U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR James J. Davis, Secretary CHILDREN'S BUREAU GRACE ABBOTT, Chief

PUBLIC DANCE HALLS THEIR REGULATION AND PLACE IN THE RECREATION OF ADOLESCENTS By ELLA GARDNER

BUREAU PUBLICATION No. 189 

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON 

1929 

ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS
U.S.GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D. C AT 10 CENTS PER COPY 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Letter of transmittal v 

Purpose and scope of study 1 

Legislative regulation of public dance halls 3 

State legislation 3 

Definitions of places covered 4 

Licenses and permits 4 

Posting 6 

Restrictions on attendance of minors 6 

Hours of operation 6 

Supervision 7 

Regulation of physical and social conditions 7 

Penalties for violation 8 

Municipal regulations 9 

Cities reporting as to dance-hall ordinances 9 

History and trend of legislation 9 

Analysis of provisions 10 

Administration of dance regulations in 15 cities 22 

Enforcement officials 22 

Methods of enforcing regulations 23 

Investigation before the dance 23 

Supervision of the dance 24 

Special problems in enforcement 29 

Evasion of license and permit provisions 30 

Regulations concerning children and young persons 30 

Community recreation 36 

Introduction 36 

Organization 36 

Administration 36 

Supervision 37 

Recreation program 38 

Athletic sports 38 

Esthetic expression 41 

Social activities 42 

Development of recreation program 50 

Conclusions 51 

Appendix A. Provisions of Minnesota law 53 

Appendix B. List of references on dance halls 54 

Appendix C. Dance-hall legislation of 1926, 1927, and 1928 56 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 

United States Department of Labor, Children's Bureau , Washington, June 19, 1928 . 

Sir : There is transmitted herewith a report on public dance halls, their regulation and place
in the recreation of adolescents, by Ella Gardner, the specialist in recreation of the Children's
Bureau. The report consists of an analysis of State laws and city ordinances regulating public
dances and public dance halls and a description of the methods developed in 15 cities in the
administration of such laws or ordinances. A brief report on the character of the public recreation
as it affects the dance-hall problem in cities with extensive recreation programs is also
included. 

Acknowledgment is made of the cooperation given the bureau by officials in charge of dance-hall
inspection and of public recreation in the cities visited. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Grace Abbott , Chief . 

Hon. James J. Davis , Secretary of Labor . PUBLIC DANCE HALLS PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF STUDY 

Inquiries received by the Children's Bureau as to methods of supervision of Commercialized
amusements, especially public dance halls, and public provision of recreational opportunities
for boys and girls of adolescent age have increased during recent years. At the request of agencies
in several cities the Children's Bureau, therefore, undertook to assemble information as
to the legal machinery with which communities are endeavoring to protect young people from
the evils of the unregulated commercial dance hall. An effort was also made to discover what
features of their community recreation programs are successful in meeting the demands of
young people of this age. 

Until recent years the public dance hall was unregulated and regarded by many persons as impossible
of successful regulation. In small towns as well as in large industrial centers it had a bad
reputation. The stories of crime and debauchery which newspapers reported from time to time
as having their origin in one of these "parks" or "academies" or "halls" revealed the fact that
they were frequently connected with saloons and so-called hotels which encouraged immorality
on the part of the dance-hall patrons and tolerated the presence of criminals. Police attended
these dances not as inspectors or supervisors but in order to be at hand to interfere in case
of brawls or too flagrant disorder of any kind. 

With the development of the community recreation movement studies were made of commercialized
recreation, and with the facts as to the conditions in the dance halls made public, attempts
were made at public control or regulation. The investigations revealed that the public dance
halls offered almost the only opportunity for this form of social recreation to many farm boys
and girls who came to the towns for their amusements, to large numbers of young people who were
working in industrial centers away from their parents and childhood friends, and to many city
boys and girls whose parents through poverty or ignorance made no provision for the social
needs of their children. The movement for the regulation of commercialized recreation and
the provision of community dance halls and other forms of recreation for young people developed
almost simultaneously as a result. 

The investigations did not reveal uniformly bad conditions in the public dance halls, and
this fact furnished the best argument for successful regulation. Some dance-hall managers
had demonstrated that it was profitable to offer well-conducted dances in attractive halls
with good music; more, probably men with less business ability as well as with less character,
sought to increase their earnings by tolerating excesses of one sort or another; and some exploited
the innocent desire of young people for gayety and a good time by exposing them, through the
dance hall, to the worst elements in the community. 

The problem presented by the dance hall has two special phases in its relation to and effect
upon young people. The first is its value or danger to very young boys and girls, those between
14 and 18. Should these children be admitted to the dance hall? If so, what safeguards should
be thrown around them; and if not, how should they be excluded, and what counter attractions,
if any, should be offered by parents, school, municipality, and other agencies? The second
is the dancing of the older group of adolescents, those who are in school or employed but whose
chief form of recreation it seems to be. For them the question has been how to keep the dance hall
from becoming a demoralizing influence and how to make it a real recreational opportunity
rather than a brighter form of boredom. This report describes some of the attempts that have
been made to accomplish these purposes. 

Regulation of public dances and methods of enforcement rather than dance-hall conditions
were made the subject of the study. Officials in all cities of 15,000 population or more (approximately
500) were requested to send copies of their ordinances and regulations concerning public
dances, reports on the administration of the ordinances, and on the recreation provided by
the community. Replies were received from 416 cities. Copies of State laws pertaining to the
control of public dances were obtained from the 25 States that have passed such legislation,
and these together with the city ordinances have been analyzed and summarized for this report.

Fifteen cities in different parts of the country which offer examples of different types of
control of commercial dances and of provision for community recreation were visited by bureau
agents in 1925 and 1926-Butte, Mont.; Chicago, Ill.; Dayton, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.; Duluth,
Minn.; Houston, Tex.; Los Angeles, Calif.; New Bedford, Mass.; Ottumwa, Iowa; Paterson N
J.; Portland Oreg.; Rochester, N.Y.; San Francisco, Calif.; Seattle, Wash.; and Wichita,
Kans. Two other cities (Gary, Ind., and Oakland, Calif.) were studied from the standpoint
of community provision for recreation only. 

In these cities officials in control of public-amusement inspection and those in charge of
community recreation were interviewed, and dances were visited in the regular dance academies,
in rented halls, in outdoor pavilions, in amusement parks, in cafes, in cabarets, in closed
halls, in schools, armories, and other public buildings and in halls outside the city limits.
The opinions and experience of persons closely in touch with the boys and girls-teachers,
juvenile-court officials, and other social workers-were sought as to the success of the existing
program and as to needs which had not been adequately considered. LEGISLATIVE REGULATION
OF PUBLIC DANCE HALLS 1 STATE LEGISLATION 

Twenty-eight States have laws that specifically regulate the operation of public dances
and public dance halls. Some of these laws affect all public dances and public dance halls within
the State or all not regulated by city ordinance, whereas others apply only to dances held outside
the limits of municipal corporations. Practically every State has authorized cities and
towns to prohibit or to regulate and license public amusements, including public dances and
public dance halls; and a number make the license or permit 1a compulsory, designating in the
law the officer who shall have the power to issue it. 

None of the 28 States regulating the public dance by State law prohibits cities and towns or
counties in the State from making additional rules and regulations. Consequently, a number
of cities in the States mentioned in this section supervise dance halls and dances by municipal
ordinances. In case of a conflict in provisions the State law, of course, would take precedence.

The State laws relate to the following subjects: Licensing, investigation to determine suitability
of place in which dance is to be held and affidavits as to the character of applicants as prerequisite
to the issuance of a license or permit, posting of the license or of the dance hall law, minimum
age of participants, hours when minors may attend, hours of closing, Sunday prohibitions,
lighting of premises, conduct of dancers and type of dances, and supervision by police officers
or specially qualified matrons. 2 

Six States (Minnesota, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Washington
3 ) have fairly comprehensive State laws regulating dance halls, which define the terms, require
permits or licenses, specify lighting requirements during the dance, regulate the hours
of operation and the minimum age of attendance, provide for supervision of the dance, and specify
penalties for violations. Only the laws of Minnesota and North Dakota, however, cover all
public dances within the State. 

Twenty-two other States have legislation relating to dance halls, but except in Arizona,
where the conduct or operation of a public dance hall is prohibited under penalty of fine up
to $300 or imprisonment up to six months in the county jail, or both fine and imprisonment, the
laws cover only one or two phases of the subject. Some States other than those mentioned in the
following pages as restricting public dancing on Sunday or prohibiting the use or sale of intoxicating
liquors in public dance halls or at public dances have probably enacted measures embracing
these two features. DEFINITIONS OF PLACES COVERED 

A "public dance" or a "public dance hall" is defined by only five State laws. The North Dakota
and Pennsylvania definitions are similar to those of Minnesota (see p. 53). Oregon and South
Dakota provide that a public dance hall is a place or space open to the public where dancing may
be engaged in upon the payment of a fee. 

Seven States (Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington) provide
that their laws regulating public dances and public dance halls shall apply only to dance halls
outside the limits of incorporated cities and towns, Illinois and Iowa specifically including
"roadhouses" in the regulations. 

Georgia has no special law requiring licenses for public dance halls, but has a provision making
it a misdemeanor to operate a dance hall beyond the limits of an incorporated town in any county
containing a city with a population of 80,000 or more without obtaining the written consent
of half the freeholders living within 2 miles of the place where the hall is to be maintained.
The Pennsylvania law applies only to public dance halls and public dances in cities of the first,
second, and third class. 

Seventeen States (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina,
South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin) have laws dealing with some phase of public dancing
in force with certain exceptions throughout the entire State. Nebraska excepts cities of
metropolitan class having a public-welfare board with authority to regulate public dancing;
Ohio excepts public dances held in charter cities where the licensing authority is vested
elsewhere than in the mayor; South Dakota excepts public dance halls situated within municipal
corporations or within 1 mile thereof where such hails are regulated and licensed by the municipal
corporation. LICENSES AND PERMITS 

Fourteen States require licenses or permits, or both, for the operation of public dance halls.
Idaho, Iowa, Massachusetts, Nevada, and South Dakota require licenses for the operation
of public dance halls. In Idaho the license is secured from the county commissioners; in Iowa,
from the township trustees; in Massachusetts, from the mayor or selectmen; in Nevada, from
the license board of the county (composed of the board of county commissioners, the sheriff,
and the district attorney); and in South Dakota, from the county commissioners. In Idaho a
bond is required of the person to whom the license is issued. In none of these States does the
law lay down any special acts or requirements to be performed by the applicant. The presumption
is that the issuing body will make its own rules. 

Oregon provides for a license, issued upon the filing of an application which must be signed
by 12 freeholders, residents of the school district in which the dance hall is to be located.
At the same time the applicant must file a bond for not less than $500 conditioned upon his compliance
with the terms of this provision. Michigan provides for an annual license and stipulates that
the character of the applicant shall be taken into consideration before the license is granted.
In Illinois the person requesting a license must file an application giving his name, birthplace,
residence, and prison record, if any. He must also establish that he is of good moral character
and that the building in which the proposed dance hall is to be located is in proper condition,
having adequate toilet and ventilation facilities and complying with health and fire regulations.

North Dakota requires a license from the State attorney general and a permit from the governing
body of the place where the dance is to be held and provides for an official investigation before
either of these is granted. In Pennsylvania cities licenses are issued by the mayor after an
application has been submitted and an investigation made establishing that all rules and
regulations of the city and State have been complied with. In addition, permits must be secured
from the mayor's office for all public dances. 

Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, and Rhode Island do not require licenses but require permits.
Minnesota requires proof of the satisfactory character of the applicant and of the place where
the dance is to be held before the permit is granted. In Ohio permits are granted by the mayor
in incorporated cities and towns and by the probate judge of the county if the dance is to be held
outside the corporation limits. 

In Rhode Island permits are issued by the town councils or boards of police commissioners.
Two New Mexico provisions passed in 1861 and 1869 require the justices of the peace or probate
judges to grant permits for every dance, but provide that if in the opinion of the authority
granting the license the permittee is not competent to preserve order he must procure some
one to act as police officer during the dance. 

Provisions pertaining to the issuance of licenses and permits are applicable in three States
(Kansas, Vermont, and Wisconsin) when a specified local body, in accordance with the law,
has adopted rules and regulations governing dances and dance halls, or has been elected for
the purpose of regulating and supervising such halls. In Kansas the governing body of any city
may elect a city board of public welfare for that purpose. After the election of such board it
is unlawful for a public dance hall to be conducted unless it has received a license from the
board, which makes investigation before issuing the license. In Vermont a penalty is imposed
for maintaining a dance without first obtaining a permit, if such permit is required by the
selectmen of the town, the trustees of an incorporated village, or the aldermen of a city. The
Wisconsin law authorizes county boards to enact ordinances, by-laws, or rules and regulations
governing dance halls in the county, excluding cities which have or may adopt dance-hall regulations.
When a county board of supervisors has adopted such an ordinance or resolution it is unlawful
to conduct a dance hall without obtaining a license from the board. POSTING 

Minnesota requires the dance permit, and Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington require the
dance-hall license, to be posted in a conspicuous place in the dance hall while the dance is
being held. North Dakota requires the posting of the section of the law relating to age restrictions
and Massachusetts the sections relating to age, hours of attendance, and lighting requirements.
Idaho provides that dance-hall owners may adopt and post reasonable regulations for the healthful
and orderly conduct of the halls. If these posted regulations are violated, such violation
constitutes a misdemeanor on the part of the patrons. RESTRICTIONS ON ATTENDANCE OF MINORS

Fourteen States have placed certain restrictions upon the attendance of minors at public
dances. The laws of New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Washington state that
persons under 18 years of age shall not be permitted in public dance halls unless accompanied
by parent or legal guardian. South Dakota makes it unlawful for such a person to enter or remain
in the dance hall, and Washington makes misrepresentation of age a misdemeanor. In Minnesota
unmarried persons 16 to 18 years of age must be accompanied by parent or guardian or present
the written consent of one of these. In Oregon it is unlawful for the operator of the dance hall
to allow a minor under 18 to conduct or assist in conducting a dance or to furnish or assist in
furnishing music. 

Massachusetts prohibits the admission of any one under 17 years of age between 6 p. m. and 6 a.
m. unless accompanied by a parent or guardian or adult member of the family with which he or she
resides; Wisconsin requires such minors to be accompanied at public dances by a parent or lawful
guardian. 

Persons under 16 years of age may not attend public dance halls in Illinois unless accompanied
by a parent or legal guardian (or proper escort); and in Pennsylvania persons under 16 are not
permitted to attend after 9 p. m. Minnesota requires a parent or guardian to accompany unmarried
persons under 16 years of age. In New York it is a misdemeanor to permit any person actually or
apparently under the age of 16 in a dance house unless accompanied by parent or guardian or by
an adult authorized by the parent or guardian. 

The Connecticut law does not permit persons under 14 years of age-or after 6 p. m., boys under
14 years of age and girls under 16 years of age-in public dance halls unless accompanied by a
parent or guardian. Rhode Island prohibits the attendance of any boy under 14 years of age and
any girl under 16 unless accompanied by and in full charge of an adult person not furnished by
the proprietor, manager, or doorkeeper of a public dance hall or by the agent of such person.
HOURS OF OPERATION 

In Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Washington public dances must be discontinued and the halls
closed at or before 1 a. m. (from 1 a. m. to 6 a. m. in Minnesota and Washington), but with special
permission the time Can be prolonged in Washington and can be extended to 2 a. m. in Pennsylvania.
Dancing is prohibited in public dance halls in Oregon between midnight and 6 a.m., and in South
Dakota between 2 a. m. and 7 a. m. on week nights and from midnight Saturday to 7 a. m. Monday. 

Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, North Dakota, Rhode Island,
South Carolina, and Wisconsin, as well as South Dakota, prohibit dancing on Sunday, and Nebraska
has a law against such dancing, which, however, does not apply to public dance halls in cities
of metropolitan class having a public-welfare board with authority to regulate public dances.
Minnesota prohibits public dancing before 12 noon on Sunday. Some other States have laws forbidding
operation of or attendance at public amusements on Sunday, and although public dancing is
not always specifically mentioned it has been construed as falling within the prohibition.
SUPERVISION 

Minnesota, New Hampshire, and North Dakota require one or more police officers, detailed
by the chief peace officer or sheriff in Minnesota and by the mayor or selectmen in New Hampshire,
to be in attendance at all public dances, fees for such service to be paid by the applicant. In
North Dakota the law provides that State inspectors with full powers of police are to be appointed
to visit and inspect dance halls. 

South Dakota provides for free entrance to the dance hall by the county sheriff and the chief
probation officer of the county court and stipulates that the board of county commissioners
may require the employment of a matron or special officer to supervise public dances, such
person to be appointed by the board at a fixed compensation to be paid by the person operating
the dance. In Wisconsin, if by-laws have been adopted by the board of supervisors of the county,
a county dance supervisor must be present at each dance. 

Pennsylvania states that the halls are subject to inspection by the police department at all
reasonable times and whenever open for dancing. All police officers are given power to cause
a hall to be vacated when any ordinance or law is violated. Peace officers of Washington have
access to dances and halls for inspection and enforcement of the dance hall act. New Mexico
requires every permit bolder to be sworn to preserve good order. If incompetent to do so, he
must present some one to take oath to act as police officer, or he must procure the attendance
of the sheriff or the constable of the county. REGULATION OF PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS

Lighting . 

Minnesota, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Washington
all require the hall and adjoining rooms, corridors, and stairways to be brightly lighted.
South Dakota also has a provision that adjoining grounds used by the dancers must be adequately
illuminated. 

Prohibitions of persons and dances . 

Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington prohibit indecent or suggestive dances,
and Illinois makes it unlawful for any known prostitute, procurer, vagrant, or intoxicated
person to be present in a public dance hall. Wisconsin specifically prohibits the presence
of intoxicated persons or the use of intoxicating liquors in the dance hall or on the premises,
whether the hall be licensed or not under provisions of any local or county regulation. Ohio
prohibits the presence of intoxicated persons or the use of intoxicating liquors. In Oregon,
as a condition in the applicant's bond, no intoxicating liquors are allowed in or about the
dance hall. PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION 

In some of the States violations of these laws are punishable by fine or imprisonment and by
revocation of the license or permit, these penalties being specified in the law itself; in
other States the fixing of the penalty is left to the licensing body or other regulatory authority.

For the infraction of different provisions of the law in a given State different penalties
may be imposed. This is the case in several States where the law has not been the result of a single
legislative action. 

The penalties when fixed by State law vary considerably: Illinois imposes a fine of from $25
to $500, or imprisonment in the county jail from 30 days to 6 months, or both fine and imprisonment,
and revocation of the license if the hall disturbs the peace, or if disorderly or immoral practices
are permitted, or intoxicating liquors sold on the premises, or the age restriction violated;
Pennsylvania, fine of $25 or revocation of the license, or both; Washington, fine of not more
than $250, or imprisonment not more than 90 days, or both. 

For violations of the age requirement in Connecticut the penalty is a fine of not more than $50,
and in New York not more than $500, or imprisonment in the penitentiary or county jail not more
than one year, or both fine and imprisonment; for violation of the age and posting requirements
in Massachusetts fine of $5 to $100 or forfeiture of the license, or both, and of the lighting
provisions, fine of $100 to $1,000. For violation of the requirement for attendance of police
officers in New Hampshire fine of not more than $10 is provided. In Washington and Wisconsin
a child who wrongfully misrepresents his age in order to gain entrance to a dance is guilty of
a misdemeanor, and in Wisconsin he is dealt with as a juvenile delinquent. 

Violations of the prohibition of public dancing on Sunday are punishable by a wide range of
fines and imprisonment imposed in some States upon participants in the dancing and in others
upon the licensee or permittee of the dance hall. In Connecticut, for example, those present
at Sunday dancing are subject to a fine of $4, while in Georgia the owner, manager, or tenant
of any public place who permits dancing on Sunday is guilty of a misdemeanor and therefore may
be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000, or by imprisonment to work in the chain gang for
not more than 6 months on the public roads or for not more than 12 months on other public works.
MUNICIPAL REGULATIONS 

In addition to the laws passed by the various States regulating public dance halls and public
dances such legislation has been enacted by many cities. As in the case of the States, measures
vary greatly, ranging from mere licensing requirements to comprehensive ordinances governing
every phase of the subject, including provisions for detailed supervision and protective
work. CITIES REPORTING AS TO DANCE-HALL ORDINANCES 

In 1924 the Children's Bureau sent inquiries in regard to municipal regulation of public dances
and methods of enforcement to 492 cities having a population of 15,000 or more. No information
was received from 76 cities. Of the 416 cities replying, 240 had ordinances and 176 did not.
Of the 240 having ordinances, 133 had ordinances that were fairly comprehensive; 76 required
a license or permit to conduct or operate a public dance hall or public dance, some of these having
additional requirements relating to age or supervision; 21 had laws on special phases only
of the subject, usually regulating age of admission or hours of attendance; 7 cities had ordinances,
copies of which were not sent to the Children's Bureau; and 3 prohibited the operation of dance
halls. Thirty-four of the 76 cities from which no reply was received are situated in States
that regulated public dances and public dance hails by State law-2 in Arizona, 4 in Connecticut,
1 in Maine, 4 in Massachusetts, 7 in New Jersey, 1 in New York, 6 in Ohio, 6 in Pennsylvania, 2 in
South Carolina, and I in Wisconsin. Seventy-four of the cities which reported no municipal
ordinances relating to public dances are also in States in which State laws were in effect-3
in Connecticut, 2 in Maine, 18 in Massachusetts, 1 in Minnesota, I in New Hampshire, 6 in New
Jersey, 20 in New York, 9 in Ohio, 9 in Pennsylvania, 3 in Rhode Island, and 2 in Wisconsin. 

Even in cities in which no dance-hall regulations have been adopted the general powers of the
police would include supervision at public dance places. Thirty-five cities specifically
left entire control to the police department or other regulatory authority, such as the mayor's
office, which made rules and regulations that were frequently drawn along the same lines as
the ordinances and were often just as stringent and specific. It is quite possible that the
provisions given in the following pages as covered by ordinances or written police regulations
in various cities and towns have also been covered in actual practice in some of the cities from
which no information was received or which reported no law. HISTORY AND TREND OF LEGISLATION

An examination of the dates of enactment of dance-hall legislation shows that there has been
a steady increase in this type of provision in the past 15 years, with about 75 per cent of the
more complete ordinances enacted since 1918. This increase may be attributed to the fuller
recognition of the social factors involved in this type of amusement and the consequent need
for regulation and supervision, or, as suggested by some city officers, it may be the direct
result of conditions arising out of the demand for excitement and the consequent increase
in the number of dance halls following the war years. 

In 1893 Bayonne, N. J., passed an ordinance which is still in force, prohibiting any girl under
16 years of age from attending a dance house unless accompanied by one of her parents or her legal
guardian. In 1902 Plymouth, Pa., passed an ordinance, still in force, requiring a license
issued by the burgess for all public balls and dances to which an admission fee is charged, providing
that halls or rooms in which a dance is held must be closed not later than 1 a.m., prohibiting
the attendance of any person under 16 years of age unless accompanied by parents, and fixing
a fine of not less than $2 nor more than $10 for each violation. In the same year an ordinance went
into effect in Beaumont, Tex., requiring a license to be obtained for the operation of every
public dance house and a permit from the mayor for every public dance or public ball. The chief
of police was to be notified of the time of such dance and the permit was to be filed with him or
his deputy. He was to detail one or more policemen to be in attendance at the dance to preserve
order and arrest all persons guilty of disorder. Fines were the punishment for violations
of this ordinance. 

The tendency of legislation that regulates the public dance is to require licenses for halls
and permits for dances, to fix an age limit for admission and hours of attendance of minors,
and to prohibit certain types of dancing and conduct in the hall. A number of cities also provide
for frequent police inspection or continuous supervision of the public dance and prohibit
the issuance of return checks and the diminution or extinguishment of lights during the dance.
ANALYSIS 0F PROVISIONS 

Definitions of places covered . 

Public dances, public dance halls, and other places covered by the laws and ordinances are
defined differently in the different cities. Some, like Akron, Ohio, go into no detail but
simply provide that the law s applies "to public dance halls," or, like Elyria, Ohio, "to any
dance to which the public generally may gain admission either with or without payment of a fee
for such admission." The Colorado Springs, Colo., ordinance 4 is typical of the majority of
ordinances that define more specifically public dances and public dance halls: 

The term "public dance." as used in this ordinance. shall be held to mean any dance or ball to
which admission can be had by payment of a fee, or by the purchase, possession, or presentation
of a ticket or other token, or at which a charge is made for caring for clothing or other property,
or any dance whatsoever to which the public generally may gain admission, either with or without
payment. 

The term "public dance hall," as used herein, shall be held to mean any room, hall, place, or
space in which a public dance shall be held, or hall, academy, or other place, in which classes
in dancing are held and instruction in dancing given for compensation, except as provided
in section 2 [when held or given in a private residence]. 

Cabarets and hotels are included within the definition of public dance hall in certain cities.
Dunkirk, N. Y., for example, has an ordinance that applies to any public place of any description
in Which are conducted dances to which an admission fee is charged whether the dance is of a public
or private nature and whether or not it is conducted for profit. This would seem to apply equally
to dances given by a fraternity or society, which are specifically included in a number of ordinances.
Asheville, N. C., for instance, has such a clause including "any dance to which the public may
gain admission by the payment of dues or subscription of membership in any society, group,
or other organization." 

On the contrary, Rockford, III., and a number of other cities provide that the ordinance restrictions
shall not affect dances given by a society, fraternity, or church. 

Other exemptions from ordinance provisions are made by certain cities. For example, Waukegan,
III., exempts dances limited to persons having an invitation; Niagara Falls, N. Y., exempts
dances held in any room, space, or place located in or upon the premises of a hotel or inn containing
at least 50 bedrooms for guests; San Diego, Calif., exempts all bona fide dances for guests
held in hotels, and also dances given by incorporated philanthropic societies, incorporated
fraternal organizations, and military or naval organizations of the United States or of the
State of California. 

As a rule, ordinances apply within the city limits only, but some ordinances have a wider application.
Billings, Mont., stipulates that public dances and public dance halls held or situated within
3 miles of the city also fall within the scope of the provisions. Fort Wayne, Michigan City,
and Richmond, Ind., have ordinances that apply equally to places within 4 miles of the city
limits not included within any other incorporated city or town. Such provisions are made to
regulate road houses and pavilions outside the city limits in order that dancers will not resort
to them to escape from the surveillance to which the city dances are subject. 

Where the terms are not defined by the ordinance itself the enforcement may cover every type
of place and dance mentioned in the most stringent specific law, or it may be construed to regulate
only a minimum of places, according to the policy of the local enforcing officers. 

Licenses and permits . 

The first step toward municipal supervision of public dancing is the establishment of regulations
providing that all halls in which public dances are held must be licensed at regular intervals,
and following this that a special permit be issued to those persons or organizations desiring
to hold a public dance or a series of such dances. Such provisions have been incorporated in
the regulations of 210 cities reporting on this point to the Children's Bureau. Eighty-three
additional cities from which no information was received or which reported that no ordinance
was in effect are situated in States requiring a license or permit, or both, as follows: 33 in
Massachusetts, I in Minnesota, 19 in Ohio, 21 in Pennsylvania, 1 in New Mexico, and 8 in Rhode
Island. 

Some of the municipal ordinances provide that the licensing authority may refuse to issue
or renew the license at his discretion, but others provide for investigation of applicants
and inspection of the building by designated municipal departments before license can be
granted. Generally these ordinances provide for fine or imprisonment for failure to secure
the necessary license or permit or for other violations. 

Ninety-one cities have ordinances requiring a license to maintain a public dance hall (7 of
these also require a permit for the dance) but do not provide for an investigation before the
issuance of the license. Under the ordinances of these cities the requirement of a license
would appear to be no more than a method of raising revenue. 

The ordinances or other official regulations of 76 cities contain detailed provisions requiring
a written application for a license to operate a dance hall, with some or all of the following
information: Name, address, and residence of the applicant; affidavit as to moral character;
previous court record; locality of proposed dance hall; and sanitary, lighting, and safety
features in the hall and premises connected therewith. A few cities require advance newspaper
publication of the intention to operate a dance hall in the desired location or the actual consent
of a proportion of the freeholders in the locality. In one city the hall must not be within 600
feet of a public park or playground, and in another city the ordinance specifies the streets
on which dance halls may be located. 

The application for a license is submitted to the city council, mayor, chief of police, or other
designated authority, who may at his discretion authorize the issuance of the license. In
certain instances, before approval is given, the described premises must be investigated
by the building inspector, chief of police, chief of fire department, and members of the board
of health, or by some of these, to see that it meets city and State requirements. 

Of the 76 cities with detailed license provisions, 47 require dance permits to be secured by
those desiring to give a public dance. In a number of cases the applicants must furnish satisfactory
proof as to their character and the purpose of the dance. This enables the authorities to gain
certain desirable information as to the persons conducting the dances in addition to the information
on hand relating to whoever maintains the hall, both of whom are equally important in a plan
for supervision. If the licensee of the hall is the person holding the dance and has already
filed personal information at the time he secured the license, nothing is gained by requiring
similar statements for a dance permit, and many cities exempt him from the permit requirements
in such cases. 

In 28 cities, although licenses must be procured before the operation of any dance hall with
an official investigation as a condition to the issuance of such license, it is permissible
to hold dances in other than licensed halls if a permit is secured for such dances. In 23 of these
28 cities an official investigation is required before such a permit is granted. 

Fifteen cities do not require licenses to conduct a dance hall but stipulate that a permit must
be secured by the person or association holding a public dance or a series of public dances.
Permits are granted sometimes for a single night, sometimes for six months or a year. Frequently
these applications must contain data similar to that required of applicants for dance-hall
licenses. and the same inspection and investigation must be made before approval. 

Posting. 

Fifty-three cities reported municipal regulations requiring that the license or permit,
or both, be posted in the dressing rooms, near the entrance of the dance hall, or in some other
conspicuous place; 13 that the ordinance or police regulation or abstract thereof be so posted;
and 8 that both license or permit and the law or regulation be posted. In the absence of municipal
regulation State laws with posting requirements are applicable in 65 additional cities;
State laws requiring posting of licenses or permits apply in 26 cities (4 in Minnesota and 22
in Pennsylvania); and State laws requiring posting of the State law apply in 39 cities (38 in
Massachusetts and 1 in North Dakota). 

Restrictions on attendance of minors . 

Regulations in respect to the age of persons admitted to public dances and public dance halls
have been adopted by 142 of the cities reporting to the Children's Bureau. Seventeen cities
prohibit the admission of those under a stipulated age, although 7 of these apply only after
9 p.m.; 83 prohibit persons under stated ages attending dance halls unaccompanied; 1 prohibits
the attendance of those under 16 and requires persons 16 and 17 to be accompanied; and 41 require
persons under a certain age to be accompanied after a specified hour. The regulations requiring
that persons under a given age be accompanied generally specify the parent or guardian, but
the various ordinances differ slightly in this respect. In certain localities it is sufficient
if the minor is with an escort or older person; in others it is necessary that the parent or guardian
give written consent to the attendance of the minor with his particular companion. 

A few cities make a distinction in the minimum age of attendance for girls and for boys. The age
restrictions apply to admission or attendance at the dancing place or the dance, whichever
is covered by the ordinance, but no distinction between these has been made in this section.

State laws relating to minimum age of persons attending or taking part in public dances affect
165 cities not included in the preceding summary-16 in Connecticut, 36 in Massachusetts,
2 in Minnesota, 33 in New York, 1 in North Dakota, 21 in Ohio, 22 in Pennsylvania, 6 in Rhode Island,
and 28 in New Jersey. 

Under 21 years .-According to data at hand no city ordinance specifically prohibits all persons
under 21 years from attending or taking part in public dancing. Walla Walla, Wash., however,
makes it unlawful for boys under 21 years to attend or be present at a public dance unless accompanied
by parent or legal guardian Denver, Colo., requires a keeper or proprietor of a public dance
hall to keep a register containing the name and address of every person actually or apparently
under 21 years who attends, the date of such attendance, and the name and address of the male
escort of all females under 21 years admitted. The inspector of amusements may require such
persons to sign their names and addresses in the register before being permitted to enter the
dance hall. 

Pueblo, Colo., and Auburn, Mc., require all minors to be accompanied by parent or guardian
(or chaperone in Auburn), and according to information from East Chicago, Ind., no minors
are allowed at public dances in that municipality by police regulation. 

Under 18 years .-Absolute prohibition of the attendance of all persons under 18 years of age
at public dance halls is made in Oakland and Riverside, Calif., and at public dances in St. Paul,
Minn.; of all unmarried persons below this age in Des Moines, Iowa; and of all persons under
18 years after 9 p. m. in Wilkinsburg, Pa. San Diego, Calif., does not allow persons under 18
at cabarets; Los Angeles, Calif., prohibits their admission except at a public dance in bona
fide hotels and cafes or other places where meals are regularly served, and even in such places
they are not allowed to take part in the dancing. 

The following 36 cities require persons under 18 years of age attending public dances or public
dance halls to be accompanied by parent or legal guardian or other designated person: Bakersfield,
Fresno, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose, Calif.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Pocatello,
Idaho; Bloomington, Freeport, Galesburg, and Jacksonville, Ill.; Council Bluffs and Fort
Dodge, Iowa; Duluth, Minn.; Joplin and Springfield, Mo,; Billings, Butte, and Great Falls,
Mont.; Lincoln, Nebr.; Concord, N. H.; Albuquerque, N. Mex.; Binghamton, N. Y.; Asheville,
N. C.; Dayton, Hamilton, Lima, and Middleton, Ohio; Sioux City, S. Dak.; Memphis, Tenn.; Ogden
City and Salt Lake City, Utah; Richmond, Va.; Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma, Wash. 

In St. Paul, Minn., and Akron, Ohio, minors under 18 may attend if accompanied by a parent or
guardian but are not permitted to take part in the dancing. 

Pocatello, Idaho, in addition to requiring minors under 18 to be accompanied, has a provision
that a register shall be kept in the hall containing the name of every person under 18 and of the
accompanying parent, guardian, or person having the consent of the parent or guardian; Hibbing,
Minn., requires unmarried persons 16 to 18 years of age to be accompanied by parent or guardian,
or to present the written consent of one of these; and Madison, Wis., requires persons 16 to
18 years of age to be accompanied by parent or legal guardian, or a person authorized in writing
by a parent or guardian. 

The requirement that persons under 18 years of age be accompanied applies to girls only in eight
cities: Stockton, Calif.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Kansas City, Mo.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Waco,
Tex.; North Yakima and Walla, Wash.; and Superior, Wis. (escort only required); to unmarried
girls only in four cities: Cedar Rapids, Mason City, Ottumwa, and Sioux City, Iowa; and to boys
only in one city: Port Arthur, Tex. 

In 20 cities the ordinances require that persons under 18 must be accompanied at public dances
and public dance halls after a specified hour-6.30 p.m. in Alameda, Calif.; 8 p.m. (by parent
or legal guardian or husband over 18 years of age) in Hutchinson and Wichita, Kans.; 9 p. m. in
Waterloo, Iowa; Leominster, Mass.; New Brunswick, N. J.; Canton, Cleveland, Cleveland Heights,
East Cleveland, and Lakewood, Ohio; Portland and Salem, Oreg.; Bethlehem, Pa.; and Oshkosh,
Wis. (applies to persons 16 to 18 years of age); 10 p.m. in Denver, Colo.; Milwaukee, Sheboygan,
and Wassau, Wis.; and 11 p. m. in La Crosse, Wis. 

Under 17 years .- None of the ordinances filed with the Children's Bureau prohibits entirely
the attendance or admission of minors under 17 years of age. Fifteen cities provide that persons
under 17 years of age shall not frequent public dances or public dance halls unless accompanied
by parent or legal guardian or some other person mentioned in the law. This group is comprised
of Pasadena, Calif.; Boston, Cambridge, Gloucester, Lynn, and New Bedford, Mass.; Grand
Rapids and Pontiac, Mich.; Berlin and Manchester, N. H.; New Rochelle, N. Y.; Lorain, Ohio;
and Fond du Lac, Green Bay, and Racine, Wis. 

Seven other cities require minors under 17 to be accompanied after an hour specified in the
regulations, and since the hours specified are sufficiently early to include the hours during
which persons generally attend dances, these regulations have practically the same effect
as the ones in force in the cities named in the preceding paragraph. The time in these cities
is set as follows: After 6 p. m. in Long Beach, Calif.; after 7 p. m. in Kalamazoo. Mich., and in
Toledo, Ohio; after 8 p. m. in St. Louis, Mo.; after 9 p. m. in Muskegon and Jackson, Mich.; and
after 9:30 p. m. in Elyria, Ohio; Long Beach has in addition a provision that, at the request
of the manager, proprietor, or doorkeeper or managing agent of the proprietor of the public
dance or public dance hall, the person seeking admission must register his or her true name,
age, and address in his or her own handwriting. 

Under 16 years .-Two cities (Santa Barbara, Calif., and Charleston, S. C.), prohibit the attendance
of persons under 16 years of age at public dances or public dance halls. Seven other cities (Altoona,
Erie, Johnstown, Nanticoke, Philadelphia, Reading, Pa., and Madison, Wis.), prohibit such
attendance after 9 p. m. Unaccompanied minors under 16 years of age are not allowed at public
dances and in public dance hails in 15 cities: Rockford, Ill.; Elkhart, Ind.; Quincy, Mass.;
Hibbing, Minn. (unmarried persons under 16 must be accompanied by parent or guardian); Omaha,
Nebr.; Jamestown, Niagara Falls, and Syracuse, N. Y.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; New Castle and
Plymouth, Pa.; Providence, R. I.; Eau Claire, Oshkosh, and Superiors, Wis. Unaccompanied
girls under 16 are prohibited in 3 cities (Miami, Fla., Bayonne, N. J., and Port Arthur, Tex.),
and unaccompanied boys under 16 in 1 city (Indianapolis, Ind.). 

Parents, guardians, or other legally authorized persons must accompany minors under the
age of 16 in public dances and dance halls after a certain hour in 13 cities: 7 p. m. in Battle Creek,
Mich., and Chillicothe, Ohio; 8 p. m. in Fort Wayne, Michigan City, and Richmond, Ind.; 9 p.
m. in Leavenworth, Kans. (except a married woman under 16 accompanied by her husband), Minneapolis,
Minn. (curfew law applies to all public places, dance halls not being specifically mentioned),
Buffalo and Yonkers, N. Y., and Newport, R. I. ((exclusion optional with the police); 9.30
p. m. in Northampton, Mass. applies to all public places, dance halls not being specifically
mentioned); 10 p.m. in Wichita Falls, Tex.; and 11 p. m. in Beloit, Wis. 

Sacramento, Calif., requires that persons under 16 years of age be accompanied by parent or
guardian after 8 p. m. from January 1 to the last of February and from September 1 to December
31; and after 9 p. m. from March 1 to August 31. This applies to all public places, dance halls
not being specifically mentioned. 

Other age restrictions .-Portland, Me., prohibits the attendance of persons under 15 years
of age at public dance halls unless accompanied by parent or guardian; Bluefield, W. Va., prohibits
the admission of persons under 12 years of age to a dance hall unless accompanied by parent,
guardian, or other authorized person over 21 years of age, not acting for the proprietor of
the hall. Detroit, Mich., has an ordinance prohibiting children under 12 years of age in any
public place between 10 p. m. and 6 a. m. unless accompanied by parent or guardian. Hours of operation.

Hours of operation. 

The majority of the 104 cities that reported legislation definitely limiting the hours of
operation, require public dances to be discontinued and public dance halls to be closed at
or before a specified hour ranging from 11.30 p. m. to 2 a. m., or later with the special permission
of the chief of police. Twenty-eight cities have definite hours not only for closing but for
the period during which the halls must remain closed and no dances may be held. The period when
dancing is not permitted in a public dance hall varies from 11 p. m. to 8 a. m. in one city to 2 a.
m. to 6 a. m. in another. In addition to the cities having these regulations 25 cities (22 in Pennsylvania
and 3 in Minnesota) are covered by State laws which contain similar prohibitions, and other
cities have police regulations or ordinances applying to public places and public amusements
in general covering this point. 

Many of the ordinances state the time for closing but authorize the chief of police, mayor,
or other designated official to extend the hours of operation, some setting a maximum hour
under the extended period, others leaving that to the discretion of the designated authority.
This results in greater leeway and seems to be the most popular system. Several ordinances
also provide that dancing may be prolonged until a later hour on New Year's Eve and on the eve
of other holidays. 

An interesting provision in the ordinances of 15 cities that allow dancing until a later hour
is that which states that no ticket shall be sold nor accepted for admission after a fixed time.
This hour is 9.30 p. m. in Lincoln, Nebr.; 11 p. m. in Colorado Springs, Colo., and Joplin and
Springfield, Mo.; 11.30 p. m. in Waterloo, Iowa; and midnight in Denver, Colo., Buffalo, and
Mount Vernon, N. Y., Canton, Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, and Lakewood, Ohio, Portland
and Salem, Oreg., and Bethlehem, Pa. 

Local conditions largely determine the value of these early closing hours. To close supervised
dance halls early when unregulated cabarets and still more dangerous places remain open accomplishes
little. However, advantages resulting from these regulations were reported. For example,
an official in one city said that 11.30 p. m. was set as a closing hour in order to get the young
people out of the dance hall in time to catch a bus or ear which did not run after midnight. Before
the passage of the ordinance girls were sometimes invited into automobiles on the pretext
of being taken home but instead were taken to road houses or other places. 

In a few cities dance-hall operators have taken advantage of the wording of the ordinance to
defeat its purpose. If only the hour when dancing must stop is set dances were stopped at that
time for 10 to 15 minutes and then continued. If the ordinance prohibits dancing and keeping
dance halls open after a certain hour evasion seems impossible, but the definite closed period
is considered the safest provision. 

Supervision . 

Municipal authorities, under their general police powers, may make and enforce regulations
governing public dances and public dance halls. Even without the formal framing of any regulations,
the police may supervise such dances. This general supervisory power is seldom exercised,
however, except that members of the police force are often required to attend or remain near
halls where disturbances or other infractions of the law occur frequently. Approximately
169 cities reported legislation in effect requiring some supervision of dance halls and dances.
Twenty-six other cities may regulate this feature by virtue of State laws: Four in Minnesota,
1 in New Hampshire, 1 in New Mexico, 20 in Pennsylvania. 

Police regulations and municipal ordinances often provide strict supervision and adequate
inspection of all dance halls and public dances. In some cities continuous attendance at all
public dances of one or more police officers detailed by the chief of police or the mayor, or
of an attendant, generally floor manager or matron, to represent the management, or of both,
is required. Another type of ordinance requires supervision and inspection regularly or
at stated intervals and provides that certain city officials shall have free access to the
dances at all times, but requires no constant supervision. Many of the ordinances that require
continuous supervision by a specified officer or officers also contain the provision for
free access by certain city officials. 

Supervision by matrons and police .-Twenty-two cities provide that a police officer or dance
inspector and a matron or floor manager must be present during the entire dance. The ordinances
in some of these cities require that the matrons be selected or approved by the mayor or chief
of police, although they are hired by the person owning the hall or conducting the dance. In
8 of these 22 cities the wages of the police officer and of the matron are paid by the licensee
of the hall or dance, the amount of the fee therefor being stated in the ordinance. 

A number of the ordinances state what duties the supervisor must perform. For example, Eau
Claire, Wis., provides that the floor manager shall see that standards of decency and good
taste are maintained and that disorderly or improper conduct is not tolerated, and must remove
objectionable persons. A female dance inspector, a matron, or a policewoman appointed by
the mayor must also be present at every dance to see that all rules, regulations, ordinances,
and laws are enforced. Santa Barbara, Calif., provides that all dances are to be under the immediate
supervision of a matron of good moral character who shall be in attendance during the entire
dance. The matron shall have free access to all rooms connected with the hall that are used by
women patrons. She is to observe and report to the police officers in attendance any misconduct
on the part of the patrons. 

Eighty-six cities require supervision by the police or by matrons employed by the manager
of the dance or dance hall. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, makes it unlawful to hold a public dance without
having in attendance during the entire dance two peace officers, one of whom shall be a woman
and both of whom shall have all the powers of police officers. The person, firm, or corporation
giving a public dance is required to pay to the city treasurer $3 a day as a fee for the services
of each of these officers. The peace officers are to exercise complete supervision over the
public dance, to prohibit and prevent all dancing that in their judgment is of a questionable
or indecent character, to maintain peace and good order in the public dance hall, and to enforce
all the provisions of the dance-hall ordinances as well as the other ordinances of the city
and the laws of the State. 

In a few cities the dances are supervised by censors who are police officials named by the mayor
or chief of police for this special purpose. Meriden, Conn., has a by-law which states that
the chief of police is authorized and empowered to employ one or more women censors to be in attendance
at any public dance. It is the duty of these women censors to observe the conduct of persons attending
any dance and to report to the proper authorities any improper or unlawful conduct. A board
of censors in Enid, Okla., is given more power. Here the section of the ordinance relating to
supervision reads as follows: 

The mayor and commissioners of the city of Enid, Okla., are hereby empowered and authorized
to appoint a board of censors to consist of three disinterested persons, whose duties shall
be to censor each and every dance held in the city of Enid, Okla., except such as are held in private
homes, and who shall at once, and without notice, upon the performance of any dancing which
is considered to be improper, have full power and authority to immediately order such dance
to be terminated. 5 

Indianapolis, Ind., places the responsibility of compliance with the ordinances upon the
matron by providing that "such matron shall have the right, and she is hereby clothed with authority,
to cause any person who offends against the decent proprieties of a social gathering in the
manner of dress, manners, or language to be ejected from the room or building in which such dance
or ball is being held, and to carry out her orders in that behalf she may call to her assistance
any policeman or the person holding such permit, whose duties shall be to enforce her orders
in so ejecting such offending persons." In this city the application for dance permits must
be made at police headquarters 24 hours before the time of the dance. The superintendent of
police then names "some matronly woman of exemplary character to be present at such dance or
ball, and her name, together with the date and the hour when such dance is to take place, is to
be stated in such permit." The matron is paid by the person to whom the permit is issued and is
required to be on the floor at all times, but is not allowed to dance. 

Police inspection .-Sixty-one cities reported regulations which provide for the attendance
of supervisors at public dances and public dance halls but which do not make this attendance
compulsory or continuous; that is, either the matter of appointing or detailing special officers
is optional with some municipal authority or it is provided that city dance hall inspectors
or members of the police, fire, and public-welfare departments shall have free access to all
such places at all times for inspection and supervision but are not required to be present at
all times. The ordinances of some of these cities require inspection by members of some of these
or other departments at fixed intervals, at least once a month being a common requirement.
In actual practice a number of these cities probably have regular inspectors or supervisors
in constant attendance. 

Burlington, Vt., provides for neither supervision nor inspection, but the law contains a
statement to the effect that the licensee must insure maintenance of law and order at all times.
Paris, Tex., and a few other places have similar provisions. In Sheboygan, Wis., the licensee
is given power to use necessary and reasonable force to suppress indecent and boisterous dancing.

Regulation of physical and social conditions . 

Certain cities have very definite provisions in their ordinances regulating the physical
and social conditions in dance halls; others have passed measures to apply to certain phases
only. 

Individuals excluded .-Seventy-nine cities report provisions that exclude certain persons
from public dance halls. In some cities the restrictions relate only to persons under the influence
of liquor, but in others they exclude persons under the influence of drugs, boisterous or disorderly
persons, and those of questionable or disreputable character or of known immorality. Thieves
and criminals are expressly prohibited in a few places. 

Alameda, Calif., provides that no person shall be admitted to a public dance if the person conducting
the same has been notified that such person was expelled from any public dance. El Paso, Tex.,
prohibits the attendance of women known to be immoral. Madison, Wis., makes it unlawful to
permit the attendance or presence on the premises of any person under the influence of liquor
or drugs, any idlers, loiterers. or other hangers-on, and any person who is reported on a list
of objectionable persons which is prepared by the dance-hall proprietors holding annual
permits and filed with the mayor. 

Alcoholic liquors .-It is a violation of the ordinances of 59 cities to bring, sell, give away,
use, or possess alcoholic liquors in public dance halls or rooms adjoining or connecting therewith
or at a public dance. Other cities enforce general measures relating to the sale or use of intoxicating
liquors in dance halls as well as in other places. 

Personal conduct and type of dancing .-Approximately 100 cities regulate personal conduct
and the type of dancing which must prevail in dance halls and dances, ranging from a single general
prohibition, as in Lynn, Mass., where "no unrefined dancing" is to be allowed, to far more specific
instruction, as in Lincoln, Nebr., where the ordinance makes it unlawful for any person to
participate in a dance of a coarse or vulgar character or offensive to public morals and decency,
prohibits the use of profane or obscene language, undue familiarity between partners, indecent,
boisterous, or disorderly conduct, or any lewd or lascivious behavior, and defines "the standard
position" to be maintained by partners while dancing. Under this ordinance, "the lady shall
place her left hand on the gentleman's right shoulder or arm and her right hand on the gentleman's
left hand, the gentleman's right hand on the lady's back, and at all times the patrons shall
keep their bodies at least 6 inches apart." In Kalamazoo, Mich., the ordinance makes even more
detailed provision of what may or may not be done by the dancers. 

The attempt is made by these regulations to eliminate indecent or suggestive dances or motions
of the body, as well as profane language and boisterous conduct. Many other features, however,
are also dealt with. Alameda, Calif., includes a provision that "no one not properly dressed
shall be permitted to dance"; Indianapolis, Ind., and several other cities require ladies
to remove their wraps and prohibit loitering in halls and stairways or upon the sidewalk in
front of the hall. 

A number of ordinances specify the dances that shall not be permitted, such as cheek-to-cheek
or head-to-head dances and special dances described as the Toddle, Shuffle, Grizzly Bear,
Bunny Hug, Texas Tommy, and Camel Walk. Port Arthur, Tex., permits only dances approved by
the National Association of Dancing Masters, and in Muskegon, Wis., men may not dance together.
In Kansas City, Mo., persons may not sit in the windows or stand in the doorways or upon the dance
floor when not dancing; in Manchester, N. H., and in some other cities the ordinances prohibit
men from remaining in ladies' rooms. Riverside, Calif., prohibits the exhibition of immoral
or obscene motion pictures at any public dance hall. 

Lighting and sanitation .-Approximately 100 cities have provisions that contain one or more
of the following requirements: Dance halls must be brightly lighted; stairways and adjoining
rooms and emergency exits must be well lighted, open, and in a clean and sanitary condition;
ventilation must be sufficient; separate toilet rooms for men and women must be provided and
kept in a sanitary condition; and an adequate supply of drinking water must be available. 

Under the lighting requirements Elkhart, Ind., stipulates that the lighting shall be sufficient
for one to see and recognize persons across the dance hall. Several cities specify the degree
of light to be maintained. Kansas City, Kans., for example, provides that the intensity of
light to be maintained at all times must be not less than 1 candle-foot at a plane 3 feet above
the floor. 

"Shadow" and "moonlight" effects or the lowering or extinguishing of lights during the dance
or intermission or while the hall is open to the public is prohibited in 18 cities. 

Smoking .-Ordnances of 33 cities prohibit smoking in dance halls, but all but 5 of these permit
persons to smoke in any room or rooms especially provided for such purpose by the management
of the dance hall, or in the men's room. 

Pass-out checks .-A source of disorder in public dance halls results from the practice of patrons
leaving the hall and anterooms at frequent intervals throughout the evening, during which
absences from the dance halls drinking and other offenses are often committed. To control
this practice, 40 cities have ordinances that prohibit the issuance of pass-out checks and
require that the regular admission fee be demanded for each entrance to the dance hall. Alameda,
Calif. and Lincoln, Nebr., have such a clause, which applies, however, only after 10 p. m. and
9.30 p. m., respectively; Madison and Oshkosh, Wis., prohibit the issuance of pass-out checks
which permit persons to leave and reenter the building except during a definite intermission
period of 15 minutes. 

Entrance fees .-Separate fees for individual dances in addition to or in place of the regular
entrance charge are prohibited in nine cities. Four of these and five others also provide that
there shall be no discrimination between the sexes in the amount of the regular charge. Kalamazoo
and Pontiac, Mich., state that there shall be no discrimination through the offer of free admission
to either sex; Portland, Oreg., and Tacoma, Wash., stipulate that the fee for females must
be at least half that for males; Bakersfield. Calif., which has a clause prohibiting separate
or individual fees for dances or any admission except upon payment of the regular admission
fee, provides that the minimum fee for men shall be 25 cents. Of the cities reporting, Paris,
Tex., is the only city that does not permit a charge for admission to the hall, but only a charge
for each couple that dances. 

Penalties for violation . 

Fines .-Fines for violations are included in the dance-hall ordinances of 152 cities. Some
of the ordinances fix a fiat rate to be paid for each and every violation, others the amounts
for violation of the different provisions, and still others the minimum and maximum sums,
leaving the fixing of the exact penalty co the mayor or judicial authority. Elizabeth and Paterson,
N. J., and Allentown, Johnstown, and Wilkinsburg, Pa., provide for a fine of $25 for each offense;
Ashville, N. C., provides for a fine of $50. Attleboro, Mass., has the lowest fine of any city,
with a maximum of $5 for each offense. The majority of the ordinances range from a minimum of
$25 or $50 to a maximum of $100 or $200, although a $500 maximum is not unusual. In Green Bay, Wis.,
a fine of $25 to $1,000 is authorized for violation of the ordinance. 

Appleton, Wis., prescribes definite fines for violations of the various provisions of the
ordinance. For noncompliance with the requirement for the license the fine is $5 to $15, and
in default thereof 5 to 15 days in the county jail; with the requirement for permit the fine is
$5 to $25 and in default thereof 5 to 20 days in the county jail; with age provision $2 to $10 and
in default thereof a maximum of 10 days in the county jail; with provisions relating to intoxicating
liquors and indecent conduct $1 to $10 and in default thereof a maximum of 10 days in the county
jail. 

Imprisonment .-As in the Appleton, Wis., ordinance just referred to, a sentence in the city
or county jail may be imposed in addition to or in lieu of a fine in 55 cities and is imposed in default
of payment of the fine in 22 additional cities. The period of imprisonment varies in different
places, but a maximum of 30 days is the usual term. 

Revocation of license or permit .-Some of the ordinances specify that the license or permit
is revocable at any time by the mayor, city manager, or other authority-generally the same
one who issues the license or permit. In a few cities conviction of violation of the ordinance
automatically causes such forfeiture. 

In Saginaw, Mich., the license is to be revoked if improper dancing is permitted or the lighting
requirement is not complied with. The commissioner of health and safety can revoke the license
for noncompliance with sanitary, fire, or other requirements. These violations constitute
misdemeanors punishable by a fine of not more than $100 or imprisonment in the city jail for
not more than 90 days, or both fine and imprisonment. 

Violations by minors .-Some of the cities having minimum-age provisions state that misrepresentation
of age by a minor shall not excuse the proprietor or manager from a charge of violating the law.
The minor himself, however, is also guilty in such case, and his violation of the ordinance
is punishable. One such city is Denver, Colo., where a person under 18 violating any provision
of the ordinance may be dealt with according to State law by the juvenile court of Denver as a
delinquent child; and persons violating any provisions of the ordinance when the violation
concerns or involves a minor may be proceeded against as provided in the State laws for contributing
to the delinquency of minors. ADMINISTRATION OF DANCE REGULATIONS IN 15 CITIES 

In the 15 cities-Butte, Mont.; Chicago, Ill,; Dayton, Ohio; Detroit, Mich.; Duluth, Minn.;
Houston, Tex,; Los Angeles, Calif; New Bedford, Mass.; Ottumwa, Iowa; Paterson, N. J.; Portland,
Oreg.; Rochester, N.Y.; San Francisco, Calif.; Seattle, Wash.; and Wichita, Kans.-visited
in the course of this study the control of public dancing is attempted chiefly through ( a ) the
investigation of individuals applying for licenses and the inspection of halls to be used,
( b ) the inspection or supervision of the dances, and ( c ) the insistence by the management upon
the maintenance of certain standards of conduct. All except 2 of these cities have dance-hall
ordinances. In one of the cities (New Bedford, Mass.) without a special ordinance, the provisions
of the State law are applicable; in the other (Chicago, Ill.) public dances are controlled,
except for the license requirement, by police regulations. In the latter city the dance-hall
inspector has recommended an ordinance in the belief that action by the city council would
be of assistance in the enforcement of the regulations. 

Licenses or permits, or both, were required in all the cities, and 12 required a preliminary
investigation of the character of the applicant and of the safety and sanitary condition of
the hall before they were granted. In addition, Houston, Tex., required that an applicant
for a permit put up a bond of $1,000. ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS 

In most of the cities visited the licensing authority also had charge of the enforcement of
the ordinance or law. In Detroit, however, the department of recreation issued the licenses,
and the women's bureau of the police department supervised the public dances. This dual responsibility
had been found undesirable, as there was too much opportunity to "pass the buck." In nine cities
the dance-hall regulations were enforced by the police department, in three by a special branch
of the city government working independently of or with the police, and in two by a private agency
cooperating with the police. In one city no one was definitely responsible for visiting the
dance halls. 

Of the nine cities in which the police department, either through a Special division or through
special officers, was responsible for enforcement seven delegated this work to the women's
division or to women officers, and the other two usually assigned both women and men officers
to the work. 

In Detroit the commissioner of recreation cooperated with the police in enforcing the ordinance,
although his chief responsibility was in making the preliminary investigation before the
license was granted and in working with the women s division of the police when licenses were
to be revoked. The women's division of the police department had full charge of inspecting
the dances after a license 22 had been granted. In Butte the assistant county probation officer
was acting as dance-hall inspector. She was appointed by the mayor to do this in addition to
her other work. Any city official was eligible to the appointment, which carried no extra salary.
The police gave some assistance. In Paterson two inspectors, a man and a woman, were appointed
to serve directly under the board of aldermen. 

In Chicago and San Francisco private agencies with police support had the responsibility
of controlling the dance-hall situation. In San Francisco the board of police commissioners
cooperated with the public dance-hall committee of the San Francisco Center, an influential
civic organization of women. The police commissioners issued the dance permits, but the dance-hall
inspectors, although paid by the dance-hall managers, were appointed and supervised by a
chief supervisor who was directly responsible to the public dance-hall committee of the center.
In Chicago the Ball Room Managers Association and the Juvenile Protective Association hired
a dance-hall supervisor and were responsible for the training and supervision of the hostesses
in the halls. The dance-hall managers had organized partly to anticipate official censorship,
and had drawn up a code of regulations to be enforced in all the halls whose proprietors were
members of the organization. METHODS OF ENFORCING REGULATIONS INVESTIGATION BEFORE THE
DANCE 

The investigation of the licensee and the hall to be licensed before the issuance of the license
was usually made by the agency in charge of enforcing the ordinance. In 9 of the 15 selected cities
this agency was a division of the police department, acting independently or in cooperation
with other city or private organizations; in 3 the investigation was made by specially appointed
officers; and in 3 no preliminary investigation was required. 

The investigations varied in thoroughness. In Wichita at least three references were required
of the applicant. In investigating these references the dance-hall inspector not only discussed
the financial standing of the applicant but definitely asked his sponsors to vouch for his
fitness to operate a place of public amusement affecting large numbers of the young people
of the city. The applicant was also interviewed so that the point of view of the city officials
might be explained and his cooperation sought in advance of the granting of the license. In
Detroit a man appointed by the recreation department spent his whole time doing the preliminary
work required before a license could be granted for dance halls or other commercial amusement.
He inspected the physical condition of the buildings with the cooperation of other city departments
and took up the applicant's moral reputation with the police. If the application was for a dance-hall
license the women's division of the police department passed on the moral character of the
applicant, as this division was responsible for subsequent inspections. Officials in both
Wichita and Detroit felt that a large part of the success of their dance-hall control was due
to the care with which licenses were granted. In some cities applicants for permits for single
dances or for a series of dances to be held in rented halls were investigated with the same care
as those who applied for licenses; in other cities the owner of the hall, which of course had
to be licensed, was held responsible for the conduct of all dances held in it. SUPERVISION OF
THE DANCE 

Special officers of various types were required to be employed in the dance halls by the ordinances.
An inspector, who was also known as the chief supervisor in some cities, was usually employed
by the city. A hostess, also called the matron or supervisor, was generally employed by the
dance-hall manager, sometimes with and sometimes without the inspector's approval. Constables
and peace or reserve officers were appointed by the city and paid by the management, but floormen,
instructresses, and similar employees were almost always selected and paid without the advice
or help of the city officials. In some cities, however, the inspectors checked up on the ages
of instructresses if they seemed very young. 1 

The well-trained inspectors in two cities impressed the bureau's investigators as understanding
and sympathizing in a helpful way with the problems of the boys and girls with whom they came
in contact. On the other hand, the inspectors in one city displayed their police badges as they
entered a hall, spoke to no one except for a formal conversation with the manager, and watched
the dancers with an air of disapprobation. The latter type was rare, fortunately. The majority
of the inspectors looked up the managers and introduced their guests, discussed in a helpful
fashion any problems that might be presented, and left with a friendly word of commendation
or advice. 

To make the preliminary investigation before the license was granted was one of the duties
of the inspectors in six cities-Wichita, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, Dayton, and Paterson.
The officers of the dance-hall committee of San Francisco investigated applicants for licenses
at the request of the police. In Detroit all applications for dance-hall licenses were submitted
by the department of recreation, which made recommendations to the women's division of the
police department before the license was granted. 

Permits for one-night dances were granted after investigation by the inspectors in some of
the cities, but in the majority the inspectors had no responsibility for the approval or rejection
of such permits. 

The majority of the dance-hall inspectors considered the regular supervision of the halls
their chief duty. A few of the larger cities detailed several men and women to do this work. Los
Angeles had three, Detroit two teams of two policewomen each, Dayton one full-time and two
part-time women officers, and Paterson a man and a woman, the woman doing most of the supervision
and the man doing most of the investigation of applicants. 

Inspectors . 

Inspectors were appointed and paid by the city except in Chicago and San Francisco, where they
were employed by private agencies. Eight cities-Dayton, Duluth, Los Angeles, New Bedford,
Paterson, Portland, Rochester, and Seattle-required inspectors to pass the regular civil-service
examination for positions in the police department. Four of these-Los Angeles, Paterson,
Rochester, and Seattle-specified no other qualifications than the ability to pass this test,
but four-Dayton, Duluth, New Bedford, and Portland-either demanded a knowledge of case work
and the ability to develop the dance-hall program along helpful lines or consulted with citizens'
organizations in securing a capable person. 

In practically all the cities visited the inspectors were conscientious, Interested, and
anxious to do creditable work. This was true not only of the specially trained workers but also
of the few political appointees who had found their way into the field, and of the untrained
and rather timid women who were greatly handicapped by their lack of training and experience.
In two cities, however, the duty of inspection was assigned to police officers who were changed
from time to time and who had in consequence little opportunity to become familiar with the
problems of the dance halls and with means of improving conditions in them. 

Differences in opinion were found among the inspectors as to what constituted supervision,
reflecting, often unconsciously, quite different administrative theories. The degree
of thoroughness with which the inspectors performed their duties also differed widely. The
majority spent at least 20 minutes to half an hour at a well-attended dance, scrutinized the
crowd fairly carefully to see if any very young-looking persons were present unchaperoned,
glanced in the dressing rooms, and possibly spoke with the manager or hostess. Some inspectors
felt it was sufficient to call the manager's attention to some infringement of the ordinance
without following up the matter; others saw to it that the situation was corrected. A few inspectors
made the most perfunctory visits and ignored or failed to see questionable conditions in the
halls. This difference in their feeling of responsibility was particularly marked in connection
with one of the most difficult problems to handle the-presence of young girls and boys. Some
officials merely questioned a young person as to his or her age and accepted the statement given
as final. Others, when in doubt, insisted on proof, telephoned or took the young person home,
or checked up on the address given. Some inspectors felt they should not undertake the actual
enforcement of ordinance requirements, but instead should place the responsibility upon
the dance-hall managers. The statement, "We try not to make ourselves conspicuous," was frequently
heard in these cities. Infringements of the ordinance rulings were pointed out to the managers
by these inspectors and the correction let to them. 

The majority of the inspectors knew where and when dances were to be given. A few felt no responsibility
for searching out one-night dances and club affairs and did not go to them unless, as one said,
they "just happened to." In Detroit the dance halls were grouped according to their need for
inspection. Some were visited once or twice a year, some once a month or once a week, and others
were under constant supervision. 

Educational work with the managers and with the parents of minors found in the halls to secure
their cooperation in solving the dance-hall problems was considered by some officers to be
the most important part of their work; others thought that such work belonged to other agencies
if it needed to be done at all. In Wichita the director of policewomen found that the ordinance
and the various provisions necessary to enforce it were accepted readily when the need and
purposes for which they existed were thoroughly understood. She sought the active cooperation
of the managers in making the dance halls what they should be rather than a forced observance
of the letter of the law. As a part of her duties she spoke to and conferred with many clubs and
civic organizations. Individual parents were reached through a careful follow-up of the
young persons found in the halls. Thus the interest of the dance-hall managers, the general
public, and the parents was enlisted. In Portland the head of the women's protective division
of the police department said that after a meeting of the dance-hall managers at which the points
of the ordinance were taken up and discussed there was excellent conduct in the halls. Prospective
changes in the ordinance were discussed with the managers also and if they were "absolutely
opposed" the change was put off for a time in an effort to secure their acquiescence by further
discussion of the need. In one city it was reported that the fact that the managers were not won
to the support of a change in the ordinance lost the women's division the cooperation it had
previously had from them, bringing in its place a great hostility to supervision and persistent
resistance to the age ruling, to which the managers objected and which was, in fact, impossible
of general enforcement without their cooperation. 

In some instances the cooperation of the managers was obtained because the supervision was
of some practical advantage to them. In Wichita the managers saw that the supervisor might
protect their interests when an out-of-town orchestra was refused a permit to give a series
of dances on the ground that their project was purely commercial, whereas the local managers
were cooperating with the city officials in order to offer decent dances for young people.
In another city the managers found it convenient to place upon the inspectors the responsibility
for the regulations they enforced, thus protecting their own reputations as "good fellows."

Several inspectors cited cases in which the wisdom of patient educational work with the managers
had been proved. One inspector told of sending home a girl whose bad dancing a manager had refused
to correct. A visiting policewoman commended her action, but the inspector felt she had done
a very bad piece of work for, she explained, "It's always easier to send a couple home when you're
angry than it is to leave such decisions to the managers and make them realize you expect enforcement
by them." 

In contrast with such an attitude several inspectors were found who seemed unwilling to be
at all friendly or even interested in the managers and their mutual problems. This was particularly
true in one city in which two stiffly disapproving, bored women did the inspection. Failures
in handling various situations with the managers were reported, and the refusal of the dance-hall
managers to cooperate in improving conditions was accepted as inevitable. A social worker
in this city said that the managers regarded the policewomen as uninterested in their problems
and submitted without cooperation to their visits and requests. 

Case work with the dance-hall patrons was sometimes undertaken by the inspectors. In one city
the head of the policewomen considered it one of the most interesting parts of the dance-hall
supervision and thoroughly approved of the great amount of it undertaken by her inspectors.
The same view was held in a second city where the hostesses rather than the inspectors were responsible
for an intensive follow-up program. In other cities, however, it was the opinion that the inspectors
should not undertake this intensive and time-consuming work. This was true in one city, where
the work of the department was considered strictly investigational and all cases were referred
to other agencies for treatment. 

Hostesses . 

In 8 of the 15 cities visited hostesses were employed in the halls. In 4 cities they were required
by law. In 2 cities the members of the ballroom managers' association agreed to employ them,
although in i of the 2 cities only the larger halls and a few cabarets had done so. In another city
the code of regulations drawn up by the commissioner of public safety required an "accredited
chaperone" at every dance, but no examination was made of the references supplied by these
women and the requirement was not strictly enforced. In another city, after some urging by
a group of interested citizens, a hostess had been employed in the largest hall, and an effort
was being made at the time of the study to place another in a popular academy. 

In all these cities the managers paid the hostesses, the amounts varying from $3 to $5 an evening.
To secure the independence of the hostess and at the same time leave the expense of this supervision
upon the managers, several cities added the fee for the hostesses and police officers to the
license fee or to the rent of the hall, in which case they were paid by the city or by the hall owner.

The dance-hall managers selected their own hostesses in the majority of the cities, but the
inspectors of Seattle, Portland, and Chicago approved the applicants before they received
their positions, and in San Francisco the inspectors who were appointed by the public dance
hall committee appointed the hostesses, although they were paid by the managers. Several
managers expressed appreciation of the inspector's assistance in this part of their work.
One of the inspectors made the point that, although this cooperation was valuable, she had
no real power to appoint or dismiss. 

Many officials were interested in methods of preventing the managers from interfering with
the work of the hostesses. Some felt this was unavoidable when the women depended upon the managers
for their salaries. One inspector thought that all hostesses should be paid by the city. Another
wanted them paid by the management but appointed by the inspector as a means of giving them independence
in their work. The head supervisor in another city recommended that the managers have full
responsibility for selecting and paying them, on the theory that if the police department
undertook this work there would be trouble and "charges of graft and favoritism." 

In the cities where the inspectors passed upon applicants before managers appointed them
an effort was made to secure well-qualified women as hostesses. This, it was explained, was
due to the fact that managers had learned that it was a help rather than a hindrance to have women
who were of the right type and wanted to appoint those who would be approved. 

In San Francisco previous experience in social case work was considered desirable. It was
found difficult to secure women with the proper experience and general qualifications for
hostesses and the chief supervisor devoted much time to training them for the work. In Chicago
the secretary of the ballroom managers' association who was also an officer of the Juvenile
Protective Association selected the hostesses, some of whom were social workers. In some
of the other cities no special qualifications were demanded, the wife of the manager frequently
being called the "hostess," although she might also sell tickets, serve at the refreshment
stand, or act as cloakroom attendant. 

Discovering and sending home persons under the age specified in the dance regulations and
supervising the dancing and general behavior of the patrons were duties of the hostesses wherever
they were employed. Case work was considered one of the most important duties of the hostesses
in several cities. Much of their time and interest was given to "follow-up" work with the girls
and boys. Many problems were brought to them for solution. The San Francisco report of 1924
stated that among the great variety of cases handled by the hostesses were many that "do not
lie within the province of the established social agencies." Examples of the service rendered
were as follows: "Employment is obtained, pensions secured for disabled soldiers, feeble-minded
girls protected, probation insured for first offenders, runaway girls returned to their
parents, mothers' pensions obtained, care for venereal-disease cases arranged, help given
to unmarried mothers, and hundreds of other kindnesses done." 

Such a diversity of service was reported in other cities. In Los Angeles a manager maintained
a $1,000 fund with which the hostess helped many needy patrons. The stubs of her check book showed
expenditures for groceries, rent, help to a pregnant girl, a funeral, and fare home for a stranded
girl. Many of the hostesses spoke of the opportunities for service, particularly to young
girls, which their position offered and thought this aspect of their work was little appreciated
by those who did not understand girls and their problems. 

In two other cities, however, those in charge of the dance-hall supervision felt that such
individual work should be referred to case-work agencies, and that the hostesses and inspectors
should give their whole interest to supervision of the dance hall. 

Several dance-hall managers were quoted as favorable to the employment of hostesses. The
Chicago and Portland managers particularly expressed their appreciation of trained women
in this position. In one of the closed hails of Seattle the hostess said that all the girls who
applied for positions as instructresses were referred to her for approval, as the manager
realized that she could do more with them than he could. 

Constables, floormen, and other officers . 

Special officers or floormen were employed voluntarily by the managers of all the larger halls
in the 15 cities, although 11 of the cities did not require them. In Los Angeles the ordinance
allowed the managers to apply to the board of police commissioners for the appointment of special
officers, and the managers agreed in the rules they drew up for their own use to require each
manager to appoint such an officer as well as floor attendants. In Wichita every licensee worked
out with the help and suggestion of the dance-hall inspector a "management committee." "No
individual alone can successfully run a public dance," the policewoman said, so a committee
was formed of some responsible person to serve at the door, another in charge of tickets, and
a third, who possessed tact, firmness, and an understanding of how to handle people, to act
as floor manager. Beside these there were check-room attendants and others. 

In an effort to insure the independence of the officers special regulations had been made by
some cities specifying how they were to be paid. In Ottumwa a man and a woman must be employed
for each public dance, and the $6 for their services was paid to the city treasurer in addition
to the permit fee. This had proved difficult to collect from managers who ran a series of dances
and did not come into the city hall before each one. In Paterson the constables received $5,
which was added to the rent of the hall and paid to them by the owner of the building. The New Bedford
regulations stated that $3 must be paid to the reserve officers by the manager before intermission.
In this city the officers were policemen in training who were assigned to the halls by the police
department. 

It was the duty of the police officers to enforce the dance-hall ordinance. In most places this
meant the prevention of drinking and the exclusion of intoxicated persons, the maintenance
of order, the quelling of rowdyism, fights, and unseemly conduct, and the patrol of the dance
hall. They seldom passed upon the dancing or conduct of the dancers, their chief interest being
in those who did not dance. In several cities officers in plain clothes served as doormen. Their
chief duty was to exclude undesirable patrons. 

The floormen and managers corrected poor dance positions in several of the halls, although
in the places where a charge was made for each dance they were occupied chiefly in collecting
the tickets before dances and in clearing the floor between numbers. The manager of one academy
who took great pride in his hall and its management telephoned the parents of any boys or girls
who seemed too young to attend the dance. SPECIAL PROBLEMS IN ENFORCEMENT 

Many difficulties were encountered in enforcing the dance-hall regulations in the 15 cities.
In several cities the dance-hall managers, although keeping within the letter of the regulation,
were able to defeat its purpose. Some of the problems in enforcement resulted from the difficulty
of enforcing certain provisions of the regulations, particularly the provision restricting
the attendance of young persons, and some from the difficulty of supervising the widely different
types of dance hall. The out-of-town dance halls, frequently situated just outside the corporation
limits and, in most cases, having no adequate regulation nor supervision, constituted the
biggest problem in the protection of young people from the dangers of the unregulated commercial
dance hall. EVASION OF LICENSE AND PERMIT PROVISIONS 

In spite of ordinances requiring the inspection and licensing of dances, it was possible in
several cities for clubs or individuals to give what amounted to a public dance without complying
with the law and yet without breaking it technically. In one city, for instance, a dance for
which invitations were distributed was considered a private dance if no money was collected
at the door. The policewoman said the guest's name had to be written on the card. Two such private
dances were given at the time of the bureau agent's visit. One was a dancing class to which the
members invited their friends at 50 cents each. Every respectable-looking applicant attracted
by the music and possessing 50 cents was admitted whether or not he was acquainted with someone
in the class. The other was a dance to which the tickets had been sold before the evening of the
dance. Both these dances, not being within the category of "public dances," were unsupervised
and unlicensed. 

Another method of evading the dance regulations was found at a large dance pavilion in an amusement
park within the limits of one of the cities. The management obtained a State charter for a club
and ran the dance hall as a "boating club" although there was no water anywhere near it. Membership
dues were the admission price to the dancing. Chartered as a club, the hall was not regulated
by the city ordinance, and the State law that required all public amusement places to be closed
on Sunday did not apply to it. 

Tickets were sold to almost anyone for dances given by groups affiliated with various schools
and similar organizations in some cities. Although they had far more grounds than the "boating
club" for being considered bona fide club dances, they often had a very wide and promiscuous
attendance. It was reported that the feeling was strong among the dance-hall managers that
under these conditions regulations were enforced upon them which others, running a similar
business, successfully evaded. 

Cabarets (places where food is served and provision is made for dancing) do not come under the
regular dance-hall regulations in some cities because they are considered to be eating places
primarily. Without these regulations the protection of young people attending them presents
very serious difficulties. REGULATIONS CONCERNING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS 

In 9 of the 15 selected cities the ordinances set an age limit under which young people might
not attend public dances unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. This age limit was
18 years in all the cities, and in all but one, where girls only were excluded, it applied to both
boys and girls. In Los Angeles no one under 18 was permitted even when properly chaperoned.
In Wichita, instead of the requirement that each minor be accompanied by a parent or guardian,
a group of young people could be accompanied by the parent of one member of the group. This arrangement
had been round very satisfactory, it was reported. 

The ordinances of 6 cities contained no age regulations. In one of them the inspector took home
any girl under 15. In another the policewoman tried without the backing of a law to keep out girls
under this age. The department of recreation in Detroit and the police department of New Bedford
made special rules supplementing their ordinances. In both these cities 17 was set as the lowest
age limit for entrance to dance halls. Of the two remaining cities Houston had made no ruling
on the subject and in Chicago the association of ballroom managers had agreed to exclude anyone
under 16 years of age. 

The enforcement of these regulations depended in the majority of the cities upon the individual
managers and their employees, although the inspectors in several cities sent home those under
the age limit and in some cases did follow-up work with them. 

In Wichita each doorman was required to keep a register of the name, address, and age claimed,
by any person who seemed under age. If the person insisted he was over 18 he was admitted and the
supervisor checked up on it. If the supervisor found upon visiting the home that the boy or girl
was under 18 the management had to see to it that he did not gain admission again. 

Through an arrangement with the Portland juvenile court, the dance-hall inspector turned
over young girls found in the dance halls to the night matron of the detention home, who took
them home if they were first offenders or to the detention home if they were repeaters. The dance-hall
inspector in Butte said that when she found very young girls in the dance halls she "just let
them stay and dance for awhile-until 10.30. I think it's better for them to be there where we
know what they're doing than to send them out on the streets." She felt that often the girls did
not go home when they were sent and sometimes visited out-of-town places with "pick-ups."
Her theory apparently was that having danced until 10.30 they would be ready to go home. 

The hostesses in the Los Angeles halls, according to a regulation of the Dance Hall Managers'
Association, were supposed to register anyone who seemed to be a minor. Registration blanks
were used which required the patron's name, last school attended, teacher's name, and similar
facts. When the hostess suspected that a patron was under 18 years of age he had to fill ont one
of these blanks. If the hostess was still in doubt after the blank was filled out as to whether
the patron was 18, she sent a form letter of inquiry with a return stamped envelope to the school.
If the reply showed that the person under investigation was 18 an admission card was issued
to him, but if it showed that he was under 18 his description and name were given all the other
halls. In the opinion of one of the police officials this method of enforcement was successful.
One hall was reported to have filled out blanks for 7,000 young people during a year. 

Some of the hostesses questioned closely a girl who seemed very young, and, if they believed
she was under 16, sent her home at 10 o'clock, calling her parents to let them know she was on her
way. Others telephoned the parents at once to ask if they wished their daughter sent home. One
hostess permitted the girls to do the calling, listening to be certain that they told a straight
tale. In one city the hostesses Urged mothers to take their daughters to the better halls after
they had been found at the dances. Although many of the mothers had been persuaded to take their
daughters to the Saturday afternoon dances at one of the best halls, it was difficult to make
them understand the basis of the child's demand for this kind of recreation. 

The inspectors quite generally agreed that it was difficult to interest parents in their children's
attendance at dance halls. Some parents were unable to control their children, others could
see no harm in permitting them to attend the dances, although they were under the legal age.
An inspector who had difficulty in gaining the cooperation of the mothers of girls said: "About
50 per cent of the mothers knew they were going to public dance halls and wanted to 'trust' them,
etc.; the other 50 per cent were ignorant of their daughters' whereabouts." The chief inspector
in one city said that the parents of the children with whom she worked were the greatest handicap
that she had encountered. 

Nearly all the officials responsible for dance-hall inspection felt that the exclusion of
young persons was an extremely difficult regulation to enforce; a number of the authorities
considered it the most difficult. "The short dresses and hair make it almost impossible to
guess a girl's age," they said. Moreover, it is the boys and girls between 16 and 18 years old
who are most eager for dancing, feel very confident of their ability to take care of themselves,
and resent any parental or public control. Many officials had themselves little sympathy
with the age provisions of the ordinance they were supposed to enforce. Some made the excuse
that if these youngsters were sent out of the dance hall they might go to worse places, and many
made it a practice not to enforce too drastically the age regulations, but endeavored to supervise
the dancing carefully and to safeguard the trip between the hall and the home. Several officials
in one city stressed the value of the requirement of a chaperone in safeguarding the boys and
girls. As one of them explained the value of the chaperone, "It's not the dancing; it's the going
and coming and the meeting up with bad characters in the halls, who will take advantage of the
unaccompanied girl when they won't the girl who has a father, or mother, or brother with her."

When the ordinance of one city was amended to raise the age limit to 18, the problem was presented
of excluding from the halls they had previously frequented a large number of girls, many of
whom had been going to public dances since they were 14. Like many others, this city had made
inadequate provision for boys and girls between 14 and 18 who wanted social activities, especially
dancing. The city officials admitted that they excluded from the dance halls but added. "We
can't make that an excuse for not ending what we know is a bad condition." 

The real solution of the problem of minors in the dance halls lies in the education of parents
and in the training of the children, according to several city officials. What they were doing
was in the nature of a palliative rather than a cure. As young people can not be protected from
contact with all sorts of people they should be taught their parents how to meet them. Even so,
the training given by parents would need to be reinforced by supervision of the halls, in the
opinion of these officials. SUPERVISION IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF DANCE HALL 

The various types of dance hall visited in the course of this study presented somewhat different
problems of control and supervision. 

Academies, ballrooms, etc . 

The academies or dance palaces were usually large, handsome places attended by huge crowds.
They were located for the most part in the central, down-town sections where neighborhood
acquaintance, with the restraining influence which it exerts, was almost wholly lacking.
Although the large dance halls are without the social control found in the neighborhood centers,
the managements of these halls appreciate the importance from a business standpoint of preventing
trouble. Many of them have also found that offending the community standards of respectability
does not pay and hence regard the reputation of the hall as a valuable business asset. In most
of the cities the managers of the big ballrooms were cooperative, for business reasons, in
attempts to better the public dancing standards. 

For the most part the patrons of the academies were young and unacquainted. The majority found
their partners after they arrived, and this seemed to be one of the chief attractions of the
halls. An unenforced rule in one city prohibited "stagging"-the attendance of unaccompanied
men. One manager tried out its practicability, arranging special music and advertising and
issuing invitations to couples only. He had become convinced that such a ruling would not work
because, he said, some persons could not find a partner with whom to come and others preferred
to make new friends at the hall. The chief problems in the academies were the control of the type
of dancing and the exclusion of young persons. 

Rented halls . 

Several types of dances were held in rented halls. "One-night" dances were occasionally given
by one or more persons, usually young men, as commercial ventures. Social club dances were
given at regular intervals, and family parties were frequently held in small rented halls.
The latter were extremely popular in the foreign sections. The persons attending these small
dances were usually acquainted, and family groups formed the majority in some halls. They
had, therefore, a wholesome social atmosphere. On the other hand, adequate supervision for
these small dances was almost impossible in many cities with the small number of supervisors
available; several reported that groups giving occasional dances were difficult to follow
up. Many did not get permits unless searched out and compelled to. In most of the cities where
no permits for one-night dances were required officials said it would be easier for them if
this were remedied and permits required. In Detroit the commissioner of recreation who had
charge of dance-hall inspection said that the rented halls gave the most trouble, especially
in the foreign sections, where drinking and fighting were often uncontrolled. 

Closed halls . 

The so-called "closed hall" catered for the most part to men who for one reason or another could
not secure partners at the ordinary public dance. In these closed halls girls were hired on
a commission basis to dance with men patrons, and couples usually were not admitted. In one
city girls were not allowed to work in closed halls unless they were 18; but in another city no
age limit seemed to be enforced and the girls were extremely young, several who were seen by
bureau investigators appearing to be 15 or 16. Boys were usually not found in two cities where
these halls were visited; but in a third city the majority of the 200 dancers were under 21, and
many of the boys looked to be about 17. A great number of them did not dance but seemed to be there
merely to pick up acquaintance with a girl. In all three cities the closed hall was considered
objectionable, representing the extreme in the commercialization of the dance, although
some officials thought that in ports and other cities with a large floating population the
closed hall had its place if closely supervised-such supervision to include rigid exclusion
of young girls as paid dancing partners. SUPERVISION OF OUT-OF-TOWN DANCE HALLS 

The out-of-town dance halls were considered to present the most serious problem in all the
cities visited. It was customary to hear such statements as: "They are our greatest menace";
"liquor and narcotics keep the road houses running "; "the beach places or shacks or halls 'out
in the county' allow all the things that are forbidden in the city halls"; "they are rough, cheap,
and badly run." 

These resorts were not controlled by city ordinance, and their supervision under State laws
proved difficult in most of the places where it had been tried. In some places a State law had
been a help. A Dayton report stated that in July, 1925, a State law went into effect which embodied
many of the requirements of the city ordinance, including the 18-year limit. Several workers
said there had been a great improvement in the county situation since the State law went into
effect. Many of the worst resorts were refused licenses or went out of business voluntarily,
and since the passage of this law the enforcement of the city ordinance had been less opposed
by local dance managers. In one city the State law, while beneficial in the city, was not especially
beneficial in the country places because permits were granted by township officials in such
a fashion that it was difficult to keep track of them and the sheriff who was responsible for
supervising the dances had too little help to cover his large territory. The city police and
the county deputy sheriffs agreed that the permits should be granted after more careful investigation
and that there should be an efficient supervising force, especially in the territory easy
of access from the city. 

The out-of-town dance halls, although not so strictly supervised as those in the city, were
very easy of access because of the wide use of automobiles. In one city an officer spoke of a city
dance hall as being merely a recruiting place for the road houses. Young girls went to them,
she said, with the idea of meeting men who took them to the country places. 

The seriousness of this phase of adolescent recreation was realized by both city officials
and dance-hall managers, who took various steps to meet it. Notices were posted in the dressing
rooms of some of the Chicago dance halls, warning girls not to accept rides after the dances.
Several halls had officers stationed at their doors to see that girls were not picked up as they
left the hall. Methods of evading this type of protection were reported, such as parking the
car a short distance from the hall and taking the girls from the hall to the parking place. 

The fact that the county places were bad was used as an argument for lenient rather than strict
enforcement of the city ordinance in one or two cities where the officials said that making
a "clean city" drove people into the country for their amusement. Several others disagreed
with this statement although none had proof for their opinions. COMMUNITY RECREATION INTRODUCTION

The progress that has been made in community provision of recreation resources and play leaders
and in increased utilization of the opportunities made available is perhaps more important
than the regulation of commercialized recreation, although both are necessary. Training
in the best use of leisure time must begin with the play habits of young children. For those who
have not learned the pleasures of reading, of outdoor recreation, of music and art, amusements
of as high a type as they are capable of enjoying must be provided. For these there must be a continual
adjustment of the ideal to the practical with an appreciation of how in the future training
of young people the necessity for this adjustment will be decreased. 

In the 15 cities included in the dance-hall study and in 2 other cities (Oakland, Calif., and
Gary, Ind.) having extensive recreational programs inquiry was made as to the noncommercial
provision of some type of recreation. Chief interest centered on the extent to which community
recreation successfully competes with the public dance hall for the use of the adolescent's
leisure. Special attention was given, therefore, to the activities offered to this age group
as well as to any measures undertaken before and during early adolescence that might affect
either the child's choice of leisure-time activities or his interest or behavior in dancing.

Not all the cities were visited at a time when the playgrounds, community centers, or schools
were in operation, and three cities (Wichita, Butte, and Ottumwa) had no programs of supervised
play at the time of the visits. In every city, however, the school or community recreation supervisors
were interviewed, and whenever possible the programs were observed. 

In the plan of organization adopted by the recreation departments and the boards of education
and in the varieties of recreational activity undertaken, the age groups reached, and the
effort made to make a success of the programs undertaken, these cities presented interesting
contrasts. ORGANIZATION ADMINISTRATION 

In all the cities except Wichita, Ottumwa, and Gary two or more separate tax-supported organizations
administered school and community recreation. The board of education hired and paid the directors
of physical education and the supervisors of social events, dramatics, and similar activities
in the schools, whereas a superintendent of recreation who was directly responsible to the
mayor, city commissioners, park board, or board of recreation was in charge of playgrounds
and community centers. In the majority of the cities these departments cooperated with each
other, in some places by supplying officials for school games, in others by lending fields
and other equipment. In Seattle playground sites were purchased with the idea of having them
available for use during school recesses. In New Bedford and Chicago school buildings were
planned for use as community centers. 

In New Bedford the men who were employed by the park department in the summer to supervise the
playgrounds were employed by the school board during the winter as directors of physical education
and of community centers. In Chicago the supervisor of recreation for the board of education
had jurisdiction over the year-round recreational use of the school buildings and school
grounds, and the various park boards employed directors of recreation for the park buildings,
playgrounds, and beaches. 

Wichita and Ottumwa had no city playground system. Butte employed no director for its parks
and playgrounds, although both the schools and the city had supplied supervision at various
times. In Gary the whole program was handled under the superintendent of schools. 

In Duluth the board of education employed a superintendent of recreation whose funds came
from both city and school taxes. The school-recreation program was under the direct supervision
of the superintendent of schools, and all after-school use of facilities and grounds, as well
as the recreational programs in the city parks, playgrounds, and community buildings, was
under the director of recreation. SUPERVISION 

The recreation programs were developed in two general ways. In five cities specialists were
employed who introduced and promoted such activities as dancing, handicraft, athletics,
dramatics, music, and the like. In one city the work these specialists started was done under
their supervision only; for instance, the handicraft material was locked up between classes,
and the regular playground director attempted to do nothing of the sort. In other cities the
specialist set up new work, helped with difficulties, and acted as counselor and aide to the
regular staff. In Houston as a part of the program of community service the specialists were
loaned to groups in churches, industries, clubs, and other organizations who wanted help
in dramatics, game leadership, music, and similar activities. Detroit furnished a similar
service for picnics and parties. 

Certain educational requirements had to be met by the playground directors and play leaders
in the majority of the cities. For instance, one city required that the women assistant directors
have physical-education training and university students were used as assistants to a large
extent in another. Several of the cities conducted intensive training courses for new workers,
and weekly staff meetings were held for the regular directors where problems might be thrashed
out and new work planned. Civil-service examinations were given for playground directors
in several cities. This arrangement was "thoroughly unsatisfactory," one superintendent
said. Politics played a big part in the civil-service appointments in a second place. A former
superintendent in one city referred to the fact that civil service gave her a better opportunity
to select good leaders than the method of political recommendations that took its place. The
superintendent in another place said politics played some part in the appointment of his force,
but he felt that it did little damage. A school worker of this same city said that the superintendent
himself was a political employee and had no choice in the appointment of his staff. 

The type of workers selected was good in most of the cities where the program was observed by
bureau investigators. Because of the strenuous nature of playground and recreation work
it does not attract and hold people who are not suited for it. 

Both well-trained play leaders and specialists were found in some of the cities, but the expense
of the specialists in the majority of cities was held to make necessary the employment of a force
of play leaders with inferior training. When the program was chiefly one of playgrounds and
community centers, in a system small enough to be adequately supervised by the superintendent
and an assistant or two' well-trained play leaders promoting their own programs seemed to
produce better results. For a wide community service, including assistance to churches,
lodges, and other outside agencies in the development of their recreational programs, specialists
were necessary, but it would appear that they should not be maintained as a substitute for trained
leadership at public playground and recreation centers. RECREATION PROGRAM 

In this report recreational activities have been classified as athletic, esthetic, and social.
Although all three of these elements may be found in many of the events, and two of them in most,
one usually predominates. thus participation in an interpretive dancing club has the element
of physical development and a strong social value in club membership but should be primarily
an esthetic expression. 

Various interests and aims dominated the recreation programs. Several of the recreation
departments were found to have specialized in recreation for certain age groups. For instance,
one superintendent said they tried to interest boys under 14, feeling that if they were given
a good start they could be depended on later. The annual report of another superintendent stated
that "the playground department [is] established primarily to take care of the needs of the
children." In both these cities adolescents and adults used the playground facilities, but
the chief interest was in younger children. Other cities had programs that were planned to
meet the needs of all ages. "The purpose of this municipal department is to organize and conduct
the general recreation of the citizens. This includes not only supervised playgrounds for
all children but provision for the proper use of leisure time by young and old of both sexes."
ATHLETIC SPORTS 

Athletics are a popular and accepted part of most school programs and were included in the recreational
programs of playgrounds and schools in all the cities visited. They were promoted in two very
different ways, however- by team and general participation. 

The majority of the playground and school Officials encouraged the promotion of championship
teams in the major sports, and in many schools much effort was spent upon the development of
a selected group of boys and girls. In one city, out of a high-school group of 600 boys, only 25
played often enough on teams in the three major sports (basketball, football, and track) to
be eligible to attend the athletic banquet. The physical director in another city said that
he could not promote an adequate program of physical education in the schools because he had
to produce winning high-school teams or he would lose his job. 

A few notable exceptions to this condition were found. In several cities competition was upon
a classroom basis, and every child who was physically able competed for the honor of his group.
Interschool playdays were frequently planned when all the teams in one school met those of
another, and when in some cases no scores were published and no final winners declared. Those
who were promoting programs of this sort claimed that with the other benefits secured by universal
participation school spirit was as keen and much more wholesome than under the championship-team
arrangement. 

The physical-education program in Los Angeles and Oakland, especially, and in several other
cities to a limited extent, was based upon the theory that the whole school should be reached
by the events that were promoted, that sports are not for a select group of athletes who, perhaps,
would find recreation opportunities elsewhere if they were not offered by the school. 

A brief study was made of school and community recreation in Oakland, Calif., because its extensive
playground and school physical-education programs are based on this principle of general
participation. The superintendent of recreation was also the director of physical education
in the schools of this city. Every child was given an opportunity to participate in the activities,
and it was estimated that 95 per cent of all the children attending school took part in the posture
parades and that 90 per cent competed in the district track meets and playdays that were held
frequently. Final scores were not determined in these activities. In Los Angeles the elementary
and high schools had playdays with interscholastic competition in all sports. The junior
high schools, on the other hand, had intramural competition only. In 1925 there were 4,000
elementary-school baseball teams whose games were umpired by a high-school organization
called the "Knights of Sport." The physical-education program was built around a decathlon
for boys and for girls in which the children competed against their own records for the honor
of their group. 

In Duluth the elementary and junior high school athletics were under the playground department,
which was administered by the board of education. Baseball for boys and girls and football
for boys were played in three classes based on school grades. A school might enter as many teams
in any sport as it could organize. Thus participation became more general than under the championship-team
plan. 

Interclass games were fostered in one of the Rochester junior high schools, and 1,400 of the
2,000 students in one school played on teams in 1925. 

As a part of the athletic program five cities worked with the industries, churches, stores,
and similar agencies in organizing athletic commissions or associations. Through these
organizations teams and leagues of teams were brought together, facilities were pooled and
assigned equitably, officials secured, and schedules arranged. In Duluth a commission of
five members was appointed by the mayor "to promote, coordinate, and act as a clearing house
and board of arbitration" for all municipal athletics. As practically all the baseball and
ice-hockey fields were controlled by the city recreation department and membership in the
athletic association gave preference in the use of these facilities, nearly all the organizations
in the city had joined. The baseball commission of Detroit acted in conjunction with the department
of recreation. More than 550 teams played in the various leagues on the city playgrounds. Boys
and men ranging from 11 to 30 years of age participated in the games. These organizations were
entirely of men and boys, but the industrial athletic associations of Paterson and Oakland
had girl and women members also who came from the factories, banks, laundries, and stores.

The question whether athletics can compete with commercial amusements met with various answers.
Some workers thought that active interest ended with school attendance and that although
the boys and girls would enjoy watching games after leaving school few would continue to play.
Several recreation directors felt that sports would have a stronger appeal than dancing to
many older boys and girls if adequate facilities and attractive companionship were available.

Dancing in the community centers and ice skating on the flooded playgrounds were especially
popular with the adolescents of Duluth. This city's plan for number of swimming pools and athletic
fields with baseball diamonds and tennis courts had as its prime motive the supplying of adequate
facilities for adolescent and adult recreation. The superintendent of recreation said that
such athletic fields did more to carry over adolescent interest in sport to adult life than
any other provision made by the city. Interest in tennis, golf, swimming bowling, and horseshoe
pitching was more frequently carried through life and was introduced to playground boys and
girls of Duluth with this end in mind. 

The Portland playground officials agreed that tennis was the most popular sport with adolescents,
and that this is true quite generally was borne out by observation in the other cities. In one
city the playgrounds that were equipped with tennis courts were the only ones with adolescents
in attendance. Courts had been built on all the larger playgrounds in Rochester and were used
extensively by young people between 14 and 25. 

School athletics as promoted in the majority of cities were considered an end in themselves,
and the creation of a permanent taste for outdoor recreation was not a part of the program. 

Doctor Cutten in "The Threat of Leisure" has pointed out the importance of considering school
athletics as an opportunity for training children in what will be a wholesome use of their leisure
in later life. 

Such games as football, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, hockey, and ether games classed
as "major sports" are of practically no use after graduation so far as helping to solve this
problem is concerned, since they are not played by many college alumni, nor can they with safety
be a part of the program of later life, except when a person devotes his whole time to some one
of these sports in a professional way. There are, however, certain "minor sports" that are
very valuable to this end, chief among which are golf and tennis. There are, in addition to these,
such activities as handball, squash, volley ball, bowling, swimming, and similar sports,
down to and including quoits and horseshoes. 1 ESTHETIC EXPRESSION 

Esthetic activities as features of extracurricular and leisure-time programs are receiving
an increasing amount of attention. Art, dramatics, music, handicraft, and similar courses
are given as a part of the training of teachers and recreation leaders, and sketch classes,
choral societies, glee clubs, orchestras, bands, dramatics, poetry clubs, and similar groups
are organized in both the schools and the community centers of many cities. When such a program
was offered in the schools that were visited it was frequently done through clubs. Membership
in such organizations was quite general, especially in the junior high schools of some of the
cities. 

Music . 

In Houston a music specialist was employed by the Recreation and Community Service Association
to conduct city-wide rehearsals and classes, community sings, concerts, and chorals. In
the Chicago public-school playgrounds harmonica orchestras, whistling, vocal quartets,
ukulele playing, and other popular musical activities were encouraged. In New Bedford a group
of young people between 16 and 20 years of age were found singing around the piano of every center
visited. 

Dramatics, pageantry, and dancing . 

Combining music with action in pageantry, folk and classic dancing, and minstrel and vaudeville
performances was popular. 

Pageantry, with its drama and dancing, frequently found a place in the outdoor program, forming,
in many places, the climax of a season's work. One May festival that was seen included boys and
girls, their older brothers and sisters, and a large group of mothers and grown-up friends.
This outdoor affair marked the close of the indoor season and exhibited the winter's work of
the dancing and gymnasium classes. Minstrels were in preparation at the time of the visit to
another city, and groups of older adolescents were working on songs and dances in most of the
centers. 

Dramatic clubs were a part of the junior, intermediate, and senior boys' and girls' programs
in Detroit. Some of the productions in this city were directed by specialists, but every center
had locally directed plays also. 

An outdoor theater had been built on one of the Oakland playgrounds. "One director is kept busy
arranging the dramatic activities of story telling, impromptu and original plays, and special
matinees presented by organized groups. These matinees, given weekly during the summer vacation,
attract large audiences." 2 This city maintained a costume room with several thousand costumes
and properties available for the use of amateur groups. 

Handicraft . 

Handicraft is a means of esthetic expression for some. The joy of making something that seems
beautiful is a part of the attraction in classes in basketry, sewing, sealing-wax craft, woodwork,
modeling, and the infinite variety of other things to make that both the schools and the playgrounds
offered. One superintendent of recreation encouraged the manufacture of attractive articles
from discarded materials close at hand. For instance, rag rugs were made from old clothes,
bags from discarded inner tubes, and wooden toys from cigar boxes. Puppet theaters combined
handicraft and dramatics in Houston, where the children dressed the puppets and acted the
plays. The supervisor of the Chicago Bureau of Recreation worked out such unique handicraft
projects as snow modeling and stained-glass effects in ice as well as including sand modeling,
making lantern slides, and whittling. 

Story-telling and reading . 

Story-telling was considered a part of the playground program in the majority of cities. In
some places the children were encouraged to tell as well as listen, and the dramatization of
the stories was frequently a part of the story hour. In Rochester the story-teller was also
the librarian and offered access to the 2,500 books which the recreation bureau owned as well
as furnishing the usual program of stories. This was a year-round service. 

The public libraries cooperated with the playgrounds in some of the cities, making books available
at the grounds on certain days. The Los Angeles playgrounds not only had this service but also
owned a large number of volumes. School libraries were more general than playground or community-center
ones, but in the playgrounds and recreational centers reading was promoted as a recreation,
as is done more frequently in the English classes in schools than was formerly the case. 

It was generally agreed that all these recreational activities have what the directors call
a high carry-over value. The joy of reading, of self-expression in music, rhythm, dramatics,
story-telling, and handicraft increases as the children grow older. The fact that adults
respond so readily to the opportunity to take part in these activities is proof of their continued
enjoyment of them. SOCIAL ACTIVITIES 

School parties and club affairs . 

School parties occurred with frequency and regularity in most of the junior high schools as
well as in the upper grades of many elementary schools. They were also a part of the club programs
in the high schools. These dances, particularly in the lower schools, were frequently held
in the afternoon after dismissal, although in several cities the school gymnasiums were available
for this purpose on Friday evenings. 

Clubs of all sorts were found to have been organized in the schools either by the faculty or with
faculty approval. This was particularly true of the junior high schools visited. In two of
these every child belonged to some organization, being privileged to select the group that
interested him most. He was also a voting member of the body that elected the student-government
officers. A specialist in club activities was employed in the Rochester schools, but in Los
Angeles the faculty members worked out the leadership of the various groups among themselves.
The Rochester club specialist felt that 70 per cent of the club interests become hobbies in
later life. The aim of the club work was not to find a permanent hobby, for interest is bound to
change when a subject is exhausted, but to establish the habit of an active, wholesome use of
leisure. 

School dances . 

School and recreation officials held various attitudes toward dancing. Before describing
the dancing in her building an assistant principal said to the Children's Bureau investigator,
"First of all, I am strongly in favor of dancing. I enjoy it myself and love to have it done in my
own home. * * * You can't fight a recreation that eight-tenths of the population enjoy. It must
be accepted and all efforts made to improve it." 

A director of physical education in another city favored the teaching of dancing in the schools
because, he explained, "You can't combat the evils of the public dance halls through police
control. You must do it through education; through teaching the right kind of fun in the schools
and on the playgrounds." Another reported that "it is impossible to suppress public dancing.
The department of recreation is endeavoring to substitute clean, wholesome neighborhood
and community dances in the school buildings which we use at night; and also in community centers
and social settlements under our jurisdiction. I believe the policy should be one of substitution
instead of suppression." 

Although a number of city and school officials held such views, others were diametrically
opposed to them. In a number of the cities visited the giving of dances in the school buildings
was forbidden. This was due in one city to the objection of the ministers and in another to the
feeling stirred up by a revivalist. The fact that they had been poorly supervised was given
as the reason for stopping the high-school dances in a third. They were to be tried again in this
city during the term following the visit of the Children's Bureau agent but were to be closely
supervised. 

What standards should be insisted upon in school dances is an important factor in supervision.
After experiencing much difficulty with dances held by high-school groups in community club
buildings, the municipal dance-hall inspector and school officials of Portland conferred,
and the following outline of regulations was drawn up by the high-school principals and deans:

It is to be understood that high-school dances are those held in the respective high-school
buildings under direct supervision of the principal and faculty. 

1. That a definition of high-school dances shall be printed on high-school report cards. 

2. The number of dances shall be limited to four in each semester and shall be held in high-school
buildings only. 

3. They shall be held on Fridays only, beginning at 8 p. m. and closing not later than 10.45 p.m.

4. No afternoon dances shall be permitted, and jitney 3 

At a "jitney dance" there is no charge for admittance to the hall, a fee being collected from
each couple at the beginning of each dance number. 

5. The principal and dean of girls in each high school shall be a committee in charge of the dances
and shall be empowered to appoint the following assistants: ( a ) At least 5 members of the faculty;
( b ) at least 10 patron chaperones; ( c ) a floor committee of 5 from the student body. 

6. That an invitation list shall be submitted to the dean at least 48 hours in advance of the dance;
admittance to be in accordance therewith. 

7. Parents shall be requested to notify the dean of any tardy arrivals at home after attending
high-school dances. 

8. The character of the music and the program of dances Shall meet the approval of the dean in
charge. 

9. Unchaperoned pupils shall not be permitted to leave the dance until the close of same. 

10. All dances shall be conducted in accordance with regulations adopted by the American Association
of Masters of Dancing. 

The committee further recommended that the managers of hotels and clubs be notified that all
high-school dances were to be held in high-school buildings and that they be requested to cooperate
with the board to the extent of denying the use of their halls for any so-called "high-school"
dances. 

In the cities where dances were held in the schools the rule usually followed was that the number
should be limited to one a semester for each class, club, or other organization. Faculty sponsors
and parent chaperones were frequently required. 

Afternoon dances were promoted in one of the Los Angeles hi h schools where the annual Reserve
Officers Training Corps ball was the only night dance held under faculty auspices. Afternoon
and noon dances were very popular in this city. One of the principals is quoted in The City Boy
and His Problems as saying: 

We always have our dances and parties here in the afternoon. This reduces the problems connected
with such affairs. Held in the afternoon, they are very closely chaperoned, and then when the
affair is over everyone goes home in much the same way as he does from school. Thus are avoided
a thousand and one problems of behavior after they leave here, such as the parents calling up
the next day, "Mary was at the dance last night and never got home until 3 o'clock. Where was she,
anyway?" We have none of that. 4 

The failure of an attempt at supervision of dances given by highschool students under the patronage
of an association of parents in the schools of one of the cities was reported as due primarily
to a lack of appreciation of the problems involved and the consequent necessity for intelligent
and understanding supervision. The association assigned in turn seine 20 of their women members
who were to act as patronesses at each dance. They did not take the responsibility seriously,
and it frequently happened that there were neither. patronesses nor a matron in attendance.
Stories of improper conduct on the part of the boys and girls were soon current. Following the
criticism which resulted from this condition the association adopted a policy of very stringent
supervision, with the result that for a time there were frequently more patronesses than dancers
present. A student complained that the only parents who came were the ones who wanted to find
something to object to. The probation officer of this city said that as a result of this lack
of Understanding of the problem the school dances had been a detrimental influence, worse
in some ways than the public dance halls. 

One of the school dances in this city was visited by the Children's Bureau investigators. It
was well attended and closely supervised. Although the dance-hall inspector criticized
the positions of some of the couples as rather worse than those permitted in the public halls,
she considered the value of these dances was in keeping the young people in their home neighborhood.
The general atmosphere at this dance was wholesome. 

School officials in several cities where the use of school buildings for dances was not permitted
regretted the fact that the boys and girls were forced to go to hotels or hired halls for their
dances; in one or two cases they had recommended that the schools be opened to them. 

Although prohibiting dancing in the school buildings some highschool officials sanctioned
school dances held in other halls. Such approval was also given for the large affairs in some
cities where the school buildings were used. For instance, the "parents' assembly," a big
dance for the San Francisco high-school students, was held annually in a hotel. The junior-senior
"prom" in Butte was given at a large amusement park with the approval of the school officials.
Dances were permitted in the school buildings of both these cities, although they were limited
to a few afternoon affairs in San Francisco. 

The students of the high schools in one city were not allowed to give dances in the schools, but
three in a semester could be held in hired halls without objection from the school officials.
A junior order of one of the lodges ran well-supervised dances in one city. They were almost
the same as high-school dances, were attended by a number of parents, supervised by the policewomen,
and satisfactory in conduct and dancing. In another city the high-school dances were always
attended by two faculty sponsors and some parents. 

Many permits for dances were granted in one city to fraternities and clubs whose members might
be high-school students though the officers were generally no longer in school. Difficulty
in controlling such dances as these and others given by students without the backing of a school
organization had been experienced in several cities. 

A hotel manager in one city said the dances held by high-school fraternities and clubs were
the worst he had to contend with as they were unsupervised and unchaperoned except for a "hand-picked
couple, maybe." The dance-hall inspector of another city found much worse dancing at the affairs
held by high-school students at a community clubhouse than was allowed in public halls. In
this city the problem was solved through requiring not only a permit for dances to be held by
high-school groups but also a note to the club managers from the dance-hall inspector saying
that the applicant was eligible as to age and responsibility. A school principal in a third
city suggested that the approval of the school principal should be secured in that city before
a permit was issued to anyone applying for a hall in the name of the school. 

In one case a group of high-school boys sponsored a dance that was to have been given in a road
house outside the city limits. It came to the attention of the girls' adviser of a junior high
school, several of whose students had been invited to attend. Feeling it imperative to stop
the affair so that a precedent would not be established, she approached the police and school
officials, who found themselves powerless since the school had not sanctioned the dance and
the road house was out of the city. This woman then went to the State police. They had no authority
to prohibit the dance, but they sent the children home for driving without permits, which were
not granted to persons under 18, and for having liquor in their possession. 

Dances to which tickets were sold by the pupils to other than school students were another cause
of difficulty, as such selling made possible the attendance of older dancers and the problems
of supervision were increased. Special difficulties were always created when one age group
attended the dances of another; for example, college students were reported to cause much
trouble at high-school dances and high-school pupils at junior high-school dances. The older
group are apparently eager to show they are no longer subject to the restrictions and conventions
imposed upon the younger. 

Some of the school officials in another city considered that dances held after the high-school
basketball games were really public dances, as anyone could buy a ticket. The dances had been
discontinued without affecting the attendance at the games, which some had thought might
be less popular without the dances. 

Community clubs and parties. 

Almost without exception the parties and social affairs held at the playgrounds and community
centers were sponsored by clubs or small groups. Camp Fire Girls, Girl and Boy Scouts, and similar
clubs were organized by the play leaders or encouraged in holding their meetings in the community
centers in several of the cities. 

A boys' club with a program of degree work modeled on the men's secret organizations was fostered
by the recreation department in Seattle. Two girls' clubs met at one of the Rochester centers.
The director had held one of these groups five years with a program of gymnasium classes, parties,
banquets, and service. Both groups were small, the older having 30 members, the younger 15.
Two clubs of young men also met at this center, one with 100 members ranging age from 16 to 30 and
the other a group of about 20 boys around the age of 17. Their programs included athletics, social
events, especially dances, and some kind of charitable enterprise. 

Most of the recreation activities in Detroit were conducted on a club basis. Between 2,700
and 2,800 clubs were meeting during the season of 1925. Some recreation workers think that
this method of promoting recreational activities excludes young people who, because they
do not want to iota clubs, feel they can not attend community affairs, but the commissioner
of recreation reported he had not found this to be the case in Detroit. 

In New Bedford, Houston, and Rochester clubs of adolescent boys and girls, many of whom worked,
met with the play leaders for parties, classes of various sorts, dramatics, and dancing. 

Community clubs, replacing the old improvement clubs that used to battle for street repairs,
sewers, and other neighborhood needs, had been promoted in another city. The programs included
meetings, dances, and "socials" as well as the civic projects that were once their chief interest.
Junior community clubs had been formed in several sections. They were sponsored by the adult
clubs, which supplied advisers to assist the young members in planning their dances and parties.
These organizations were popular, and it was felt that they served to interest the young people
in the social life of their own neighborhoods rather than in down-town amusements. 

The superintendent of recreation in another city was not convinced of the value of club organization
as a playground or community-center activity. Clubs were encouraged to use the facilities
of the department, but the superintendent felt that play leaders should not devote their time
to small groups and that volunteer leaders were not dependable. 

Although clubs were quite generally organized they did not seem to reach many individuals
in the majority of the cities. This was true also of the parties and other social affairs. They
were given by small groups for their own friends and under the existing conditions were of negligible
importance as a community activity. 

Community dances. 

No dances were permitted in the centers of New Bedford, Detroit, or Los Angeles unless an organized
group was back of them. These clubs assigned their members to various positions in the dance
management and assumed full responsibility for the conduct of the affair, although the director
of the community center was also required to be in attendance. 

The commissioner of recreation in Detroit considered club dances easy to manage and a valuable
community activity. The value of a club is that it constitutes a social unit for the members
and makes it possible to develop through group action and club loyalty responsibility on the
part of the membership for their own conduct. To meet the needs of the different age groups in
some of the centers one night was devoted to older groups and another to younger. The attendance
varied from 20 couples to 200. 

The dances were usually arranged by clubs whose members vouched for any nonmembers who attended.
The floor committee in charge of the dance knew the dancers by name and could easily control
their behavior and attendance at future dances. The behavior of nonmembers reflected credit
or discredit not only on the individuals but also on the friends who sponsored them. Such checks
made the management of the dances very simple, the commissioner said. 

In New Bedford the club was directly responsible to the community council for the conduct of
the dance, and two members of the council always attended. The superintendent had been complimented
on running the best dances in the city. The dance-hall inspector said they had given no trouble.
They were not under her supervision. Visitors were welcomed to the dances in this city, but
limitations were placed upon their attendance in other places. Nonmembers had to be vouched
for by members of the clubs in Detroit. In Los Angeles when a playground club gave a dance each
member could invite an escort, but the membership was limited to 150 and no more than this number
of couples could attend. 

The athletic clubs of one city gave occasional dances in hired or borrowed halls because, the
superintendent of recreation explained, the playground auditoriums were too unattractive
to be conducive to well-managed affairs. Community Service of San Francisco also sponsored
athletic club dances. To these, club members only were eligible. No admission was charged,
for the club dues entitled members to attend. 

A club dance in a playground field house was visited in Rochester. It was given by a group of about
20 boys around the age of 17, the majority of whom were employed. Many of the girls were students
of the junior high school. About 250 young persons were present, all of whom were under 21. A
checking fee of 50 cents was charged to defray the expense of the orchestra, any surplus going
to charity. Two of the playground directors were present as chaperones, but a floor committee
of club members supervised the dancing. 

Supervision .-The attendance of parents, teachers, play leaders, or other responsible chaperones
to supervise the dancing was generally held to be important for successful community dances.
"The success of such dances depends on supervision. If it is bad the dances are bad. Ours is good,"
said the superintendent of recreation in one city. The Los Angeles superintendent considered
supervision to be the ultimate solution of the problems. 

Supervision of the community dances in one large city by social workers unfamiliar with dance-hall
problems was unsuccessful. The failure of unintelligent supervision was said to have caused
the unsatisfactory results of several other public-dance experiments. 

In Los Angeles the playground director was responsible for the arrangement of dances, the
approval of programs, and the definition of proper dance positions, and the enforcement of
rules regulating the dances. A floor committee composed of three members of the group giving
the dance was made directly responsible for the actions of the dancers. The assistant superintendent
of playgrounds said that by attending commercial dances at least every six months she became
acquainted with the standards upheld in them and obtained a basis for the decisions she had
to make at the community dances. 

In Seattle the director attended all community-center dances, but three responsible and
representative citizens had to be present and assume responsibility for the conduct of the
dancers. The group supplied its own chaperone and other attendants. All groups of boys and
girls under 16 who attended a dance had to be chaperoned. 

Community-center dances in one city were run by a neighborhood committee which supervised
the dancing and had charge of collecting an admission fee (15 cents). The chief of the women's
protective division reported that an investigation of these dances showed they were among
the best in town. The fact that their entire management "is in the hands of interested committees
or boards of directors- mothers and fathers of the community-has proved most helpful in managing
the details of each dance and in determining general policies." 

Value .-In one city in which it had been necessary to give up community dances officials felt
they were depriving the people of an activity they needed. Dances for high-school groups,
for young employees, and for married people assisted in solving the dance question in certain
communities, it was said; but "I hardly believe this reaches far enough in providing the opportunity
for many who do not have access to recreation centers," one superintendent of recreation explained.

The superintendent of one of the large playground Systems was much opposed to permitting public
dances to which any one was admitted in the park field houses. Although by encouraging organized
groups only some were excluded, it was his opinion that the protection of the many at the expense
of the few is a better policy and that only through the club system could the majority be surrounded
with the necessary safeguards. 

The dance-hall inspector of another city thought that the community dances were good, but
he said they did not reach the general mass of young people "want to go where they can do as they
please." This criticism was made of the whole community program, however, in the majority
of the cities. It was felt that the activities were valuable as far as they went, but that they
reached too few individuals. 

Although opinions differed as to the value of school and community dances there seemed to be
agreement that their success or failure depended to a great extent upon the sort of people in
charge of the dances and the amount of preparation made for this part of the recreational program.
When an adult committee of understanding, sympathetic individuals sponsored the dances
and arranged for the necessary committees and when the surroundings were attractive and the
music good, the attendance was large and dances easily supervised. When any of these factors
were lacking difficulties increased. 

Classes in dancing and etiquette. 

Some of the disorder and rowdyism that develop in connection with dances is due to the fact that
the young people do not know how to dance well and so do not enjoy dancing as such. Others seek
to conceal their embarrassment and lack of ease because of their unfamiliarity with social
conventions by a rude defiance of the standards insisted upon by supervisors. To better these
conditions, dancing and so-called etiquette classes had been conducted in Los Angeles, Seattle,
and Rochester. A lack of agreement existed as to their value. The superintendent of playgrounds
in one of the cities discontinued a social dancing class at one of the community centers. He
thought the younger children who attended would acquire an interest in dancing soon enough
without this encouragement. The same argument was presented by a policewoman in another city.
She thought the classes in one the schools attracted the attention of the students to dancing
prematurely in some cases. One of her coworkers considered these classes a constructive force
that would be bound to affect public dancing as a whole if given more generally through the schools.
The teacher in charge of the work in the school said that as few of her children went to high school,
she felt that this instruction in proper dancing was a safeguard. A club dance which many of
the students of this school attended was visited. An atmosphere of courtesy and pleasant formality
was strikingly apparent. A decided improvement was reported in the dancing after a dancing
master had been employed in another city to conduct classes in social dancing in the high schools
and among the faculty members who were responsible for chaperoning the school dances. DEVELOPMENT
OF RECREATION PROGRAM 

The majority of recreation officials, social workers, and others who were interviewed felt
that community recreation had not yet found its real place in the lives of older boys and girls
and young adults. The need for the development of the program was undisputed. Many thought
that it offered the only method by which the conditions that create the dance-hall problem
can be changed. The former chief supervisor of the San Francisco dance halls said in concluding
her report "no matter how excellent supervision may be, it is other agencies, public and private,
which must meet the challenge of the dance hall. The committee earnestly recommends the rapid
increase in the work of these recreational agencies." Particularly in the case of young boys
and girls whose exclusion from the public dance hall is thought necessary, an adequate community
recreation program would provide not only enjoyable counter attractions but also training
in character development and in the proper use of leisure time. 

In many cities, however, a fine plan for future development had been worked out, and the foundation
already laid was good. Especially good features were provision of adequate facilities and
trained leadership, general participation of students in school athletic and esthetic activities,
and emphasis on activities that were of value in promoting constructive use of leisure time
in later life. 

A growing use of recreational facilities and increase in the public recreational resources
were found in most of the cities visited. To an increasing extent the school plant was being
used to meet the social and physical needs of the community, and community baseball diamonds,
tennis courts, and other facilities were being multiplied. To provide leadership in the use
of these facilities and to expand the recreation programs specialists in recreation and trained
play leaders were being employed. The assistance of the parents is being more successfully
used through carefully organized committee work, and the sense of responsibility of the young
people themselves for their own conduct is being developed in the club organizations. 

In the schools the more general participation of students in athletics and other activities
was notable. Interclass and intergroup teams were displacing the old championship-team
system from which only a few derive benefit. The schools were also laying more stress on activities
with a high "carry-over" value, resulting in the formation of good habits in the use of leisure
time. Emphasis was being put upon the development of the so-called sports (such as tennis and
swimming) and of hobbies. Because such activities do not cease with the end of school they are
of permanent value. CONCLUSIONS 

The chief problems of present-day dance-hall supervision are: (1) Supervision of music,
dancing, and general conduct in the halls; (2) provision for and protection of minors; and
(3) control of the after-the-dance rendezvous. To meet these problems there has been a steady
increase in dance-hall legislation during the last 15 years, 75 per cent of the more complete
ordinances having been enacted since 1918. 

The tendency of this legislation has been to define the terms "public dance" and "public dance
hall" in order to make the regulations applicable to all dances that are, in fact, public and
not to allow certain types of such dances to be free from regulation because of a technicality;
to require licenses for halls and permits for dances in order to find whether the hall in which
the dance is to be given is sanitary, well lighted, and otherwise suitable, and to insure that
the person in charge of the dance can be trusted with this responsibility; and to fix restrictions
on the age of admission and hours of attendance of minors and on the type of dancing and conduct
in the hall. 

In the administration of the dance-hall laws and ordinances the most effective supervision
was found in those cities in which a city inspector was in charge and in which a hostess was employed
in every hall. The method of appointment and the duties of these officers varied. Merit appointment
protected by civil service, especially when backed by an enlightened public opinion, insured
the best service. Although experience pointed to no one method for the appointment and payment
of the hostesses, it was clear that they gave little protection to young people if they were
dependent upon the dance-hall managers unless the latter themselves were interested in the
elimination of the dance-hall evils. As to duties, some officials believed that the work of
the inspectors should be educational as well as supervisory; others felt that the work should
be limited strictly to enforcing the letter of the regulations. There was also a wide difference
of opinion as to whether or not the hostesses should do follow-up work in connection with supervision
of dance conditions. It seems quite clear, however, that where such educational and follow-up
work results in greater cooperation from the dance-hall managers and in a more active interest
upon the part of the public, particularly of the parents of minors found in the halls, dance-hall
supervision is more effective. 

To meet the situation presented by the after-the-dance rendezvous, the out-of-town hall,
which next to the exclusion of minors is the most troublesome problem encountered in public
dance supervision, legislation must be passed by the State or county and provision made for
local enforcement. 

Although dance-hall supervision is necessary, the dance-hall situation can not be remedied
unless those in charge of the enforcement of the laws can secure the interest and support of
the public. The most effective regulation has been in those cities in which the managers of
dance halls have cooperated most actively. Not only can they aid in seeing that good conditions
are maintained in the halls and that the regulations are carried out but they can assist the
dance supervisors and other social workers in creating social values in the dance hall. 

In many of the cities it was reported that the lack of cooperation from the parents of minors
found in the halls was the greatest handicap confronting the supervisors. This lack of cooperation
was due sometimes to ignorance of what their children were doing, sometimes to indifference,
and sometimes to the old belief that young people must sow their wild oats. The cooperation
of parents is, however, so important that public education as to recreation and recreational
needs must be increased. 

The provision of community recreation and training in recreational activities will not eliminate
the commercial dance halls, but they should assist in greatly modifying the character of the
commercial amusements as well as developing the play interests of the whole population, providing
types of amusement not commercially profitable, and developing latent leadership in the
provision of a wholesome neighborhood social life. APPENDIX A.-PROVISIONS OF MINNESOTA
LAW 1 

The Minnesota act applies to all public dances and public dance halls. A public dance place
is defined as "any room, place, or space open to public patronage in which dancing, wherein
the public may participate, is carried on and to which admission may be had by the public by payment
either directly or indirectly of an admission fee or price for dancing." A public dance is defined
as "any dance wherein the public may participate by payment either directly or indirectly,
of an admission fee or price for dancing or a fee for a membership in a club, and shall include
any manner of holding a dance which may be participated in by the public through the payment
of money, directly or indirectly." 

In order to hold a public dance the owner or proprietor of the hall in which the dance is to be held
or the person intending to give the dance must procure a permit from the governing body of an
incorporated municipality or from the town board of the county if the dance is to be held outside
the corporation limits. Such permits may be issued for one or more public dances or for a period
of time not exceeding one year. The application for the permit must be accompanied by the affidavits
of two freeholders testifying that the applicant is of good moral character and has not within
five years been convicted of a felony, gross misdemeanor, or violation of the public-dance
regulations. The dancing place must not be connected by stairs, passageway, or otherwise
with "private apartments" or "private rooms" used for other than legitimate purposes, and
lighting and sanitary conditions, including toilet and washroom facilities, must be satisfactory
in the judgment of the licensing authority. The permit must be posted in a public place in the
dance hall during the time the dance is being held. 

Public dances are not permitted between 1 a. m. and 6 a. m. on any day nor before 12 noon on Sunday.
Other regulations as to hours not inconsistent with these State provisions may be imposed
by the licensing authorities in the various municipalities. Unmarried persons under 16 attending
public dances must be accompanied by parent or guardian, and those 16 to 18 who are unmarried
must be accompanied by parent or guardian or present the written consent of one of these. 

The act prohibits indecent or immodest dances or dances characterized by immodest motions
of the body; rude, boisterous, obscene, or otherwise offensive acts or speech; and the admission
of intoxicated persons and prostitutes or other individuals of known immorality. The use
or sale of intoxicating liquors in the dance hall or on connecting premises or within 1,000
feet of the entrance is also prohibited. No dancing is permitted with lights extinguished
or dimmed. 

An officer of the law is required to be in attendance during the time the dance is in progress,
fees for this service to be paid in advance by the one securing the permit. Violations of the
act are punishable as misdemeanors and in addition may result in forfeiture of the permit.
APPENDIX B.-LIST OF REFERENCES ON DANCE HALLS 

Bartholomew, Robb O.: Dance Hall Report. Cleveland, Ohio, August, 1912. 16 pp. 

Binford, Jessie F.: "May we present the roadhouse?" Welfare Magazine (Springfield, Ill.),
vol. 18, no. 7 (July, 1927), pp. 872-880. 

-: "On with the dance; correct dance month." Survey, vol. 54, no. 2 (Apr. 15, 1925), pp. 98-99.

Bowman, Le Roy E., and Maria Ward Lambin: "Evidences of social relations as seen in types of
New York City dance halls." Journal of Social Forces, vol. 3, no. 2 (January, 1925), pp. 286-293.

Conduct of Community Dances. Playground and Recreation Association of America. Bulletin
No. 1280. Nov. 27, 1925. 7 pp. Mimeographed. 

Dunlap, Nellie H.: "Report on dance-hall inspection." Police Journal [New York], vol. 15,
no. 4 (October, 1927), pp. 5, 9. 

Good Dancing or No Dancing. Dancing Masters of America (Inc.) (President, Raymond Bott, Youngstown,
Ohio), 1928. 15 pp. 

Hall, Sophia: Dance Hall Regulation. Information Report No. 26. Municipal Information Bureau,
University Extension Division, University of Wisconsin. Madison, 1922. 17 pp. 

Hiller, Francis H.: "The working of county dance-hall ordinances in Wisconsin." Journal
of Social Hygiene, vol. 13, no. 1 (January, 1927), pp. 1-11. 

Ingram, Frances: "The public dance hall." Proceedings of the National Conference of Social
Work, 1919, pp. 507-512. 

Israels, Mrs. Charles Henry: "The dance problem." Playground, vol. 4, no. 7 (October, 1910),
pp. 241-250. 

Johnston, Helen Berry: "The policewoman and public recreation." International Association
of Policewomen, 220 Evening Star Building, Washington, D. C., Bulletin No. 27, January, 1927,
pp. 5-7. 

Kansas City Board of Public Welfare: Annual Report, 1910-11, pp. 182-193. 

-: Annual Report, 1911-12, pp. 248-250. 

Lambin, Maria Ward: Report of the Advisory Dance Hall Committee of the Women's City Club and
the City Recreation Committee, 22 Park Avenue, New York, 1924. 39 pp. 

-: Report of the Public Dance Hall Committee of the San Francisco Center of the California Civic
League of Women Voters. Published by the San Francisco Center, 1924. 24 pp. See comment by C.
E. Brewer, in The Problem Column, Playground, vol. 18, no. 11 (February, 1925), pp. 660-661.

-: "This business of dancing." Survey, vol. 52, no. 8 (July 15, 1924), pp. 457-461. 

Moley, Raymond: "Dance halls." Commercial Recreation (Cleveland Recreation Survey, Cleveland
Foundation, 1920). pp. 80-95. 

New York (State). Bureau of Municipal Information: Model Ordinance to Regulate Public Dances
and to License and Regulate Public Dance Halls. Report No. 915. Albany, July 23, 1923. Mimeographed.
7 pp. 

Owings, Chloe: "Some current practices in dance-hall regulation." American City, vol. 36,
no. 6 (June, 1927), pp. 783-786. 

Phelan, John J.: "Our dancing cities." Survey, vol. 45, no. 18 (Jan. 29, 1921), pp. 63-64. 

Pigeon, Helen D.: "Policewomen and public regulation." American City, vol. 37, no. 4 (October,
1927), pp. 448-450. 

The Regulation of Public Dance Halls. Prepared by Andrew Bestwick. St. Louis Public Library
Monthly Bulletin, n. s. vol. 12, no. 8 (July 1914). 26 pp. (Apply to Municipal Reference Branch
Library, City Hall, St. Louis, Mo.) 

Rex, Frederick: Municipal Dance Halls. Municipal Reference Bulletin No. 2. Municipal Reference
Library, Chicago Public Library, March, 1914. 10 pp. 

Report on Dance-Hall Inspection, Dayton, Ohio. International Association of Policewomen,
220 Evening Star Building, Washington, D. C. Bulletin No. 31, June, July, 1927, pp. 7-10. 

Schoenfeld, Julia: "Commercial recreation legislation." Playground, vol. 7, no. 12 (March,
1914), pp. 461-481. 

Smergalski, T. J.: "Social dancing in the West Park recreation centers of Chicago, Ill." Playground,
vol. 17, no. 10 (January, 1924), pp. 544-547. 

Spencer, Jess [Wichita, Kans.] "The supervisor of dance halls." International Association
of Policewomen, 220 Evening Star Building, Washington, D. C. Bulletin No. 21, July, 1926,
pp. 4-5. 

Stocking, Collis A.: A Study of Dance Halls in Pittsburgh; made under the auspices of the Pittsburgh
Girls' Conference. Pittsburgh, 1925. 47 pp. 

Williams, Aubrey: "Wisconsin 'barns'." Survey, vol. 52, no. 12 (Sept. 15, 1924), pp. 619-620.

Woofter, T. J., jr.: "Dance halls." Negro Problems in Cities (Doubleday, Doran & Co., New York,
1928), pp. 269-278. 

Youngquist, G. A." "Minnesota laws on the licensing and regulation of public dance halls."
Proceedings of the Minnesota State Conference of Social Work, 1922, pp. 215-219. 

For general references on recreation consult: Sources of Information on Play and Recreation,
by Marguerita P. Williams (Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1927, 94 pp.). APPENDIX C.-DANCE-HALL
LEGISLATION OF 1926, 1927, AND 1928 

During the years from 1926 to 1928 laws relating to public dancing were enacted in seven States.
In four of these (Colorado, Massachusetts, Montana, and Pennsylvania) certain phases of
the subject were already regulated by laws analyzed in the body of this report. Before 1926
Virginia, Kansas, and Louisiana had no laws regulating public dancing. The Kansas and Pennsylvania
laws are the only new ones which cover more than one or two aspects of the public dance or dance
hall. DEFINITIONS OF PLACES COVERED 

Kansas passed a law effective in counties with a population of more than 110,000 and less than
130,000, and Pennsylvania enacted one applicable to all townships in the State. As the first,
second, and third class cities in Pennsylvania were already regulated under a law having very
similar provisions this leaves only the boroughs and one town in Pennsylvania still unregulated
by State laws. 

The Virginia act defines public dance halls. It applies only to a county adjoining a city of
50,000 or more inhabitants (except counties adjoining a city of 50,000 to 60,000 or in excess
of 100,000 but not more than 165,000 according to the census of 1920) and to counties having
a population of more than 300 per square mile according to the last United States census. The
Louisiana law is applicable only to municipalities. The Colorado law does not apply to incorporated
cities and towns. The Massachusetts and Montana provisions are state-wide. RESTRICTIONS
ON ATTENDANCE OF MINORS 

Kansas prohibits persons under 18 from entering or being present in a public dance hall after
8 p. m. unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, except a married woman accompanied
by her husband over 18, unless the person is a member of a group and the parent or guardian of another
member is present. Pennsylvania prohibits the attendance of persons under 16 after 9 p. m.
unless accompanied by parent or guardian. The old law effective in the cities forbids attendance
of all those under 16 after 9 p. m. 

Montana enacted a state-wide provision, making it a misdemeanor for owner, proprietor, manager,
or employee of a public dance hall, or a place where public dances are held, to encourage or permit
a minor under 16 to be, remain in, or frequent such hall or place while a public dance is in progress
unless accompanied by his or her parent or legal guardian. 

Virginia prohibits a person under 18 from entering or remaining in the dance hall while dancing
is being conducted unless accompanied by parent or legal guardian, or a brother or sister over
21, or except with the written consent of parent or legal guardian. LICENSES 

Kansas and Pennsylvania require licenses and provide that such licenses must be conspicuously
posted in the public dance hall. A license is issued in Kansas only after a bond has been given
by the applicant. The Virginia law requires a license from the circuit court for the operation
of public dance halls. The county commissioners issue licenses in Colorado for all public
dance halls, booths, pavilions or other places where public dances are held. In Massachusetts
where licenses formerly were required for certain dance places, they are now required also
for "innholders, common victuallers and keepers of restaurants" who maintain and carry on
a dance. The law specifies that in towns with less than 2,500 registered voters the license
must be approved by the commissioner of public welfare as in the interest of the public good
and morals. HOURS OF OPERATION 

Kansas halls must close at midnight, but those in Pennsylvania may remain open until 1 a. m.
and upon special permission of the county commissioner until 2 a. m., except on Saturday nights.
Both States prohibit Sunday dancing. SUPERVISION 

Kansas and Pennsylvania do not require constant supervision by either privately employed
or public officials, but both provide for free access at all times for police officers. The
Kansas law includes also all executive and lawenforcing officials and police officers of
the State and the United States. 

The Louisiana law permits municipalities to employ matrons or police women and place them
in dance halls to see that no lewd, vulgar, or suggestive dances are given and that the costumes
of the patrons are proper. The ordinance fixes the salary of such persons, the amount specified
to be paid by the proprietor. REGULATION OF PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 

Kansas and Pennsylvania laws provide for clean, well-lighted hails and stairways, but Kansas
also includes adjoining grounds and has special provisions prohibiting smoking, gambling,
drinking, carrying or serving intoxicants, vulgar and improper language, conduct, and manner
of dancing. No women are admitted to these halls in Kansas without a male escort, and all persons
must pay the same entrance fee. Operators, regular employees, law-enforcing officers, and
members of the fire department only are permitted entrance without such fee. PENALTIES FOR
VIOLATION 

Revocation of the license for cause is provided as a penalty under some of the laws, as well as
fines, and in Kansas an alternative jail sentence.