Banning Fun: New Year’s Eve, 1913
On January 1, 2020 by ElyseIn the waning weeks of 1913, Carter Harrison IV, mayor of a city renowned for its vices, was determined to stamp all the merriment out of Chicago’s New Year’s celebrations:













Late-night drinking and tango dancing and hat tickling, oh my! I hadn’t heard of a hat tickler, but since it’s forbidden, I’ve never wanted an accessory more in my life—except for a knee watch.
Some applauded the mayor’s directives:




However, coming from a city that had recently issued a bestselling, 400-page report—The Social Evil in Chicago—detailing problems far more serious than tango dancing, most reacted to the proclamations just as you’d expect:












So, how did this New Year’s Eve lid work out for Mayor Harrison and carousing Chicagoans?




With a “sane” New Year’s ordered by the police, a $250,000 flood of champagne turned on by the big restaurants and a watch night service in almost every church, Chicagoans had their choice of celebrations tonight. Horns, confetti and ticklers were forbidden by mayor Harrison, but the street crowds had plenty of noise producers and were not noticeably subdued by the regulations. . .
The restaurant gayety showed the influence of the widespread contagion of the tango and other new dances. There was less noise and less breakage, it was said, but more singing and dancing than ever before. . .
An army of 250 church workers was enlisted by one law-enforcement league to take evidence of violations of the closing act. Restaurant keepers, notified of this, did not make any change in their arrangements.
– The Salt Lake Tribune, January 1, 1914




Best wishes for a happy, healthy, hat-tickling New Year!
Did you click through Facebook or Twitter? We got lucky—don’t let social media algorithms keep you from seeing a post! Save yourself a click, and subscribe to have stories delivered to your inbox as soon as they’re published.
Disclaimer: The modern era is far from the first to grapple with rampant “fake news.” As I am neither a historian nor journalist, I make no claims about the accuracy or lack thereof of the above historical articles. I assert only that they make for a good story.
Share this:
- Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
2 comments
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Recent Posts
Subscribe to the Blog via Email
Search
Archives
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
About This Blog
Welcome to Second Glance History! This blog seeks to uncover the people and the stories forgotten by history and give them another read through a modern lens. Join me every week as we examine the differences that divide and the common threads that connect the then to the now.
Hi Elyse:
Happy New Year! I loved your story. And I’m heartened to see that, despite the Mayor’s efforts to dampen the New Year’s Eve spirit in Chicago, the people took matters into their own hands and had a rip-roaring good time!! I’m also surprised at how many newspapers from so many different parts of the country were interested in what Chicago was going to do on New Year’s Eve.
Have a great 2020 and keep writing these great stories. I love reading them.
Joe
Thank you for starting my year off with such a nice comment! I’m so glad you enjoyed it–I too always marvel at the diversity of national and especially international stories the newspapers in even the smallest towns covered. They make for great source material for this upcoming year!
Hope you had a merrier New Year’s Eve than the mayor, and wishing you and your family all the best in 2020!