Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1914-01-17
Cardinal.Farley Deplores Pres
ent Vogue as ImmOdest and
Harmful.
Invitations For Big Charity CO.
tilliOn Recalled and Affair
Abandoned.
OLD DANCES NOT OBJECTED To

Led by the diocesan authorities
the Catholic clergy of New York
City recently inaugurated crusade
against the tango and other popular
forms of modern dancing. This be-
came evident when announcement
was made that the invitations for
the big charity dance that was to
have been given at Delmonico's for
the Catholic Institute for the Blind
had been recalled and the affair had
been abandoned. Those who had
been making the arrangements made
the statement that the cancellation
was made by unanimous vote In
obedience to the expressed opinions
of His Eminence and various
Bishops throughout the country who
have declared their disapproval OF
any entertainment given by Cath
olics in which the tango, the one
step glide or the maxixe are INDUCED
in.
The Rev. DR.. Thomas G. Carroll,
secretary to Cardinal Farley, ex-
planned that while the church had
not officially placed ban upon
dancing, Cardinal Farley deplored
the trend of the present vogue as
immodest and had determined to
do all in his power to discourage 1t.
Having taken this position" said
DR.. Carroll, "His Eminence felt that
it would be most inconsistent on his
part to permit such a form of enter
tainment to be given by an organi-
zation connected with the diocesan
activities for the purpose of raising
funds for the support and mainten-
ance of diocesan charities or institu-
tions. 1t was not because the Car
dinal had reason to believe that
improper dancing would be INDUCED
In at the cotillion of the auxiliary
that this step was taken, but he
realized that so prevalent was the
present craze for the new dances
that it would be impossible to pre-
vent some of those who attended
from indulging in them without
positively offending them. 1t seemed
much more discreet to abandon the
dance. This course has been pur-
sued with other cotillions and
dances undertaken by Catholic or
ganizations for the support of dio-
eesan work. All Catholic societies in
this city have been notified of the
Cardinals opposition to dancing in
its present mode"
Although DR.. Carroll would not
say anything further upon the sub
iect, Monsignor who is close to
the Cardinal was more communica-
tive in discussing the ban upon what
he termed ballroom acrobatics.
although il is the desire of the
diocesan authorities to avoid the ap-
pearance of being unduly censorious,
nevertheless it must be apparent to
every intelligent person who has
watched the development of this
latest fad that the dancing of today
is open to the charge of improperly
and is often positively indecent. The
church does not desire to assume
the role of dictator in the amuse-
ments of her children, but the mod
ern vogue in dancing and the pre-
vailing modes in woman's dress are
both indicative of a moral decadence
In society. This decadence, which
has set in within the last few years,
is today evidenced also in the
popularity of salacious moving pic
'ture films and the filthy dramas
which pollute the stage. A halt
must be called somewhere, and 1t
seems to me that the time has ar
rived for decisive action. Following
the example set by Cardinal Farley,
no priest will permit the societies
connected with the parish to hold
dances while the present vogue OF
dancing exists, nor will parish char
titles, schools or other parochial
institutions accept funds raised in
such a way. This will be sufficient
to bring our people to a realization
of the moral dangers which lurk In
the so-called tango and turkey trot.
We have no objection to the old
time forms of dancing, and this
embargo on cotillions will only be
lifted when the people return to
saner and more modest forms OF
ballroom amusement"