The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-07-19
DANCING MEN
ARE ACITATED
They Are Compelled to
Pay License.
Mr.. 0'BRIEN'S PULL is GONE
HIS SHERIFF's DEPUTIES HAVE
NO INFLUENCE NOW.
Professors of the Divine Art Accuse
Collector Bonnet of Discrimi-
mating in Favor Of
Girls.
HIS SHERIFFS DEPUTIES HAVE
NO INFLUENCE NOW.

The dancing teachers are cutting pigeon
wings on a hot griddle.
Before License Collector Bonnet took
his office they were not required to paw
any license for the privilege and the
pleasure of teaching the divine art Mr..
Bonnets demand that they part with
some of the gold earned by the exercise of
their beloved art has imbued the frater-
nifty with melancholy. Worse than the tax
itself, they say that the Collector has ia
vored the women teachers by exempting
them.
The Indignation of the male members of
the profession eliminated yesterday with
the filing of a communication with the
Clerk of the Board of Supervisors. 1t was
from the Dancing Teachers Association
OF San Francisco, signed by L. H. Hin
man, William j. O'Brien and T. H Irvine.
The communication set forth that the COL
lection of a license tax from teachers of
dancing was unconstitutional, and pro-
ceeded to extol the Boston Dip" 1.-THE
Racket 1.-THE Kangaroo" and the Hula
Hula"
THE capacity to dance gracefully" said
the Terps1chorean TripletS, sis one of the
elements which go to make up a complete
education; 1t is, in fact, of more impor-
lance at the present time than many of
the other fine arts, which are exempt en-
trely from the license tax. San Francis
where teachers of dancing are compelled
to pay a license. Furthermore, there ex-
lists in the methods used in the collection
of the present license tax a decided dis
elimination between males and females.
Male teachers of dancing are obliged to
pay this tax, while females who are en-
gagged in the same business are not obliged
to pay 1t. If the tax is legal and consti-
tutional the Collector has no right to
make any discrimination in collecting it,
License Collector Bonnet flushed like a
OIL ~ off oh, 4
the communication. He was indignant
that he should be accused, even by i'm
plication, of making determinations in
discharging the duties of his office, and he
made public the history OF his connection
with the matter.
This man O'Brien," he said, chad not
paid any license for years, and as soon
as 1 took charge of my office l made him
pay. He has a big dancing class, and
when he was notified that he would have
to pay his license Human said that I
could not collect from O'Brien The
Sheriff's office will fix O'Rrien's license ,
go, for 1 was going to collect it. Sure
enough, two deputies from the Sheriff S
Office came to me to fix 1t, but they
could do nothing with me, and l obliged
O Brien to pay"
Human asked Bonnet whether he
would prosecute dancing teachers who
were paying no license, and he said that
he would, and Human presented him
with a list of young girls who were Civ
ing dancing lessons to help support their
brothers and sisters and parents. Bonnet
found one Of the cases to he a girl II
years old who was obliged to teach dane
ing in order to support her family. He re-
fused to arrest these poor women, but
notified them that they would have to
pay the license.
Mr.. Bonnet expressed the opinion that
the tax on teachers of dancing is uncon-
stitutional. School teachers, music teach
ers, the professions and laborers cannot
be taxed, and there was no valid reason
that he could see why an exception
should have been made in the case of
dancing teachers.