Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1906-11-16
In the Interest cf the Preservation
of Good Morals.

~~@
tbs the honest endeavor of the
10 produce and present
to its readers each week clean sheet,
oae which we deem entitled from that
reason to be read IN the best homes.
Every thing that goes into its col
umns are critically edited to conform
to this idea, even to the advertise
ncnts.
This censure is rot applied for the
of certain class Of news
particularly, but for its presentation
in a style devoid of the sensational.
There comes times, however, when
we are persuaded that the conserva-
ton of the purity of our home life, is
best perpetuated by u treatise in
words plain, of some occurrences
which threaten it. For this we are
warranted by Scrlptural precedent.
Without further prelude we pro
coed TO deliver few critical remarks
ON hlppening in our city which
amply iustifies.
The thing which we wish to SO
treat is the shameful exhibition in
our city last Friday of the Oriental
Dance known as "Hoslche Kouche. >
This of course was not shown in the
Show proper, but in an inner tent of
the Annex. Having been decoycd
into witnessing this lewd perform
ance years ago, when it was first go
ing over the country, the writer was
on his guard and left in disgust when
it was announced.
This Houche Kouche Dance is an
imported piece of debauchery. 1t
had its birth, or is SO said, in The hat
rem of Turkish Pasha. Was per-
formed by one Of the voluptuaries who
adorned his seralgio court. For the
purpose of arousing the dropping bes-
tial passion this old son of sin to meet
the sensi0us ex:gencieS devolving up
on him from the one hundred and
more Oriental and sirene beauties
who dwelt in his guarded palatial
apartments.
1t has been produced in this coun-
try now for several years in the dance
halls of the restricted districts OF the
large cities, and has been too creep
ing its way sinuous like over the
land under the auspices of shows and
circuses, exhibiting only under cover
of the big show, where the owners
were pretty well convinced that it
was not too much of a presumption
upon the tolerance of the community
upon which foisted
It is not the contemplation of this
article to essay to discuss the moral
influence generally of show, but we
do mean to directly aim some sharp
shafts at one of its most baneful ad-
juncts. One which can easily be left
off and is often done where the prop
er respect is felt for the officers of
the law. There's law a plenty to
suppress this feature of showdom,
and we maintain that the best way
to have it done, is to direct the at
tentien of the populace to IFS helm
ous character, and this beget a pub
lie sentiment in that direction The
machinery of the law is admitted un-
able to grind successfully unless sup
ported by the moral sentiment of the
people.
The minds of the people generally
should be SO aroused against permit
ting this kind of q thing to appear
in our small towns, that if attempted
the sirens who do the stunt, the
barkers who entice the gullihle
crowd, and the owners of the show
as we'll as manager of tho Annex, be
promptly nabbed and locked within
the cells of the local bestile and thus
b3 brought to raalize the RESENTMENT
of the country populace, where the
morality of its young manhood is be-
ing seriouly threatened by one of the
lowest form or contamination com
mon to the tenderloins of city life.