Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1909-06-23
Another Open Letter.

Editor Herald If as is claimed,
the Junior reception is really given
in honor of and for the benefit of the
Senior class etc, the latter members
and their parents can be no less vital
ly concerned than those of the Junior
class.
However, this is a public school,
not a private one, consequently any
function givsn under the auspices Of
a public school or any fraction thereof
as such, must affect and interest
every intelligent citizen with any
public spirit.
Particularly is this true when the
citizen has a personal interest in the
young thru any of the agencies for
their physical, mental or moral
welfare-not to mention the highest
welfare-the spiritual.
Still more emphatic is such an
interest when anything injected into
the school is deemed to be of an
injurious nature in any one or all
of these phases of the child's life.
Commencement is not apart from
the school life, but is a part OF frac-
tion of school life just as much as is
any other phase of that life.
Therefore the settlement of what
shall be injected into the public
school life, commencement as we'll as
the balance of the year, rests not with
a class, or certain classes N that
school alone, nor with their parents
alone, nor even with the faculty or
with the school board alone, but with
the citizenship, this being public
school,
No majority has any right to
ignore. override or endanger the
welfare and principles OF any
minority or their proteges in order
that the majority may indulge it's
pleasure or it's sentiment the best to
be said of dancing is pleasure or
sentiment).
Rather their moral obligations to
all mankind and their community
should lead the majority gladly to
protect any minority in any such
cases. Surely the minority in this
matter-if minority it really is, and
the presumed minoritys youthful
charges have more rights than any
criminal, yet the most loathsome
criminal has full right to physical,
mental and moral protection yea and
spiritual too if he desires it, these
rights which the state is in honor
bound to protect and respect-with
militia if necessary, regardless of the
unanimous wishes of an outraged
people Shall law abiding, intelligent
citizens and their youthful charges
be refused what is granted hardened
criminalr
The plea that thing is popular or
common is no justification whatever,
whether it be daGcing in Lancaster
schools. boodling in st. Louis or
slave holding. Commences and
popularity but increase the danger
and furnish proof that selfish dis
regard by a majority should be re-
placed by their unselfsh consideration
for the principles and personal well
fare of the minority. else selfish dis
regard for these during school life
will tend to law beaking and crime
later. The best schools and
colleges throughout the land permit
no dances in connection with the
Junior reception or any other func-
tion of their schools. 'Largest."
and "best' are not synonymous.
Possibly (?) the largest" may
but size is not quality necessarily,
unless a squash is of more value than
diamond. The fact is that some
of those large institutions tolerating
all such indulgences are noted for
their deteriorating effect upon the
moral qualities of their output.
This matter is one that is vital to
the health, the mental requirements
and the morals of the whole COM
munity and affects all who live here.
Webster City, Iowa, am quite
sure that was the place. which but
recently had thoro tryout of this
question and found it necessary to en-
force rigid prohibitive rules concern
ing even the teachers in order to
make the schools satisfactorily
effective.
AS to ''cozy corners etc. - that
excuse simply begs the question to say
the least, since its choice of dancing
as somewhat preferable to an ad-
mitted evil is an open confession that
dancing is an evil. We must re-
member that nothing is excusable or
permissible because it is less harmful
than something else.
am not discussing the tolerance
of dances in general. I am pleading