The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1942-09-12
Editor. Ypsilanti Daily Press


Can the youth OF Ypsilantl dance?
Chief Of Police Dan Patch, says
No and our city council says
Amen"
So Ypsilanti will go on record,
that while the local college and
other organizations can have their
dances, the general public which
does not have the advantage OF
belonging to any organizations hold
ing dances, cannot. \ city ordin.
snce has already been drawn, and
is now being proposed, to make this
fact certain.
SO hundreds Of young people,
Bomber employees, and soldiers will
continue to loiter in the streets, or
In beer gardens, or be forced to fnd
their dancing in the dives east of
Ypsilanti. Instead OF in a clean, well
ventilated, wholesome atmosphere
and in centrally located place at
? w. Michigan Ave. they are dane
ing at places accessible only by au-
tomobile, in Ill ventilated, low cell
lnged, smoke filled rooms, where
beer and liquor are the principal
drinks not soda pop Their clear
minds and exuberant spirits are
dulled, their health impaired, and
their morals deprayed and hang
over is the order of the day
Because our young people are de-
termined TO, and will dance. When
ever they hear the pulsating rhythm
OF Chattanooga Choo-Choo' their
feet start tapping. their bodies start
swaying and the word is Let's
dance. Chief Patch can't stop It,
he can't suppress it, no one can.
The desire to dance has been in
herant in mau from the time Of the
primitive tom toms to the present
day jitterbugs. To suppress the
normal impulses OF our youth to
dance, and kick up its heels a bit,
to place our young people in too
stiff a strait jacket will only re-
suit in illustration. and Illustration
leads 10 aggression and undesirable
outlets for their irrepressible ener-
gy, such as crime and so forth, the
very thing Chief Patch and other
law abiding citizens wish to avoid.
Aggression is always conse-
quence OF Illustration. and aggrss.
sion manifests itself in a great
variety of ways. martydom. sadism,
crime and war. etc. Even the pres.
! ent war may have been brought on
to a great extent by the blunders OF
Versailles and its Illustrations and
repressions. OF course society like
any other living organism must
perpetuate itself. To that end IL
must suppress or outlaw those who
( do not conform, lie. criminals HUI.
man institutions serve as strait
jackets for the individual
But the normal fundamental i'm.
pulses of an individual should not
be suppressed and frustrated He
cannot be made to conform like
uniform workers OF white ants and
bees. No two babies are ever born
that are identical. They are dir.
ferent from their fingertips to their
feet Chief Patch knows about fin.
gerprints, that those Of each indivi.
dual are different. So each indivi.
dual as he grows up shows varia.
tons. But society, the group, 10
| perpetuate itself. must have co.
hesion, conformity So differences
must he suppressed youth condi
toned. We must have law, police
men, and education.
+ But in conflict to society and the
state we have our concepts OF civil
liberties. legal Justice. economic
independence-all are traceable tc
the doctrine. that every individual
must be given the fullest and freest
opportunity to develop his capaci
ties. The individual springs eternal
and you may crush the race as you
will but you cannot crush mans In.
diyiduality, his normal impulses
Every baby that is born Is free OF
Regeneration and the MYTHS. and
fears and tabus OF his elders. All
are unlike and unequal. Tyrants
| and diCtators may through fear
regiment us. but ii will only be a
temporary measure. The Nazis may
try to crush the Dutch. Just as the
English and Spanish tried to do
before. but they cannot crush their
unconquerable spirits The bodies
Of the German soldiers will still be
fshed out OF the canals. The NRA
may try to regiment a Henry Ford,
the Brass Hats may try TO repress