Evening star., 1946-09-29
old Customs
May Ret'i0e
In Capital
Traditional
Calling>Days
Remain Same
By Marearef Germond

When the White House last Sun
day announced the program OF
state functions that will be given
at the Executive Mansion this sea-
son it was a reminder of many
other social affairs and customs that
faded from Washington life with
the coming of war.
And now that the President and
Mrs. Truman will resume the bril-
liant receptions and dinners that
In former years were the functions
upon which all other official enter
tainment hinged, every one wants
to know how many of the. old,
familiar social activities will be
revived 49,
The usual dinners given by mem
bers of the cabinet in honor Of the
President and his wife will, of
course, again be on the official So
cial calendar, but no time for these
functions can be fixed until the
Secretary of State and Mrs. James
r. Byrnes return from the Paris
Peace Conference.
But what about the time -honored
tradition of formal observance of
the conventional days at home?
Time was when each Wednesday
during the season which began
with the first and ended with the
last White House function - was
cabinet day at home. Shortly after
Mrs. Franklin Delano Roosevelt be-
came mistress of the White House
the cabinet ladies, at her sugges-
ton, were at home on alternate
Wednesdays, which gave them an
opportunity to call on each other.
Whether or not there will be
revival of this form of entertain
ment depends upon Mrs. Byrnes as
the ranking hostess.
Then. there is the matter of call
Ing, which in the old days covered
an immense territory. Leaving cards
at the White House is, of course, a
must for officials of the Govern
ment departments and Federal
agencies and high-ranking officers
OF the armed services.
White House Cards.
Cards may be left at the White
House any day, and even though
almost all official entertainment was
Cancelled for the war years it still
was proper to leave cards at the
homes Of official hostesses. The
days remained the same-Monday
for the homes OF the Chief Justice
and the associate justices of the
United States Supreme Court; Tues
day for the homes of members of the
House of Representatives; Wednes-
day for cabinet hostesses and the
Speaker Of the House; Thursday for
Senate hostesses and Friday for the
Embassies and Legations. These days
have not been changed and If calling
Is revived on its former scale millions
Of bits of white cardboard will again
be spilling over the handsome trays
and baskets placed to receive them.
Due to the tremendous enlarge
ment Of the armed services, courtesy
calls OF newly arrived officers upon
AiCu COAAuuduuluB OllCcTS WaS V1TLu-
ally dispensed with during the war.
Such calls have been made only by
senior officers and at q time set by
the ofncer in command upon receiv-
ing word that the newcomer desired
to make a courtesy call. Not until
state of peace is declared is it likely
that the former rules of calling will
be revived.
Luncheon and dinner calls also
went out with the war, and the in
formality that has prevailed in the
past few years will be difficult to
overcome il hostesses decide to 60
back to the formal, and they prob
ably will not.
The most doubtful of all returns to
one-time popular form of enter
tainment is the resident society days
at home. It began to lose it's stride
when Washington's population in
creased so rapidly that hostesses too
frequently found their houses filled
with strangers. A few at homes still
are given during the winter season,
for which the issuing of cards now
has become the custom.