The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972, December 21, 1913, Page 50, Image 50

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THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER' 21, ' 1913.
r
TH E TANGO AND KINDRED
' ; ' MM-Willi I 111 ii I. I! I I I 11 fn w
SOCIETY- FOLK QUITE
DANCES-
TAKE PQ RTLAN D BYSTOR M
ENTHUSASTie
OVER
NEW DANCE STEPS
Thes Dansants an Interesting
J Feature of Winter Season's
Social Activities.
By Nona Lawler.
:v Thes Dansants have occupied a con
spicuous place in the greneral Interest
of Portland society for the last few
week. . Rags, tangos, one-steps, and
countless other comparatively new
dances have been known and danceJ
for; some time hy the young people of
' society,', but the general acceptance of
; the dance as an ordinary feature of a
ball room program has been slow In
coming. Even In New York and th
' other large eastern cities, the high tide
, of the dance craze has Just come in
,' this season. Ere this it was on'y a few of
the light footed and very yuag Boclety
folks who patiently worked out the
tedious, though fascinating new steps,
but now the most staid of matrons,
' maids, bachelors and benedicts may be
caught wiien off their guard worrying
oat the intricate mazes of the nesita
tion, or tango, to say nothing of the
other more generally accepted one-step,
'Boston Dip and Castle walk.
The publicity which foreran these
dances has been alluringly suggestive
of f'the naughty," chronicling in an al
together irrelevant manner a bodge
' podge of "bowery," "Barbary coast" and
"smart society," without troubling' to
point out differences or distinctions,
To the uninitiated it seemed as though
society had gone mad, notwithstanding
the fact that the waits and two step or
' any other dance has always enjoyed
equal popularity and a variety of inter
pretations in the many different strata
of i society. This is a pity for those
who will never be more enlightened on
the subject and has served as a splen
did' stimulus to catch the Interest and
enthusiasm of the curious.
A laughable feature of the Thes Das
sants In Portland has been the very
evident surprise and even a twinge of
' disappointment in finding the dances
graceful and proper to a degree of
tameness. They re as far beyond rs-
- preach' as e stately minuets of our
great grand parents or tne more bois
terous lancers and quadrilles of the
last generation. Who can not remem
ber a sheepish recital of a lancers long
ago when a perfectly nice grand parent
i "swung his lady" with more seal than
the dance demanded, yet we "not all
bad" people Are living to hear the talu.
Who started this? Is the natural in
quiry on all ' sides. The origin of tlte
danoe has been explained in every im
aginable way that the all too fertile
Imaginations of the press could otter
up Xov the purpose. The old polar bear
on his Ice floe in the frigid northlanl
Is doubtless the Innocent source of the
rag step. The two are Identical in
rythm, and In many cases natural
grace, It depends upon the avoirdupois
of the -bear. -The -Boston, a swift
double time version of, the waltz, must
be a witticism at the proverbial slow
ness and primness attributed to that
city. The Castle Walk had its incep
tion from the fertile brains of Mr. and
Mrs. Vernon Castle, who are leading
the professional world in the presen
tation of the new steps. i
"In far off Persia," says H. XI.
Topakyan, Persian consul-general in
new York, speaking of the Tan
go, in an Interview In the New
Orleans States when ho was visiting
in that city last month, the Shah's court
has": been-entertained all the way down
from the Arabian Nights by dancers
whq tripped the light fantastic in a
na of steps that were, very probably,
he points out, the forebears of the craze
of today."
Thus we are relieved from any sug
gestion that we are presenting some
thing original, as is the case with all
the. Yogi swarming schools of philo
sophy without number that claim u
new. thought, aome man from the orient
digs back in the archives of ancient
history and finds that Beers of long ago
ate it every morning for breakfast.
Mr. Topakyan further proved his herl-
GOTHAM BORED, NOT
BAD
IS DIAGNOSIS OF
ACTOR B. M'INTOSH
After Three Years' Absence He
Is Astonished at Changes
for Worse In Metropolis.
I
Miss Ctddle Wirt and Harry Gray, In poses of the Tango and Hesitation waltz.
FLOWERS'
and
i FLOWERING
; PLANTS
are dear to the heart of
every lady as
Xmas Presents
1 1 A large and varied dis-
play of everything
v beautiful in flowers
' FREE DELIVERY f
To every part of city.
CLARKE BROS.
. Morrison St, Near 5th
tage while sojourning In the southern
city by giving a skilled rendition of the
American prototype of the dance of
his fatherland, when a guest at a danoe
at the Italian gardens given by smart
society folk of the city.
Another point of especial . interest
relative to tango dances, is dress.
Women .will take up nothing without
due consideration of the all consuming
subject, of the dress, fitting the occasion.
informal, has been the keynote to Tlieo
Dansants. That could not have been
the women's doing. To look their pret
tiest on all and every occasion Is the
will of every womanly woman, and to
dance for an hour or so at a merry clip
In the heavy folds of a tailored suU,
scant though these folds be in most
cases,- is not conducive to her prettiest.
It must have been for the men, A bait to
enlist their Interest by touching a weak
spot The native shyness of the sex
recoils at being "dolled up."
The women have found a way out of
the dilemma. They never looked pret
tier than they do in some- of the varia
tions of tailored suits now to be seen.
The jacket removed, the skirt is
found to be somehow brought to be a
part of the bodice, a kind of evolution
of the old shirtwaist and Bklrt Is the
effect. Soft chiffons and laces in white
or cream with bits of the material of
the skirt Introduced In buttons or
pipings as trimming te the waist give
a charming effect. Winter sees thet-e
modes realized in velvets or cloths and
in spring and fall they are worked out
In the softer new moires, failles or
satin crepes.
Instead of the former muff or cor
sage milady must carry a nosegay when
out for tea. Quaint copies of the little
Old fashioned bouquets of long ago, ar
ranged in stiff holders with chiffon
frill. This fad carries with it the finer
thought and appreciation of the flowers
in not crushing the delicate blosson.s
in the folds of the girdle, where they
must so soon fade or mar.
Thes Dansants hats so far are "Just
hats," all kinds and descriptions of
afternoon head wear. No style peculiar
unto the tea danceg has as yet been
intorduced. The suppers, however,
are a very essential thought Some
have Seels and some have not, as best
ins tne necessities of the dancm
Dainty silver clasps have been made to
catch ribbon to the slippers not having
straps with which to lace them on securely.
WOMAN
era
HAS
E
ISLAND OF HER OWN
Her Houseboat, She Oc
cupies Forgotten Island
in Calumet River,
Chicago, Dec. 20. Wind swept For
gotten island lay desolate today in the
eddying current of the Calumet river.
For the first time in years not a soul
rested a foot on Its alluvial banks. One
would have thought that its soil had
seldom felt the tread of human feet,
had not a goat appeared on Its bleak
crett to peer haughtily down on a large
houseboat that churned and ground
against the black shore. And from this
lone, hairy inhabitant there came a
mournful bleat, akin to a wail.
Koigoten island, however, had a mis
tress. Four miles away, In the cell of
the South Chicago police station, she
sat. bitter, resentful, but humbled no
wise in spirit. Because she resented the
intrusion of hunters she has been cast
into a cell. Some assert that she is a
"squatter," but this she denies.
xaiUan Stevens Defies AIL
Lillian Btevens. gray haired and ruddy
faced, is the mistress of "Forgotten ls
and. . ; .
While waiting a hearing she bade de
fiance to thorn vhn .h.
.. ..w B..19 Mociia hi o
seeking to oust her from the five acres
of soil that stick out of the water off
tast U4th stret.
. 1110 ioiu.ua ana me
houseboat in which I have lived for 12
?.." ,a- w,Ul 1,nt ln " blue
eyes. i i fire tn! wnole p,BCfc Th- ia
land and I go together, The houseboat
will go, too. i have lived too long there
hmLeakT,way trom th t,e that I call
thT V-.1 have .aJettM on th -Una and
they have no right to take me from ltr
The goat and houseboat are all I have
in the world be'sWps the Island but
we're all fast friends.
"They claim I shot at men "Who tried
to get on the island," she continued.
"What if I did? It la my island and
they must keep away from there."
Miss Stevens assailed the police' for
the tactics they employed to arrest her.
She characterized If an offense against
the government ' "
"Not a policeman had the nerve to
come out there and serve a warrant on
me, as he should have done," she ex
claimed. "They sent word by a round
about source that they wanted' me to
come to the east side police station and
Identify some property that had been
stolen from me in the spring. When 'I
entered the station they read a warrant
to t and placed me in a cell.
"My houseboat Is the same as a ship,
and they should have sent a government
marshal after me, as I was on board the
vessel when I was hailed."
Policeman William Klelnman is one
who asserts that the feminine rules of
the Isle sent two loads of buckshot at
him when he endeavored to land on the
property.
Forgotten island was virtually un.
known when a houseboat steered by
Miss Seteven's aged father ground upon
Its marshy shore one dark night 12
years ago.
Father and daughter tied up the
clumsy craft to a big willow until
morning. Dawn disclosed the island.
Miss Stevens and her father decided to
Quality
Sorrii
j3
TANGO
WAISTS
in the
LATEST
PATTERNS
Made of sheer delicate lace or
chiffons. The full bloused ef
fect jives perfect freedom to
the arms. Prices $2.98 to $10.
F. P. Young Co.
Ladies' Haberdashers
328 MORRISON ST.,
Portland Hotel Building.
remain there and raise garden truck.
This gave them a living, which Miss
Stevens enlarged by embroidering In
signia for uniforms. Two years ago
her father died and she became posses
sor of the property.
"After father died trouble really
began," she said. "Certain , rich men
have been anxious to get the property
and. they knew 'they. couldn't because I
held a lease from the Chicago Title and
Trust company, . which still has five
more years to run. Now It is this means ,
they have adopted."
Several times since the settlement
of Forgotten island Miss Stevens has
rescued men from drowning. Only a
year ago she dragged' a drowning man
from rlcy water and held him for an
hour until assistance came. The man
died from exposure.
t .
New York. Dec. 20. The Wimble with
New Tork is not that it's bad. but that
it's bored. It makes large, convulsive
efforts to show Itself a good time, and
it falls down hard oh every trial. The
men on Fifth avenue and Broadway are
haggard, furtive and . old before their
time; the women are painted, artificial
caricatures of what they used to be. in
three years the happy, human bohe
mlanlsm, the insouciant youth and gay
ety of the Great White Way has been
swallowed up ln cabarets and tea t rot
ter les.
Now, If New Tork likes this sort of
thing, it may "go to It," for all Burr
Mcintosh cares. That genial combina
tion actor, editor, photographer and man
of the world positively and definitely
refuses to add the role of reformer to
the others in his repertoire; but he has
been away from here for three years,
and now that he is back he can't help
but note the changes. He said as much
today. '
"Gee!" he bursts forth, "you know,
when I was here, a few years . ago, , 1
used to like to walk up Fifth avenue,
because I could see crowds of the nic
est, prettiest, sweetest American girls
the daintiest girls to be found anywhere
ln the world.
"And now, what do you see there!
Girls wearing the most ridiculous
clothes, the narrow, slit skirts, the out
landish, absurd fashions, girls with
their hair brought down over their
cheeks, little school girls painted and
rouged and powdered up to look like old
women. And all the women painted and
powdered- and dressed like young girls.
There never was anything like it before!
"New York has simply gone crasy;
and if it wants to, all right! Lord knows,
I don't want to Interfere. But I can't
help seeing the changes between now
and three years. And, so far as I am
concerned, you can leave me out
"Take this turkey trotting. It can be
done in a proper way, of course, but I
don't believe the majority of persons
who dance it day and night are inspired
by any delight in the rhythm. It's Just
that they want the personal contact.
And their absorption Is a part of the
general craziness, the interest ln the
unwholesome and unhappy sides of
life."
"Understand, Fm not discussing the
question from a moral point of view,"
Mr. Mcintosh repeated. "What inter
ests me Is that the folks who chase
from cabaret to cabaret don't seem to
be getting any enjoyment out of their
program. They must lead that sort of
life because they want to; certainly no
body compels them. But if they are
happy, they don't look tho part.
"Everything they do has to be paid
for, and the price is going up all the
time."
"New "York men are crazier after the
dollar than ever before," be continued,
"They must have money to pay for all
the extravaganoes of the women, and
they will do anything,, sacrifice any
body, to get money. That's what gives
.Uem..JjeJjf.Jiaante1..wearx furtive; ex
pression sr- .They- are speedlng---up the
pace to the last notch and beyond, and
It's the pace that kills. I've seen more
young men with gray hairs since my re
turn to New-York than I've ever seen in
my life before. 'r-i'"v-
"Everybody's talking hard times and
the high cost of living;, yet I notice
they seem to find money for new clothes
and restaurant suppers. I read in, the
papers about men who earn 150 and 175
and $1-00 a month; but I'll be hanged If
I see how they can live at all, as living
is considered ln New York." ; , -1
' "And the wpmenT Are they asWmey ;
crasy as the men?" IV' . " '
"Every woman In New York with a 1
4 pretty t tinkle U crazy to ' eno W y It.", ha
said. . "And she Knows Just how to go to
work Just, the way to holdher 4resf
JusC t1iaVprpeirrav.a-.iit'Aer'.lag"c:T
''' "It's mighty-hard on women who have
been, happily married, up till recently.
For the husbands are Just as busy look
ing as the ankles are busy showing.
"Men are continually chasing around
with, the wives of other men, and their
own wives find consolation promptly. '
Everybody's doing It! ' . ' ,
"But it wasn't always like this, I can
tell you. I'm no octogenarian, but I re
member the time when honest friend
liness and loyalty and simplicity cov
ered a multitude of bohemlan fallings."
re for the Tango
CUppea from The Journal' December 9,
.1S13 . .: ::i . 5
The Tango down.
The tango gowh iu all its loveliness
and dancing possibilities has arrived.
! I saw it at. that exclusive. little shop
on Alder street at, the corner of Park.
The color combination Is' shell pink and
cream white. The waist ia a succession
of falls of the most delicate Bilk shadow
lace, with butterfly sleeves and lqw
neck outlined with, ptarls.- The skirt is
of crepe de chine draped with trouser
effect over a full -skirt of "accordion
pleated chiffon. A minaret skirt effect
and big flat bows of delicate pink rib
bon, completes this very fetching cos
tume especially designed for tango
dancing. - -
Clipped from The Journal December 11,
1913.
A Kase Embossed Chiffon Gown.
One of the most lovely dancing gowns
' I have seen was shown me at that lit
tle exclusive Alder street shop this
week. The foundation was white char
meuse with a fish tall train, while the
overdrape was white Paul.Polret crepe
embossed In softest maze colored velvet
A girdle of French blue velvet and a
broad flat bow of the same catching up
the draped skirt were the only touches
of decided color. The dainty little bod
Ice was outlined in rhlnestones.
Clipped from The Journal December 16,
1913.
Smart Trocks for Dees.
The wise woman who loves smart and
exclusive things, but whose purse is
somewhat lean, may now pick up some
really splendid bargains at that exclu
sive little Alder street shop. There are
some really beautiful dancing gowns ln
the new yellow that lovely, Illusive
cross between a yellow and old gold,
which has sprung lqto such recent popu
larity under the name of tango yellow.
These gowns are draped in delicate shad
ow lace, they have the "correct" drape
and are altogether adorable while the
prices are surprisingly low.
C.E.HolIidayCo.
THAT .EXCLUSIVE LIT
. TLB SHOP REFERRED TO
ON ALDER ST. IS AT THE
CORNER OF PARK.
FURTHER EVIDENCE OF
THE ATTRACTIONS AT
THE f
HOLUDAY SHOP
C.E. Holiday Co.
AOAZST TRB ,
ALDER ST. SHOP
ATTRACTS BTOTZCS -
FOR THE PROPER DRESS
FOR ALL OCCASIONS
CONSULT
C.E.HolIidayCo.
35S Alder Bt, Corner Vara.
-L.
Dress Clothes
For All Occasions
OUR SPECIALTY
Second Floor
Morgan Building
Spirella Corsets
MADE TO MEASURE-,
The flexible boning gives you
perfect freedom of motion.
Best Suited for tht Tango
. ' Not Sold In Stores (
MRS. E. C. GLENN, City Mgr.
407 Selling BUg.
Main 2374S
Dance
music
for the
Christmas
holidays
See that there's a Victrola in your home when Christ
mas morning rolls around, and you'll have splendid enter
tainment for yourself and for your friends when they
drop in.
Delightful vocal and instrumental numbers that every
5ne will enjoy listening to, and dance music galore.
The Victrola will be ypur musician and play all
the latest Tangos, Turkey Trots, Boston One -Step
Waltz, the Hesitation Waltz or any other dance.
Come in and hear some of the newest turkey trots and
tangos get acquainted with this wonderful instrument.
Victrolai, $15 to $250 Terms and delivery ar
ranged to suit you.
OPEN EVENINGS UNTIL CHRISTMAS
Morrison Street at Broadway. ' " ' "
Othsr Stores San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, Fresno, San Jose,
Lot. Angslet, San Diego and OtW Coast Cities.
Hand Made Gifts
are always appreciated..
Our shop is filled with
beautiful gifts. at Little
Cost.
Specials
for this week
Hand-Embroidered Sofa Pillows, values to $10,
special $3.98
Hand-Embroidered Guest Towels, size 15 by
27, special $1.39
Hand-Embroidered Bureau Sets, scarf and pin
cushions to match, special i . . . . . . i . . . . . j . i . $4.50
Hand-Embroidered Doilies, 6-inch size, set of
six, special .$1.25
Hand-Embroidered White Linen Centerpieces,
size 12 by 12, extra special. .'.39c to $1.39
Hand-Embroidered Initial Tie Racks for gentle
men, any letter, special $2.49
fififip With Every Purchase of 50c or Over
rKrrTen S & H Stamps. Bring Coupon.
1 liXil Void after December 24.
The Needlecraft Shop
384-388 YAMHILL STREET ; y
K
AFTER THE
DANSANTS
You Will Enjoy a Lunch at the
7.
RMNBOW
IheMusicW
:5:ou R ; 'Aftern
ING WITH MUCrfFAVOR - ' V
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