The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-06-05
SOME DIFFERENCES THAT ARISE
BETWEEN THEM.
OBJECT TO EVENING DRfSS
Members do Not Admire "V" Cut
Bodices-committee Will Not
Trust Its Own knowledge.

While fully realizing the responsi
bility OF the position and the care re
CURED to be exercised in the selection
of persons competent and in every
way qualified to discharge the duties
OF teacher, yet there is well develop.
ed belief in the community that oc-
casionally the school board, or at
least some of the members of that
body are inclined to be too exactin2
in that respect. Innovations have
been made in the board that are re-
garded by parents and friends gener-
ally OF the school as oppressive and
sometimes humiliating to applicants
for positions as teachers. Thus it has
happened that some of the members
have been opposed to the reappoint.
ment of some teachers because they
nave taken part in the social life OF
the city. The grounds on which the
opposition is alleged to have been
based was that teacher who occa-
s1onally varied the monotony of her
hard life by going to a dance or other
social function disqualified herself for
properly teaching the children en-
trusted to her care. In the opinion OF
those members a teacher should
know only two places-the school
house and her own room. Possibly
they would lie willing to make an ex-
ception of the church, provided no
evening worship was attended.
Then there are other trustees who
believe the evil one turks in evening
costume Those straightlaced gentle
men voted against the unemployment
OF a teacher because she had so far
disregarded their ideas of proper dress
for women as to appear at function
in party Dress" one of the kind
that usage and custom demand ladies
shall wear on such occasions. Their
ignorance of the requirements OF DO
lite society makes it very evident
that they did not personally see COM
mission of the offense that /
shocked their notions OF pro- !
priety and their condemnation !
was based on hearsay evidence.
When confronted with the awful
charge the hardened offender admit
ted her guilt. She did even more. She
said that where she came from it was
customary for those of her sex to
appear at dances attired in dresses
somewhat lower as to cut OF the neck
than are worn on the street, and that
she had believed styles in that re-
gard were no different in the west
than in the east Habit had so cal.
loused her that she showed no signs
OF contrition and she dared the awful
anger and displeasure of several men,
bers OF the school board by her fail
ure to promise to refrain from com.
hitting a like atrocity in the future.
To the credit of the majority OF the
board it must be said that their good
sense and knowledge of the world
prompted them to vote against the
prudes in male attire and the lady's
name appears again on the roll OF
,eachers for the next term.
Bad as this case may have been, ac-
,ording to report there were even worse
ones to horrify the conservators OF
he morals of those entrusted with the
earning OF the youth of Billings and
,ause them to wonder at the worlds s
litter wickedness. From source {
leemed absolutely reliable it came to I
he ears OF some of the gentlemen that
here were teachers actually in the] +
employ of the district who were sol .
ecreant to themselves and so careless r
md Indifferent to the dignity that :
should hedge teacher and true wo- j
nan as to play the seductive and ,
oul destroying game knnwn as "old !
naid", even going SO far at times as
o try their hands at pedro, and seven +
lp. The fact that they played those +
inful and wicked games in the pri- q
acy of their rooms and with blinds i
lightly drawn and none but teachers q
t the table made the offense no less
erious in the eyes of the truly good
nd highly moral men whom the peo- 6
lie of the district have elected to r