The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-11-20
Topics of Interest to Every Woman
EDITED BY JULIA CHANDLER MANI
BARNARD DANCES
ARESlMPLY H0RRlD
Inherent Dslicaey Should Be suf-
fcient TO taboo" Them.
By FRANCES sHAFFER.

Phiiadelphia matrons and few others
IN cities where there seems to be a re-
Tival Of old time principles are coming
out in the open upon the question of
animal dances" ! a. -, =
Philadelphia takes its social life, quite
seriously, and its leading lights in the
world Of society have considerable infiu-
ence when they try to make it felt. But
Just now they seem to be having a siren
uous sort of time in the effort to i'm
press the young folk under their wing
with the stern dictum that those bane-
full dances with impossible names shall
be known no more in their midst, and
that if they cannot dance in the good
old way they need not dance at all.
Philadelphia's social leaders are a bit
despotic in their way, and though the
younger matrons look very tolerantly
upon the terpsichorean gyrations that
have their beginnings in strange places,
1t is the settled matrons who are likely
to prevail in the end.
And with visions OF The Jelly Roll, I"
THE Horse Trot." THE Chicken Flip"
THE Bunny Hug" and a few other wild
dances in mind. one is very much in
clined TO hope that the wave OF reform
may sweep those crazy novelties back to
their original homes
"AnImaI Dances" Excluded.
In sending out invitations TO a cotiliion.
a prominent bachelors clubs in Balti-
more included a neat little circular briefly
announcing that no animal dances
would be tolerated.
Wherever there Is a club with a con-
science above the rolls" the "trots."
the ''f1ips," and all the other dancing
monstrosities. placards, and unwritten
rules are making II known that the line
is drawn at the new denominations. In
the little private affairs, chaperoned by
careful ones. there is a determined de-
mand that animal dances shall not be
allowed. And out in Cleveland some
clergymen have banded together and
pronounced all dancing demoralizing
and perniCious.
Meanwhile some folk are asking what's
the harm?
They call to mind the fact that IL
was not so very many years ago that
moralists of the older school denounced
the waltz as an instrument OF the pow
ers Of evil to lead young folk straight
to destruction. And now, they say, the
waltz is turned to by later day re-
formers to redeem the name and the
fame Of dancing and TO save the modern
youths and maidens from demoraliza-
ton! And so the Turkey Trot'' and
the other barnyard movements may safe
ly be left to take care Of themselves.
But their very names condemn them.
Two Things that Never Fit In.
The very incest thing in the world
is to believe in our young folk Of to-
day to be able to trust to impulses
them always right because we want
them TO be.
But there are two things that never
At in with our notions Of youth that
gives promise of beautiful growth later
on. One is the dance that is something
more than Just hoydenish, the dance
described as "abominable." coarse"
"degrading''-but why enumerate all the
counts against It? 1t is plainly horrid
and that is quite enough. The other
is the song whose music and words sug
gest everything but delicacy and refine
ment, because music and the manner OF
interpreting it can be just as offensive
as the words themselves.
It may be a bit old-fashioned and a
bit too severe, but some OF the songs
that occasionally creep into the same
smart places where the new dances find
favor are no whit less offensive than
the "trots" and all their next-of-hn.
Easy to Grow Critical.
1t is easy to grow critical and intol-
Grant of the new, to forget that stand
ards change and that things condemned
yesterday are approved to-day. But as
far as these dances and songs are con-
cerned, their source is rather revealing.
They started away down and have been
picked up by folk whom one would ex-
pect to have more discriminating tastes.
And IL the inherent delicacy in the
young Is not sufficiently strong that
they mark them all over, taboo" then
it is well for the matruns to rise up in
arms and automatically call a halt.