The New York herald., 1922-03-27
DANCER AND DEACON
STIR UP CALDWELL.
Mile. Kozlowska's Educated
Toes Create Furor That
Aged Purist Resents.

Never In his seventy years OF life
was Deacon Van Wart Of the Caldwell
IN. J.) Baptist Church. editor OF the
Caldwell Progress, one of the purest
newspapers published. and secretary OF
the Grover Cleveland Birthplace Nc
mortal Association. 50 misled as on the
day few weeks ago when Martin G.
Delaney tenor singer and amateur
.heatricals manager of the borough,
appeared in the jon printing side of the
Progress and submitted the rough draft
OF the program for the vaudeville show
that was 10 be held on the evening Of
March 90 by the Caldwell Club to raise
funds for an $4,000 club house to be
built some time this spring.
Possibly because Deacon Van Warts
membership of the borough was so Well
established and sin so completely ban
ished that on this particular day he was
not as much on the qui vive. as they
say in those languages. as usual: or,
it may be, he merely failed to note. In
glancing down Martin Delaney's rough
draft and among the items. tenor"
lTdUlp HiOuolcSuiotp
"barytone" and merry magician the
item Jazz toe dancer. Mile. kozlowska."
Little did Deason Van Wart then
think OF what was TO ayentuate and
reverberate as the outcome Of that
innocent looking line of words. The
Caldwell Progress printed the prosrams,
toe dancer and all, and time slipped
around TO the evening OF March 90.
the borough having been agog for weeks
over preparations for the show and the
social whirligig accompanying the pre-
liminaries.
That night the Caldwell Theater was
jammed as never before in It's history
except the night that Grover Cleveland.
who was born in the town and whose
cherished memory IS its greatest tradi-
tion. spoke there. The seating capacity
Of roo was exhausted early, and then
the standees began to bank up around
the fringes until II would have been
impossible TO wedge another Caldwellite
into the theater with a gigantic shoe
horn.
Church Folk In Audience.
People who hadn't been TO a theatrl-
cal performance for years we're there,
and many Of the members OF the First
Presbyterian Church, across the street.
the church of which Grover Cleveland's
father was pastor. were on hand and
conscious Of the feeling or suppressed
excitement
The early part Of the program went
off pleasantly and in ample apprecia-
tion-selections by the Society Dance
Orchestra, the Cornels in singing and
dancing. the Edith Rose trio and How
ard Pascal. tenor and then came-oh,
L. In, tt a1to
nearly split Caidwell's social set and
which has caused disruption even in re-
lgious groups.
out of the wings fiitted n slim. gilt
tering creature. one glance at whom was
sufficient to make tho dullest UNDER
stand how the female limb slrould really
he modelled. and who was not embar-
RAISING herself by any great amount OF
clothing The skirt was just about the
same shape and size as a table lamp
shade. and above the waist there were
strings Of pearls and things--just like
that. With the surge OF the music Mile.
Kozlowska leaped into air and action
and proceeded for Giddy quarter of an
hour. in which the theater rocked and
nulvcrcd to applause. and in which many
OF the best people OF Caldwell beat their
gloves into ribbons, touch of high
life.
The little mademoiselle with the cdu-
Gated toes was the hit of the show, so
the uproar OF applause indicated. and
thev would not let her off without an
encore Then she left the theater. as
she had come, on the wing OF her
mother. and The village and borough
.Tohnnies. who had slipped ont OF the
theater as soon as hcr turn finished. and
who had waited hopefully around in the
alley. never had look IN. So far as
IN nademoiselle was concerned they did
not exist they were as If they had never
been.
The Tempest Breaks.
II was the next day that the tempest
broke. Deacon William II. Van wsrt.
who had attended the performance. and
who had sat cold and silent, trembling
with Indignation that such things could
be- let It be known throughout the bor-
ough that he considered the inclusion Of
Mile. Kozlowska In the program an In
suit to the borough. Deacon Van Wart
turned the whole business over In his
mind and then sat down and wrote this
leader for the Progress:
what ought to have besn an evening
Of unalloyed pleasure for the large num-
Der OF people gathered in tho Caldwell
Theater on Monday evening was made
an occa sion or shame and roruncatfon
10 a very large number of those pres
ent. Most OF the show was good, but
some of the vaudeville acts were un-
speakably bad. We ray this in spite or
the vociferous applause that greeted ono
act In particular. We blush for Cald-
we'll IN that Is the sort OF entertainment
they really enjoy. Vaudeville Is coming
TO have pretty bad name. and excuses
are freely offered by \ certain type of
men and women for broad references TO
lapses from virtue and for indecencies
In dress What man or woman Of this
town would have wanted his sister or
daughter TO perform as did one young
woman on Monday night? This young
woman is somebody's daughter or sis
ter. and we who condone such conduct
are in part responsible"
When the Progress got around town
with that blast from tho outspoken Dea-
con there was an explosion. and yester-
day quiet Caldwell, repository OF many
traditions, rumbled and growled
over the scandal that robs IL OF It's ous-
tomary tranquility. Not since the Dea-
con leveled his guns at James Caldwell
Post. American Legion. jor ]. Eugene
Nestor. overseas veteran, raising the
cry Of gambling after the legion rost
and Ma jor Nestor had held a carnival
at which chances werc sold for n dime.
has there been anything resembling the
hue and cry and huiiabsioo. Tho out