Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1919-07-20
SUMTER GETS ONLY $4,000 FEDERAL AID
Cheek, Shimmy and Jazz Steps
Bring Requestof City'sLeading
Women to Clubs to End Them

violating these club rules have been
quietly informed, without making
a scene or giving them any en-
barrassment in public, that they
would have to quit or they would
not have the privileges of the club
again. Not so long ago two young
ladies from another city, who were
experts at shimmy dancing, and
would have made wonderful dane
ers on the stage, were highly in
dignant when told they must stop"
"The request of the ladies was
brought before the board of gov
ernors of the club" said J. Lewis
Ellis, secretary of the club, "and
laid on the table after it had been
discussed. We considered that as
our rules already covered the
ground no other action was nee
essary."
The request was considered at
meeting of the Monaco club, but
no action was taken other than to
order it displayed on the clubs
bulletin board at the entrance,
which was done.
Picked Out Violator.
'There is no cheek dancing in
our club, said Dan Chappell, pres
ident of the Monaco club, "but they
do shimmy and jazz some. We leave
the style of dancing largely to the
individual dancers. However, there
is none of the extreme dancing
done in our club. / told the la
dies that we would cooperate with
them all we could, but it didn't APP
pear that there was much to be
done. One night when we were
having a dance | asked one of the
chaperones, who had signed this
request, to tell me if she saw any
Objectionable dancing going on.
She called only one boy to my at
tention and | took him off the floor
and told him Of the complaint. In
this case, however, / am sure the
lady was mistaken, for the young
man can scarcely dance at all, and
| am asure she mistook his awk-
wardness on the floor for an effort
at extreme dancing"
The request of the ladies was
read to the members of the
Shewg-Jolf club by Owen Poole,
president.
Il told the ladies / didn't think
it would do any good although l
was ready to assist them in any way
l could" he said. "The members
listened to the reading of the pa
per and then went on dancing as
before. They shimmy and jazz a
good deal. But we have chaper-
ones usually from among the wo-
men who signed the paper"
An officer of one of the clubs,
who is a member also of another,
declared that there is none of the
real shimmy dancing done here.
''This jazz and shimmy they do
here is far from the real thing"
said he. 81 know, for I have
watched them as they are danced
in the cabarets and other places
in New York and other big cities.
The real thing is something to talk
about for sure.
Suggested Another Plan.
Another officer of one of the clubs
who refused to allow his name to
be mentioned, told of conference
he had had with some of the sign
ers Of the paper.
81 am just as much for stop
ping these extreme dances as you
are" he said he told the ladies,
"but you are going at it in the
wrong way. | know from expert
ence, and from what l have heard
many of the young men say, that
they do not like these extreme
dances; they are disgusting in
many respects. But when a pref
ty girl partner lays her cheek
against the boys he just naturally
isn't going to tell her to stop. They
just won't do it, that's all. | told
these ladies that the place to start
was on the girls; that they should
get the girls to agree not to dance
these dances land not to dance with
a man who did them. That would
solve it Immediately.
"And what do you suppose their
reply was? We can't do thing
with the girls And there you are.
| told them they had poor chance
to get results then, but I assur-
ed them that we would help, and
we are doing it. /"
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