Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-02-23
Correspondent Says Charges OF Vice
in ArmOry a MOnstrous Wrong.

bAA TIC AAbAN pIENs TIT pAOIAA-
nent headlines: vice conditions sus-
pend dances. All hops cut out for the
/ present. Leading citizens take dras-
tice measure to probe certain alleged
immoralities permitted to exist" there
is published a half-column of most
| sensational news
On the front page Of The Sun bal
timore) of the following morning ap-
pears an Annapolis dispatch headed:
Vice in armory. charge. Building in
Annapolis viii be closed to dances.
Was frequented by soldiers"
Upon the minds of the hundreds of
/ Capital readers and the more than one
/ hundred thousand Sun readers the i'm
I preston produced by reading these
/ two news items must have been, to
I say the very least, exceedingly I'M
| favorable as regards our personal,
family, and municipal decency and
morality.
Coming so promptly after the sec
ond Of two dances held at the armory-
! under the patronage of certain ladies
| of Annapolis for the benefit of the
soldiers and sailors in our midst, the
! publication of statements alleging ir-
! Irregularities at the armory must in
! evitably proclaim the most serious re-
/ Election upon the personal character of
the Annapolis women who participated
| in these dances.
AT one or both Of these dances there
/ were present as hostesses, chaperones
and invited guests the following nam
/ ed ladies, as well as a number OF
! others whose names are not before
me:
Mrs. Brereton, Mrs. Benjamin Gott
and two daughters, Mrs. j. dep. Douw
/ and two daughters, Mrs. Raymond
Stone and daughter, and Mrs. hewitt
/ Steele and two daughters.
The mere enumeration of these
names renders il unnecessary TO as
sert the high character of the enter
tainments given under their auspices.
The use of the word vice" in con-
nection with The Capital reporters
notes has invested the whole matter
with a most sinister character; for
while the broad definition of "vice"
may be stretched so as to include
within its limits number and variety
of acts that are of themselves repre-
hensible and repugnant to law and
social order (such as, for instance,
liquor drinking to eXcess), the GUS
tomary meaning of the term as en-
ployed in the utterances of the public
press of the day, in reform movements,
Investigations of social conditions.
etc, is held peculiarly and especially,
nt 20. II
lations between the sexes 1t is in
this sense, almost without a doubt.
that the casual reader of The Capital
and The Sun will interpret the charges
made in the published articles above
referred to. Those persons who, in
careless thoughtlessness of conse-
quences if not in malice, originated
these charges in their given phrase
ology have gratuitously and grossly
affronted a number of gentle patriotic
women whose character and integrity
need no defense because they are un-
assailable and whose devoted efforts
towards providing legitimate, whole.
some recreation and proper associa-
tions for the soldiers and sailors who
have come to us from their mothers
and sisters all over the land have been
untiring
This is a monstrous wrong.
The wrong has been done Outside
of our own borders it is not possible
to right it; for, like the sped arrow
and the spoken word of the proverb,
the written word has gone forth, nom
returnable, in flaring headlines, car
rying insult to wives and daughters
Tin some cases widows and orphans)
of Annapolis men.
1t was at the earnest solicitation of
the commanding officer and other Off
GERS of the 23rd Regiment of En-
gineers, l believe, that some proper
and acceptable recreation be furnished
their men, that the ladies who were
patronesses arranged the second dance.
So impressed were these ladies with
the reasonabless of the request and
the necessity for tn diversion that, at
no little personal inconvenience and,
in some cases with the subordination
of ideas touching the observance of the
Lenten season, they felt that great
good would come to the men from a
social evening with simple wholesome
refreshments coupled with opportun.
ity for the men of the Services to COM
mingle with such people as they were
accustomed to associate with at home
Grateful expressions of appreciation
fromthe officers and men have been
received.
If those persons who deprecate
dancing as such-and there are some
who do, to whose bona fide we give
due respect-wish to oppose it, let
them object and fight dancing itself,
of itself, and not attempt to stop it
by associating it in charges with a
word which, in ordinary acceptation,
has reference primarily, if not sole
". to the social evil
It is not only regretable but de-
plorable that The Evening Capital
whose pride it is, as it should be, to
protect the good name of our citizens,
to maintain the integrity of our social
and patriotic activities. and to encour-
age us in extending hospitality to the
boys in uniform, sons of distant moth
ers. strangers in our midst, should
permit, all unwittingly / am sure, in /
its news columns the publication of /
carelessly reported, loosely worded /
alleged charges of a character so /