Mrs. L. C. French Appears
Before City Commission.
No Petition of Complaint
Filed, However—Street
Matters Talked.
The regular weekly meeting- of
the city commission yesterday
morning was featured by a spirited
denial by Mrs. L. Crozier French
that dances held in the Lyceum
building- are ever "disorderly" and
a characterization of the institution
as "the only place I know of where
respectable young people may
dance." Mrs. -Frenc's address be-
fore the commissions was in anticipation of a petition of complaint
which she said she had been told
was to be introduced, but which
was not.
"I have been in charge of the
woman's building for 15 years."
Mrs. French declared,", I have heard
continually complaints of dances
there being disorderly, but there has
never, as a matter of fact, been a
disorderly dance there. That
building was built so that dances
could be held in it and it's the only
place I know of where respectable
young people can dance. We
have a rule that dances shall stop
at 11:30 and that we consider &
respectable hour.
"We have required the young
men who have the dances in charge
to have a doorkeeper and a plain
clothes man and a police matron to
attend, particularly to watch after
the girls. It seems to me that it
is our duty to give the young people a place to dance. What these
people mean by disorderly is noise!
"Now the other day there was an
orchestra going to pass through the
city and it was secured for a dance
here. It is a famous New York
orchestra and this was to be a society event. Now you know that society
never goes to a dance before
10 o'clock and it is against the law
for them to close before 2. I was
the hall all the time till 1
• „** '"■■■• ladies chaperoned
after that.
"That was a splendid band. I
wish that all the neighbors could
have been in that hall and heard
them. They would have been entertained, I am sure. There is a
great deal of time lost in sleep, especially by students. At 11 o'clock
a policeman appeared and said that
there had been a complaint of the
dance made at police headquarters.
Now the elite of the city was there
and that dance was not disorderly.
I assured the policeman that it was
not and he was satisfied and went
away.
Worth $5 to Her.
"The dance went on till a quarter
of two and I wouldn't take $5 for
my part in it. Are We never to
have anything like that for fear of
breaking some man's slumber? It
hurts people to lose their tempers,
not to lose sleep, I give you that
free of charge.
"I claim that the respectable
young people of the city have the
right to dance till half past 11
o'clock. Without the dances we
can't run the Woman's Building.
Everything in the building is all
right, if anything goes on outside
the building you are responsible,
not me, for you are responsible for
the streets of Knoxville."
Mayor Neal stated at the conslu-
sion of Mrs. French's remarks that
there was no action the board could
take as the petition anticipated by
her had not been presented.
