Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1912-01-26

WHAT ARE WE COMING TO?

This is certainly an age of prog
ress, but whether it is upward or
downward. it is not for us to say;
yet even sinner. like the writer,
may venture to say that it is in no
wise upward or ennobling.
A New York special dispatch pub
lished Sunday in that staid and relia-
BILE old newspaper, the Oreaoaiup,
(without cOmmenD says:
New YORK, Dec. 14.-"O You Beau
tiful Doll; You Great Big Beautiful
DOLL" sings society in the seductive
Texas Tommy" and bunny Hug"
dance while Mayor Gaynor and all the
reputable dancing masters in town, look
on, shocked beyond measure.
1t is not the so-called demi-mond
that have adopted the Texas Trot"
and the Bunny Hug" for the con-
tol of whom the Mayor has caused an
order to be issued, prohibiting it in
public places or semi-public places,
and instructors are forbidden to teach
the movement, but it is said that
respectable families have been af-
ficted with the craze, and foes Of
every little movement that may be
in some degree suggestive are genu-
inely alarmed. "The 'grizzely bear
and the bunny hug which are posi-
tions taken in the turkey trot' move
ment, are menaces to the morals of
the dancers and of those who witness
the dancers" says Oscar Duryea,
head of the Duryea Normal School
of Dancing and a leader in his profes-
sion. Other reputable dancing mas
ters reiterate his declaration. They
say the self-respecting dancing in
structors condemned the turkey
trot" movement long before Mayor
Gaynor took cognizance of it.
The alarming feature of the matter
is, however. that society is going in
for the " trot" in its various forms
helter- skelter. not caring a continen-
tai whoop what the Mayor or the "A
No. l dancing teacher" think about
it. When an orchestra starts playing
or someone starts humming That
Tantalizing Rag or the "Oceana
Roll, the smart set cannot make its
feet and shoulders behave. Dowa-
gers and debutantes are infatuated
with the movement. 1t is said that
young buds not yet introduced to
society are adopts at the bunny
hug and that their mothers s.nil-
iugly condone their gyrations.
Three-fourths of New York is
turkey trotting" - behind closed
doors since Mayor Gaynor's order
and the other one-quarter OF the town
is learning the movement as fast as
it can. If most OF the instructors de-
cline to teach the dance and denOunce
it as dangerous to morals and to the
beautiful art OF dancing, there are
some VINO are willing. for price, to
show the uninitiated how to prance
a Ia Texas Tommy" One of these
is NJ. Maurice. performing in a
cabaret show at Louis Martins res
taurant.
Maurice has become fad with a
certain class Of society people and is
said to receive as high as $25 an
hour for showing the Four Hundred
the proper Tor improper) evolutions.
He is Ger rtainly doing a nice little
business.
:" 1t is true that am teaching the
trot' to men and women of your
exclusive society, and to their daugh-
ters, but the movement ] gave them
is quite harmless" Maurice said in
an interview. AS for the craze, it
has completely swept society off its
feet"
Asked if he did not occasionally
in fact frequently-teacb the daoce
in all its sensualness, he admitted
that such was the truth.
But they demand it that way, "
he explained. Naturally, l do as
requested in the matter" Z
Even Philadelphia has heard of the
Grizzly Bear" and wants to learn
it. Dancing instructors there have
sent inquiries to New York asking
about it. The modern "Grizzly Bear
dance is said to have originated on
the Barbary Coast" of San Fran
cisco.