The Washington times., 1921-09-04

hpiy SHOWS more striking chanBe
from the one before II than any gen.
GRAFTON has shown for at least two
centuries. To- a ........
A change in mind. spirit, and man.
ner! .''. ..r .@.tt O..
The change of manner of course
irritates a large number Of persons
who are shocked because the world
continues to go round after they
have begun to suffer from rheuma.
tism and badness. -. ...r
The changes of mind and spirit.
however, are more important. As
regards mind. the latest generation
Is better educated. more cultivated,
less hypocritical. more courageous.
more honest, less "stuffy" than its
predecessor; and in all these respects
has quite marvellously improved its
predecessors predecessors.
Further 1t has completed q sort
Of revolution in the relations Of the
sexes, which aforetime were regu.
lated by a system of conventions,
shams. and pretences than can only
be described as poisonous.
DULLNESS A SOCIAL CRIME.
As regards the spirit. the latest
generation has re-discovered. or Is
re-discovering, the great secrets
lost since the Elizabethan age-that
the chief thing in life IL to feel that
you are fully alive, that life oughtn't
to be q straight line but q series of
ups and downs. that continual re-
preston Is a tragic absurdity, that
dullness Is a social crime. that the
present IL quite as important as the
future. and that moments of ecstasy
are the finest moments and the sum.
mits Of existence.
It has finally killed the Victorian
age dead. I am willing to admit
that the Victorian age was a great
age. though 1t acutely exasperatsd
me when was young. But chat 1t
had the terrible vices Of continual
repression and disgusting hypocrisy
cannot be disputed, and to contem-
plate its corpse gives me genuine
pleasure.
So much for the achievement OF
the latest generation. The latest
hasn't done everything itself. but It
has handsomely finished what others
began. and 1t shall be awarded the
pAr.nnallxy \ In
and even in its mistakes. -,
DANCE HALLS BENEFICIAL.
Now the most spectacular symp-
tom Of the new spirit is the revival
and the full characterization Of
dancing. The latest generation GER
tainly did not initiate the revival.
which began long before the war in
the formation Of private dance-clubs.
whose fault was a ridiculous snob-
bishness.
What the latest generation did
was to seize on to a good thing, to
exploit It fully. and to tear It free
of the chains Of convention, and to
expose It to all the antiseptic winds
Of publicity.
1t is to the demands of the latest
generation that we owe the public
dance halls, which are among the
most impressive, beautiful, and
healthy phenomena Of modern social
life. Not that the dance halls are
the recent invention Of the middle
class in London and the great pro-
vincial centers. as some might as
sumo.
Dance halls flourished nightly
even in the last century in q few
Of the most popular seaside resorts.
and especially at Blackpool and
Douglas, Isle of Man. In these con-
siderable pleasure cities there were
dance halls before the latest gener-
alton was born. and before the fox
trot and the shimmy had been con-
ceived.
The halls we've efficiently man
aged, with few but rigidly-enforced
rules; they had good music; they
were bright and ever-glittering; and
they were cheap.
FIELD FOR SOCIAL STUDENTS.
They did, as they still do. enormous
business. and We're largely re-
sponsibie for the popularity Of the
two places named. Years and years
ago I used to watch them function
ing with amazement and delight, and
wondered that they did not attract
attention from students of social
phenomena. True, In those days
students Of social phenomena had
not yet removed their blinkers!
UPLIFTING TO. THE SOUL.
That which once was amusingiy
vulgar is now strictly correct-and
still amusing. Halls, clubs, and
subscription organizations exist