weat ther are among
the most delightful entertainments
given at the White House. The
guests usually number between
twenty-five and ffty: the tea table
is laid in the sunny south window
or before an open fire, with Miss
Margaret Wilson or Miss Edith
Benham, Mrs. Wilson's secretary, to
preside; and there's an air OF genu-
inc hospitality about the little fes-
tivity. and always an opportunity
to have a real chat with Mrs. will
son. She Is at her best on these oc-
casions.
The women of the Cabinet hesi-
tate to resume duties which must
prove irksome. They will take no
united action. but as individuals sew
eral of them are again making a
declaration of Independence and will
decline to submit again to a system
which has taken all social value
out Of calling ard made 1t a burden.
That the code cries aloud for re-
vision is conceded by all. and il is
matter close to the hearts of all
women in official life who realize
the Importance of the social side of
diplomacy and politics. When WASH
ington was small II was possible for
the wife of a Cabinet officer, a Sem
ator or other official to make all the
calls demanded of her by etiquette
and still have the time and strength
for other and more engrossing occu-
pations. But two or three years ago
the city had grown so. and the off,
cial contingent assumed such propor-
necessary calls paid without making
a business of visiting and devoting to
1t endless hours each day.
CALL DEMANDS
RETURN CALL.
The war brought a respite. Women
Of the official world had most Of their
waking hours filled with Red Cross
work or were identified with other re-
lief organizations. Official afternoon
receptions became a thing OF the past.
although a good many women did re-
main at home one afternoon each
week to give their friends the oppor-
tunity of dropping In upon them. and
calling as a business went out of
fashion.
Now society is reverting to its be-
fore-the-war status and there is no
longer an excuse for neglecting social
duties. II Is becoming necessary to
define those duties and reduce them TO
such proportions that an official hos
tess can discharge them without be-
coming a veritable slave to her card
case.
The matter OF Cabinet day" one
OF the most picturesque OF Wash
tnston Institutions. rfesents a case
in point. For years it was the Gus
tom for Cabinet hostesses to keep
open house on Wednesday after
moons. any one who called being
made welcome, and IL was a great
privilege for people who had no
other opportunity of meeting those
in high places socially to have this
intimate glimpse into the houses
of the men who were directing the
destinies Of the nation.
The Cabinet receptions were
given up during the war, and now
the women of the Cabinet circle
are rather loath to resume them.