New-York tribune., 1902-10-22
DFcFyCY AT FAIRS.

An earnest effort Is being made by some OF the
-, friends of that enterprise TO have the com
inc yrorId's fair at ST. Louis kept free from
some of the indecent and immoral FEATURES
,rbicb have marred other exhibitions. IL Is an
nouncpd that the board Of women managers
has unanimously adopted strong resolutions
AGAINST The admission of Midway dancing
shows and similar debaucherles. Whether or
not the protest viii be needed by the supreme
authorities Of the fair is yet 10 be seen. but
il NAV be said plainly that it ought TO be Needed
and ought 10 prevail. and that nothlng could
more commend the fair to popular iaVor ana
sunnort than an assurance that ii is to be in all
nsrts clean and decent and fit to bc visited by
self-respecting men and women
1t is probably inevitable that large amount
of social Generalization shall accompany every
largo fair The Centennial Exhibition of 1876
flooded Philadelphia with vice to an extent
from which that city has never recovered
Whether or not Chicago was made worse than
II had hcen by its Columbian fair may be an
open question But beyond doubt the notorious
Midway orgies of that enterprise, through
their performance there and their repetition
and imitation elsewhere caused an incalcuiable
amount Of moral corruption throughout the
whole land. II will he remembered that at the
time nublic efforts were made TO defend and
even 10 commend some of the vilest OF those
shows IN the name of "art for arts sake, and
high old morality and all the rest Of the cant
with which sheer nastiness doth protest TOO
much" Some people Of repute and public
standing actually stroye to justify the Mid
way orgies on the ground of their profound
and mystical religious significance" We are
not sure that such drivel was not more revolt
ing to sense than the shows themselves were to
decency,
The fact Is Of course that those Midway
dances were simple obscenities of the most un-
blushing and depraved type They were con-
ceived as such and were conducted as such
We do not say they were altogether patronized
as such. for beyond doubt mUltitudes of inno-
cent people were entrapped into visiting them
by the fact that they were apparently an au-
thoriZed part of great national institution.
In that fact lay much of the evil Of the case.
There arc generally such exhibitions Of de
bauchery Ia he found somewhere in large
city nv those who are evil minded enough 10
search for them. There were such in the under
world Of Ncw-York before the Columbian fair
At Chicago. and there are probably some here
now But il is another thing and a monstrous
thing. to make such bestialitieS a part Of or an
authorized annex to great public exhibition
under State or national patronage Tho argu
ment S. We know that there must he such
things 10 draw the crowd. lust 50 We used TO
hear the Red Light statesmen of Tammany
declaring that 10 shut up the denS from which
they drew their royalties on vice would kill
New-Nork' by making it less attractive 20 visit
orS. The answer is that city would better die
decenty than live a Sodom or Gomorrah, and
4 fair would better fail or never be held al all
than 10 depend for success upon performances
which offend the moral law and grossly violate
the criminal code.