The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-04-20
COMFY SUCCUMBS
TO TANGO AT LAST
Thousands Turkey Trot Too,
and Not a BOuncer Says
Them Nay.
NO MUSIC Is TOO LIVELY
One Hundred Thousand Visit
Island. and Everybody
Is Happy.
NO MUSIC Is TOO LIVELY

'Concy Island has surrendered. That
conventional nook OF sophisticated New
York has come 10 II at last Having nobly
resisted for three years the progress OF
those fantastic, insidious. not 20 be spoken
Of IN polite society modern dances. Coney
Island has succumbed IN sweet humility
and now everybody down there 10 doing
them. At least almost everybody. There
are still few folks who think the
dances are perfectly awful but they are
getting fewer every day.
Coney Island's attitude toward the
turkey tiot. the one step. the hesitation
and the tango has been the Joke of the
town. IIeraded abroad as the paradise
OF pleasure seekers. II was the one place
in the whole metropolitan community
where one couldn't dance the new dances
IL one wished. You had to take Surf
avenue car and go down to Sea Gate or
stop Off at Brighton Beach IL you were
really up to date. IL you dfd try to dance
the way you felt anywhere in Coney
Island big bouncer tapped you on the
shoulder and told you to go away. A
great many persons did go away and
great many more stayed away. Coney
Island az the right bower of the uplift
didn't jbe with ones idea OF that great
movement.
But 1T looked yesterday n II all that was
changed. 1t was the biggest April day
Coney has had. Policemen who have been
=
said they figured that at least 100000
visitors were in town. None OF the music
halls was open and not all of the moving
picture houses had their bankers out to
let you know that everything inside was
absolutely free. But some of the big
dancing platforms were open, and that's
where the crowds were.
You saw men and women. young and
old. stop in front of these places. stretch
their ears for one strain of the lifting
music and then go right inside. You
could hear everywhere expressions of de-
light. Concy was coming into its own
again as "A place Of real amusement. out
side of watching baseball game there
isn't anything the average New Yorker
would rather do than dance. Every
restaurant and hotel proprietor In New
/ York knows IL. Every one OF them has
/ taken advantage OF It except those at
Coney Island. and now they too are catch
ing up.
The policemen down there wouldn't talk
about 1t. They just said they had re-
coived no orders TO stop anybody that
wanted to dance. Last year they knew
what TO do. When a policeman heard
/ anything except a waltz or twostep be-
/ ing played he reported II and the leader
\ of the orchestra was told to stop tina,
stuff. The cops said they didn't know
how long il would continue. but that !;
looked as II folks that came t" Coney
I Island were gong 10 ne permitted 70 nave
just rs good "A time as those that re-
maned N New York.
50 the crowds .:.-red up and down
Surf avenue and edded around into tho
Bowery and did things that Coney crowd:
usually do. Not everybody danced. but
I everybody seemed happy. Luna Parl
looked Glum behind It's barred gates ant
the dark Inhabitants OF the Samoli VII
larc wrapped themselves IN their blanket
and sat wistfully beside their thatchet
huts. They are not on exhibition yet
Nobody expected such q warm day &c
soon and most of the islands feature at
fractions were still in winter toggery.
II was an orderly crowd too. The
police found Il necessary TO take charge
| Of only one man He was intoxicated
Evidently he had brought his load TO tn
island. the police said. because so far a.
they knew. and despite the fitting OF th'
lid in favor OF the dances, it was Jus
as hard TO get n drink In Coney Islam
yesterday as II usually Is on Sunday.
Not everybody went to Coney Island
4 great many stopped off ut Brighto'
Beach 10 patrol the boardwalk. WATCHING
the polar bears" greatly increased l.
numbers, sporting In the surf. or feelin;
n thrill a. the North Dakota steame'
down the lower bay for Mexico.
over on Staten Island the beaches di'
big business Midland and Soutl
beaches started the season unofficial,
and thousands took the municipal ferry
boats to St George and stopped there 70
the day All in all, yesterday was ap
precibted