Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-06-25

Dear Kate:
am having the best time of any girl in
the whole world Oh, Kate, 1 do love to
dance, cause dancing is just saying the
nice-thoughts inside of you with your body
instead of your lips. And think when you
get better thoughts you do better work /
know mine is different somehow, cause even
old, fat Casey who never throws you de-
cent word if he can help 1t, said I'd do.
When l used to dance in the joints around
Fourteenth street and over on Eighth ave-
nue. l danced just the things l knew then,
which was cafes filled with cigarette smoke,
booze on the tables and puffy. bad-faced
men staring at me. My dancing was not
good, just making my feet go, but now
think about other things and / dance the
buds coming out on the pussy willows, the
dogwood blossoms and the ripples of the
lake when the moon shines on 1t.
l hear the crickets and the katey-dlds
and the little peppers from the pond, and
instead of hard-faced girls putting cigarette
smoke into mems faces, l see Billy with
his curls hanging round his laughing face
as he runs up the long road to meet me
when l come from the station. My body
seems to have grown softer with my feel
ings and it bends more easy and l believe
l have even changed my face l don't feel
l have to fight my way through it, cause
know am loved and trusted and there
is always some one waiting for me at the
gate. Why, Kate, it changes your whole
life to know there is some one caring for
you who won't try to do you the first chance
they get and IL 1t makes such a difference
in your feelings, it is bound to make a
difference in your actions, and that is the
reason when dance, l sway and bend and
turn as light as if l was fairy one reads
about in story books. II amt dancing il
amt work. 1t is just telling all the world
I'm happy.
Dancing in these better places is not bad
Tor girl cause the management don't
make you talk TO no one and won't let the
men get fresh. OF course | get a lot of
notes and bids to dinner, but | don't
mind them cause l have had them all my
life. The only difference now, the spelling
| is good in these and they are supposed to
come from gentlemen. Yet tear them up
Just as easy as ] did the other kind Mrs.
Smlth Is always scared about me. showed
her mash note once and she sure threw a
nt' but l tell her she don't need to worry
aoout me. know how to take care of myself
All right, as have been doing It all nv life
seen TOO much crookedness and / have
seen mat II don't pay, / never knew
eHl yet mat went the limit but landed
haru some day on the pavement Even
| you was straight, Kate your only trouble
70 that your hands are too small and when
you married Jim and he showed you how
easy they went in other peoples pockets
you kind a took to it natural
supposed that is because of father who
is born dip and IT had 20 come out again
| In some OF the family. | wonder N lots of
people amt crooked cause they don't know
| no better | have been thinking a lot lately
ABOUT education Mr., Smith was a teacher
| III ooys school in England, and he talks
sometimes about the right kind of learning
ana SIT by and listen trying to hear all I
can that will help Billy. Mr.. Smith saws
that II boy has got the right kind of edu-
cation, he will Just naturally choose the
| right things In life, He don't believe be-
| cause Billys father and his grandfather
| are dips that that is any reason that BiIlv
should be one, He says, give him the right
| Knd or schooling and teachers that will
| understand him or show him what kind of
books to read and tell him the great things
that have been done by other men. and
that ne can do 1t IL he tries, that II will
| mako him ambitious and he will naturally
choose the right kind Of a life instead OF
| the wrong kind. He will go with the right
kind OF people, instead OF the wrong kind.
| He wants TO make Paul an electrical en-
| gineer, but first he wants him TO go 10 col
| lege and get lot of booklearning, 10 when
he Is by himself he will be willing 10 all bv
the hre and read some book he loves in
stead Of chasing down the Great White way
10 ma amusement. He says a man must