The Washington herald., 1913-11-09
The Hesitation Katchuka the jig Saw Hop Around the
Chinese Flippety-Flop. the Hook Foot and All
the Other Modern Dances Defended Because
They Tend to Prevent Over Development
Of the Brain Tissue at the Expense
of the Muscle and Because Of
Their Educational Value.

I progressive eyes to be just one disio-
Gated jump after another. But the
world is gradually catching up and
what idiocy is to the old hidebound in
Aexibility of rooted ideas the tango
has become to the waltz and the polka,
and for one am glad of it"
Il can only repeat that you would
be-" sneered the Bibliomaniac.
"You cannot only repeat it, Mr.. Bib,
but you can iterate and reiterate it as
well for as long time as your breath
holds out" said the Idiot. Repetition
and reiteration arc the backbone of
conversation, especially where ideas arc
scarce"
Can you deny that this so-called
modern dancing is immoral" demand
ed the Bibliomaniac.
q repeat, iterate, reiterate, assever-
ate and proclaim that it is quite the
contrary" said the Idiot. "Of course
there are certain kinds of minds to
Which it appears to be immoral, and
have heard more than one good old
lady of the male sex who was suffer
ing from the gout say that there is no
health in it, but / deny both impeach-
ments. 1t is case of Honey Swat
| Qui Mally Pants Immorall Why, to
begin with, AR. Bib, it is all so open
and naively lacking in concealment of
any sortl I'll bet you my share of the
next installment of buckwheat cakes and
sirup, that when you were young and
wanted to put your arm around a
dainty waist and immerse a fair dam
sePs nose in the lapel of your coat, you
used to sneak off into a dark corner
somewhere to do it, but"
'T never INDUCED in any such fool
ish behavior under any circumstances"
said the Bibliomaniac, indignantly.
Poor chap! Poor chapp said the
Idiot, with an admirable suggestion of
the tears, of sympathy in his voice.
We'll have to keep an eye on you.
1t won't do to let you go anywhere
without a chaperone. Into all lives
some spoons must fall, and it's been
my experience that it's better to get
EN- early in life and get through with
'em than to have 'em come along later
when we are beginning to get so
shaly on our pins that any old kind of
piece of floating fluff can bowl us
over with a glance. For my part as a
true believer in progress, clamor for
publicity. Publicity sounds the death
knell of immortality, and for the
achievement of a strictly hygienic fir
tatiousness this public tangoing, turkey
trotting and bunny hugging completely
fill the bill Two people, young or old,
stout or lean, possibly both, rise up
without any hesitation whatsoever on
the ballroom floor and pirouet around
like an oak and an ivy in the full glare
of the public gaze. There isn't any
thing furtive or shafnefaced about it,
they Just clutch and sail away in a
perfect ecstacy of harmonious unity of
motion which is a delight to look
upon, and how anybody observing the
entire absence of concealment in the
thing can attribute any suggestion of
immortality to it I can't see. It's a.
part of the New Freedom which is
entering into every thing in life. We
are simply letting in the light on
things that hitherto have not been de
rigger largely because they have been
done under the seal of secrecy. And
all this, mind you, is apart from any
consideration of the healthful quality
of it all. No health in it? Why it
simply oozles health. My chief fear
in regard to the human race of late
years has been that the most of US
we're growing fabby through want of
exercise. The average man or woman
who has got past middle life has been
too prone to anchor him or herself
to a sofa cushion, and go in for
sedcntary pursuits generally. We have
been inclined to sit around and gather
circumference unto ourselves rather
than by our physical activities to keep
our figures and our health. The result
has been stiffening of the joints, a
sluggishness of circulation leading on
Ito ossifeation, and generally torpid