The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-09-25
WEST VIRGINIA
[ IS DANCE MAD
! DESPITE RIOTS
state Authorities Unable "a
Curb Wild lndulgsncs In
n TerpsIchorean Art.

IerpsicnoTeah At
w NJ WALTER O. MERRITT.
- I.tsrnatisnal News Service.
MoRGANTowN, w. Va. Sept. rs.
West Virginia 10 dance mad.
The hoid-ups. riots and strikes here
and there have not satiated 'hs thirst
Of West Virginia for excitement.
Dancing has been called upSIn to add
It's share Of thrills. The dancing craze
has seized old and young.
4 But there is always someone to take
the 10y out Of life. There ere lots Of
such persons In this State, and they
are mighty active, too. They have
wagsd q strong war sgainst school
teachers dancing. Their social
monkey wrench has partly wrecked
the dancing machinery In sCme com
munities.
ALTHOUGH Captain George M. Ford.
State superintendent Of Schools In
west Virginia, has ruled that boards
Of education cannot legally discharge
Q teacher for violation OF q rule
against dancing and o stipulation
against dancing In q teachers con-
tract II null and void" the fact re-
mains that there are few women or
men who dance on the teaching starts
OF the schools Of the Mountain State
this year. This n the result OF the
sitter campaign carried out by the
the leading cities Of the State. Sonlk
or these anti-dancing leaders are al
ready members OF the school boards,
while others have brought their influ.
6nce into action from the outside.
: But why has West Virginia become
Aroused over the question and why
has Superintendent Ford been called
Upon to make q rulingf
Teachers Must Stop, Too.
Simply because West Virginia is
dance mad. ."-.
Down in Martinsburg the school
board rose up in arms when someone
asked question about high school
~ssncing." Commissioners George An
sws declared that II It was q prac-
RI to hold dances in the schools he
iuld enter q protest.
When the commissioner investiga.
ms showed that the dances were
ing held in buildings over which
lere was no school control he was
freed to give It up. The dances are
Ding on just the same, with the
Ichool pupils and teachers attending
N large numbers.
Failure OF some students to make
satisfactory grades resuNed in Prof.
IS. 8. Jacobs, Of Triadeiphic district
schools. near Wheeling, to order his
teachers to stop dancing.
In Huntington there was 20 much
dancing Of an unsuperyised nature
that the High School Parent. Teach.
ers' Association decided that super
vised dancing In the schools was the
best way out of the matter.
The proposal brought such storm
o. protest that . referendum vote
vas taken among the parents Of the
school children. One minister de-
clared that every dancer in his
church could withdraw without ieav.
Ing II any the worse AZ to members
or finances. This retort drew equal
ly caustic replies. There has recent.
" come q lull in the storm In
Huntington. The high school young
sters are stil dancing. but the en-
snies Of dancing are unwilling to
recognise that fact.
Perhaps the dancing battle came
% . climax In Morgantown, where
virtually every teacher who danced
either refused TO apply for q position
ssaih or else were refused a posi-
ton by the board when they did APP
ply. The board Of education said
that danoink and teaching did not
30 together and that dancing teach.
erS were not likely to be employed.
Dance Stampede Il On.
Mcrsantown. whore West Virginia
state University 10 located, has q
Number Of dance halls for It's $4,000
people. and these halls are booked
Up solid from early fall until late
spring. with . few summer ensase-
rtonts thrown in h extras. Those
dances attract the town folk, high
school boys ana girls and many uni
about 1000. It's poor night that
does not have q couple OF dances
toins on. somewhere In the town.
: The old dances and the newer
enes. which have made the waits
iook Ike q snaiis gallop. have neither
entirely satisfied some Of the more
graceful university girls. SO they
have come forth In bare feet and
fine draperiee onto the university
campus, where esthetic dancing has
been Q feature Of each spring after
y sets warm enough to remove ali
danger Of fScstbite--no, we didn't
cay cold feet. II takes the most
graceful dancer 70 ''gst away. With"
fhis open-air dancing, but the girls
cay they are wild about Il. Ths
boys, likewise, say IT'S great stuff"