Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1881-11-09
A SOLEMN WARNING

+! Dancing is sin. Not only the wick
ed waltz, the seductive schottiche, and
the giddy galop, but also the staid and
sober square dances are sinful perform
ances, the slightest participation in
which bars the offender from Christian
communion and thrusts him forth an
outcast from the church. The Presby-
terian Synod of Erie has SO pronounc-
ed by decisive vote, and all good Pres
byterians are bound to take notice and
govern themselves accordingly
Our special dispatches from Erie
have given full accounts from day to
day of the progress of the memorable
trial which ended with this important
decision. Heber Donaldson, an active
lay member of a Presbyterian church
at Emlenton, was at social gathering
in private house, where some of the
folks proposed a quiet dance. The
call was made to Form on for quad
rille,' and when several minutes had
been spent in shutting about, the
master of the ceremonies announced
there was 'one more couple wanted
After repeated urging Mr.. Donaldson
consented to make up the set by
walking through the figures under the
direction Of his partner, he being Who'll
ly innocent of any knowledge of the
art Terpsichorean. When he had
blundered through the changes, put
out all the other couples. and laughed
himself and been the occasion Of much
laughter to others, Mr.. Donaldson
took his seat, supposing that was the
end of the matter.
But it was not the end. The news
that Heber Donaldson had danced was
next day the gossip of Emlenton. The
current versions of the tale differed
widely. In some quarters it was as-
serted he had not only 'quadrilled' but
had also waltzed around the room with
his arm around womar's waist, and
in sewing circles, from which men
were rigidly excluded, the story ran
that he had actually danced the can
can-whatever that Nigh. be, though
it was certainly something abominable,
and hugged an impudent mink who
ought to be ashamed Of herself From
the sewing circle to the church social
and then to the church session was o
natural progression, swiftly made. The
Presby terian church of Emlenton found
Mr. Donaldson guilty of dancing, aud
accommodated him. The condemn
ed appeal to the Clarion Presbytery,
which confirmed the decision of the
Emlenton Church Session. Appeal
was then taken to the Synod Of Erie,
and by a vote of seventy-three to twen-
ty the appealed was rejected and the de-
cision of the Presbytery confirmed.
Mr. Donaldson is plucky, and proposes
to carry the case to the General As
sembly, meeting in Springfield, H..
but in the meantime he is cut off from
church fellowship, and is an outcast
from the fold, because he attempted to
walk through the figures Of q plain
quadrllle. and, probably, made mud
die of it. He did this knowing the
position of the church and the senti-
ment of his Emlenton brethren, and
therefore invited the punishment he
has received.
The grounds on which the condem-
nation was asked and upon which the
Synod based its decision was that if
promiscuous dancing is wrong, all
dancing is wrong, for line cannot be
drawn between promiscuous dancing
and social dancing The same COM
pany that would constitute social
dance in private parlor would be-
come a promiscuous dance in public
hail. 1t was further settled by this
decision that If it is sin to waltz
around the room it is equally sin to
walk through the figures of quadrille,
because the first step to music involves
all the possible wickedness of the
dance. Dancing it was solemnly an
nounced, naturally leads to idleness
and dissipation, and from the social
party in the private house the course
is steadily down, down. down, to the
deepest depths of vice. Thus If four
couples walk soberly across the floor
of Prospect street parlor, to the
drumming of piano played by the
daughter Of the house, they will never
cease their morch until they are fling
ing their toes recklessly towards the
ceiling in Commercial street dive. We
dare not venture to dispute this. The
only true safety therefore seems to lie
in not walking ut all, or at least not
keeping step to music.
The Erie Synod should not stop at
dancing, but apply the principle it has
laid down to other kinds Of recreation
and pleusure-driving for instance. A
recent melancholy case in Connecticut,
to which we have before alluded,
shows the necessity ofsome action. If
walking to music Is sinful, both be-
cause Of the bad influence it may have
upon weak souls and the inevitable
moral and spiritual ruin it brings upon
the original offender, then sitting be-
hind horse and holding the reins is
equally vicious For be who rides be-
hind the sorriest plug acquires taste
that leads him to get faster horse if
possible. Driving on week days leads
to driving on Sundays, involving the
sin of Sabbath breaking, as DR.. Bacon's
case painfully demonstrates. No man
holding the reins over. the back OF
even rack of horse bones but has at
some time attempted to pass another
driver or keep ahead of him. That is
the first step towards horse racing.
Therefore, he who first essays to
drive nag will probably go on in his
wild career until he is speeding horse
around race track and buying pools
on the event.
The Erie decision comes in good
time at the opening of the dancing sea-
son, and will undoubtedly have an
important influence in saving the wear
and tear of Cleveland carpets. For it
is a regretable fact that large num-