The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1921-08-21

illarl,cS into accepted common
places? Is 10 within the power Of
society 10 grant the dance dispcnsa q.
tions hy which for Just fow hot '
at time indelicacios by some magic
become delicate What special
charter or power does the dance
alone have IN this respect
Letting Down the Bars.
surely all viii agree that We need
the vital distinction between uao
and abuse in the amusement ques-
tion. But II IL Impossible to deny
that, In many individual cases. the
practice OF dancing must have tho
efctct OF unduly stimulating feelings
already under Insufficient control.
and thus helping 20 destroy the bal
anCc " charctcr. The tendency of
the dance as form ot educational
excitement based upon stimulation
OF the senses is 20 dissiputo those re-
rraints and reserves gradually built
up as safeguards hy reason ~ our
experience of life. The formation
OF these restraints and reserves ~
'he main feature In what We call
character building The weakening
of these restraints and reserves be
youd a certain point by stimulation
ui any Kind always releases lower
tendenciGs held In check by their
power Thus under excitement i'm
pulses ordinarily under control may
be released with disastrous effects.
What place has such an institu-
tion In the Icurriculum OF our
schools2 The dance does not make
for high standards In scholarship.
but rather defeats the very purpose
of thes chool therefore IT has no
place IN the school.
Have not the churches and
churchmcn had just about as fair
chance as any one else TO study the
dance and It's effects on society and
on spiritual life? Then would we
not do well to note the uttcrnnccs Of
some OF the great religious bodies
of the world7
The Methodist church forhids its
members 10 dance and openly con
dcmns the dance. And because a
pastor OF this church In Wichita,
Kan, refused to receive a lady dan
ing master into his church. the
Natinal Association Of Dancing
Masters, assembled In New York
city on August 81. 1920. announced
n new dance, adopting II a. a sup
Elemental dance To the Onc-stcp, fox
trot and waltz, with the hope that
II would appeal to the very young
dancers and to the very old dancers,
This dance they named the Wesley
an" for the founder Of tho religion
that has disapprovcd of dancing,
they said. Now what do you think
Of that?
But the Methodist church does not
stand alone In It's diaa approval OF the
dance. The Congregational church
has gone on record as follows; RE
solved, that in the opinion Of the
association the practice of dancing
by members OF our churches II in
consistent with the profession OF re-
ligion and ought to be made a sub
jcct OF discipline"
The Presbyterian church says:
we regard the practice of promis-
cuous dancing by church members
as a wonderful Inconsistency, and
the giving OF such parties for such
dancing on the part OF heads Of
families as tending to compromise
their religious professions; and the
sending OF children OF Christian par
ents to the dancing school as sad
error in family discipline"
The Baptist church has been
most unsparing in deDounCinE this
amusement.
Bishnp Arthur Cleveland Coke OF
the Episcopal church declared that
Aiit was Id'tlNlbuS ana "hIiltu
those who attended the dance not to
come to the holy table. And Bishop
Hopkins Of this church had this to
say Dancing Is Chargeable with
waste of time, the indulgence of
personal vanity and the premature
Indictment of the passions, and no
ingenuity can make 1t consistent
with the covenant of baptism"
The Catholic church, asso mblad IN
plenary council at Baltimore, spoke
as follows on the question Of the
dance: We consider II to he our
duty To warn our people against
those amusemeEts which may easily
become to them an occasion OF sin,
against those fashionable dances
which, as at present carried on, are
revolving to every feeling of deli
cacy and propriety, and are fraught
with the greatest danger to morals"
a Catholic priest not long ago said
Another argument for the COnfcs-
sion Is that we az least have tn ad-
vantage of knowing when our peoul.
fall, where they fall, and how they
fail, and we have found that aim )st
every lapse OF female virtue in our
community Is traceable to the
dance"
And now In conclusion may we
not add the testimony OF one dan
cling master, Prof A. T. Faulkner,
OF Los Angeles. who says: Il have
talked with 200 abandoned women
and found that 81 OF them 4sCrihed
their fall O., nj puny,s aud 1 I