The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-07-15
DIDN'T LIKE THE SONG


to the merry go-rounds changed the thing
out with scarcely a break from morning
till night This piece of musical slush is
called That Grand Old Rag, the rag
being, as it is probably needless to re-
mind anybody who has heard the words
of the ditty, the flag of the United
States.
The words of the song are pure synco-
pated balderdash, of course, but that fact
doesn't make the hash-up affair any the
less Objectionable The song pats the ma
tional banner on the folds, as it were, de-
claring that the old rag is all right, all
right. 1t seems to be first and last kind
of New York beer hall song, designed TO"
and addressed solely to berry persons.
But the fifty and odd young women
who made decided kick about the song
at the Virginia seaside resort weren't
berry or anything like it. They were
school teachers from the interior of Vir-
ginia, and they were visiting the seaside
resort as a delegation. They all stopped
at the big hotel, and while they were eat
ing their first dinner at the hotel a huge
photograph, planted in an ante-room,
ground out the words and music of the
grand old rag song in a high, squeaky
tone that penetrated every corner OF the
dining room, not to mention the school
marms ears. 1t was the first time they d
heard the grand old rag ditty. and when
they made out the words they swooped
upon the hotel manager in a body and
equested-demanded, for that matter
that that particular photograph record
should not be poked into the talking ma
chine again while they remained at the
hotel. They told the hotel man that the
words of the song were shockingly disre-
spectful to the national emblem, and the
proprietor promptly instructed the bell
boy manipulating the monograph to cut
that piece out while the school teachers
remained in the house
'"That same evening the Virginia school
teachers. while strolling around heard
that grand old rag, thing being ground
out of the merry go-round rdy-gurdies,
heard the two bands at the dancing pa
villon blaring it. heard 1t on every side,
until they were pretty well worked up. A
policeman happened to be standing near
one of the pavilions when they got along
there. The school teachers saw the COP
and they bore down upon him. He stood
his ground. not knowing that they were
making for him.
+" You seem to have some authority
here" said the spokeswoman of the teach
ers to the cop, and we request as Amer
lean WOIneI, teachers OF ii pOTllOn OF inc
growing youth of the land. that the band
be forbidden to play the outrageous piece
it is now Observation-Disclosures to play 1t at
all any more
1.-The cop didn't know the piece the
band was playing from the sextet in Lu-
cha di Lammermoor, but he hurriedly told
the school teachers that he didn't have
anything to do with the pieces the band
played. and then he beat it as If bound
for dog fight somewhere.
But the school teachers weren't
through with the grand old rag compost
ton. A number of them got up and earn
estly protested against the playing of the
piece by one of the pavilion orchestras
later on in the evening. On the following
day they gathered together a large crowd
OF convention folks of different sorts and
of both sexes. nearly all of them from
Virginia or elsewhere in the south, and
they made for the office of the mayor OF
the seaside resort. The mayor of that
place has been the alcalde of the seaside
burg for great many years, and what
he says goes there without a word Of
question. The mayor sent out for copy
of the song, scanned the words, agreed
with the school marms and the rest of
the calling delegation that the song. while
maybe it meant we'll. was sure-enough
back-handed swipe at the old flag, and
then he sent the quiet tip out, all up and
down the line, that it would please him
a heap II that grand old rag stuff were to
be cancelled all around. 1t was cut out,
all proper enough, and the Virginia
school marms, their patriotism indicated
and their point won, went about In u
state of decorous triumph during the re-
mainder of they stay at the sea-