Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1917-03-02
Senate Defeats the Measure
M a king Midnight the
Limit for Tripping of the
Light Fantastic.
SENATORS ENGAGE IN
A LIVELY DEBATE
Purpose of the Measure Was
the Placing of Stringent
Regulations on Dance
Halls and Assessment of
License Fees.

| Those who delight to trip the light
fantastic until the wee hours of
morning will not be interfered with
despite the fact there was a bill pend
ing in the senate seeking to shut off
dances at midnight. The measure was
indefinitely postponed in the senate af-
ter one of the most lively debates of the
session by a vote of IS to Il. Senator
Whitcomb of Lemhi, backed by Sena-
tors Randall of Nez Perez, Senator
Rockwell of Blaine, Senator Lowe Of
Cassia, and Senator Heiss, led the fight
on the bill seeking to place stringent
regulations on dance halls and pro-
viding license of $25 to operate them.
Senators Hill of jefferson, briggs Of
Teton, Cummings of Bannock, and Ath-
erton of Twin Falls fought for the bill
PLAIN TALK INDUCED IN.
The senate INDUCED in some very
plain talk over. the measure. The SEN
ators attacking the measure held that
there was less harm done at dances,
whether public or otherwise, than tho
champions of the bill thought. Senator
Whitcomb said he had played an in
strument at dances to pay his way
through college. He failed to see any
harm done at public dances and he had
watched couples dancing for years
Senator Randall took the same view.
lie contended that harm could come of
any amusement If those engaged in it
We're 50 inclined, and made reference.
for instance. to the habit OF joyrding
in automobiles and other vehicles.
Rockwell declared 1t was all in the
MN in, yuI1iOI, 1nnlEn1
amusements, declaring that where some
people held Sunday baseball to wrong,
others held it to be very proper. For
his part he said he would have no hes
itancy in INDUCING in a game of base
ball on Sunday. So he said it was with
the dance. Senator Lowe stated the
bill sought to exempt church dance
halls from paying fines. but charged
hall not owned by churches.
TO REGULATE THE GIRLS.
Senators Hill and briggs asserted
that there was need of some stringent
regulations for the public dance halls
where especially to govern the road
houses where it is engaged in. He
referred to the rapid increase of these
places because of the general use of
automobiles as n medium of quick
transportation. The boys have been
regulated, he said. and 1t seemed that
the time had come to legislate for the
regulation of the girls as well. Sen
ators briggs, Cunningham and Ather-
ton took the same ground.
Senator Walker of Boundary and
Senator jackson of Bonner, called at
tention to the community center halls
in their counties where the rural resi-
dents gather on Saturday evening and
dance and took the ground they could
not vote to remove this innocent
amusement and pleasure from them.
The vote to kill the bill was as fol-
lows:
Yes-Baker, Curtis, Evans, Heiss,
Ingard, jackson, Kinsolving,
Lowe, of Adams, Lowe OF 0assia,
Nelson, O'Neil, Pettibone,
Rockwell. Walker, Whitcomb.
Total, IS.
No-Atherton. Bradbury, Cummings.
briggs. Games. Elliott. Harding, Hill,
Lewis, Pincock, Proctor, Shepherd,
Wedgewood. Total, IA.
Senators Whitcomb and Cummings
engaged in lively cross-fire debate in
which the former declared that the
reason he had not seen anything par
wrong with dances was be-
cause he had not Travelled in the same
as the latter. In reply Cum
mings referred to Whitcomb as the
legal luminary" in whose head APP
peared to be crammed all the legal
knowledge of the senate.