BADIN BULLETIN
VOL. Ill
DECEMBER, 1920
No. 3
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OF GENERAL INTEREST
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CHRISTMAS, NINETEEN-TWENTY
I Didn’t Know That—Did You?
The First Genuine Christmas in Eight Years
Four years ago this month Christmas ties. Nevertheless the different nations
, , . „ --i- tn r3tnrn to the Old-
was celebrated, but not very joyfully,
S'Hd only in America and three or four
other countries. You remember tnai the
World War was furiously raging in 1916;
that we were still neutral, yet question
ing ourselves as to when we would enter the lacK oi "
» fpstival this holiday whicl^ nas oeen
the greatest conflict in the history of generation to gen
tile worW. In 1917, eyen fewer countries mythical and traditional
entered into Christmas festivities; a
war-stricken world felt no Christmas
joy while the Hun was knocking down
the barriers of civilization. Our minds
turned to the boys in the trenches, a,nd
We sent thousands of Christmas boxes
“over there” Two million men and
boys were clothed in khaki, residing in
camps and cantonments spread all over
the continental United States. They
spent' theif, Christmas in dreary bar
racks, in colder tents, some under South
ern skies, more under the cold, azure
canopy of the Northern heavens. The
great majority were unable to be at
were not ready to return to the old-
fashioned Christmas. And the profiteer,
with his merciless gouging, was still
boosting his prices.
Last year there were many causes for
the lack of proper observance of this
festival, this holiday whicl> has been
handed down from generation to gen
eration with its mythical and traditional
stories and customs. The world had
not yet recovered from the four years
of carnage and destruction; the mind of
the people was not yet in the spiritual
mood which one associates with the
birthday of Christ. Reaction, which his
tory tells us follows all wars, had set
in—people were participating in a forced
gaiety after their long period of inhibi
tion. Wages and salaries had almost
reached their peak; money was inflated
so that high wages were essential in
order to meet the continual rise in the
cost of living. People were buying on
great majority were unable to be at ^^travagant scale—it was a seller’s
home for the holidays, so they, too, had ^nder such conditions, Christ-
market. Under such conditions, Christ
mas could not naturally be observed in
the true Christmas fashion.
The year nineteen-twenty is now al
most gone, and we still find the world
undergoing its much needed reconstruc
tion. Four years is a long time it is
to be considered. In truth, the Christ
nias of 1917 was not a time for costly
presents, extravagant buying, or hilari
ous celebration.
December, 1918, found the world freed
from the threat of the Hun—that fact
alone being sufficient cause for joy "the life of a child, but think
throughout the civilized countries. The life of an
feeling of oppression and depression dis- rpjjg fij.gt half of 1920 was a con-
appeared, giving place to one of relief, ^f jgig; prices kept rising,
b;utL^ not tof lightheartedness. , /Christ- demand, profiteer-
mas came too soon that year, for the ^ fg^ ^ise
Armistice had not been signed more than prepare for the inevit-
six weeks, and many a home was sad- reaction in the economic world, and
dened by the absence, for eternity, of ^ heeded the old maxim, “In time of
brother, son, sweetheart, or father. prepare for famine.” Early Fall
Christmas cheer did permeate into every symptoms of the expected
section of the country; we were not en
gaged overseas quite long enough to
suffer an unusually heavy list of casual-
symptoms of the expected
change—prices were reduced, noticeably
{Continued on Page 4)
Origin of “Uncle Sam”
In the war of 1812, between this
country and Great Britain, Robert An
derson, of New York, purchased in
Troy, N. Y., a large amount of pork
for the American Army. It was in
spected by Samuel Wilson, who was
popularly known as “Uncle Sam,” The
barrels of pork were^ marked “E. A.,
U. S.” the lettering being done by a
facetious employee of Mr. Wilson. When
asked by fellow-workmen the meaning
of the mark (for letters U. S., for United
States, were then almost entirely new
to them), he said he did not know,
unless it meant “Elbert Anderson and
Uncle Sam,” alluding to Uncle Sam Wil
son. The joke took among the work
men, and rapidly gained favor, until it
penetrated and was recognized in every
part of the country.
It is related of an English monarch,
very fond of a loin of beef, that on a
day a particularly fine piece was being
served him he was fain to draw out
his sword and in the manner of con-
forth be nominated in my kingdom!”
“O loin of beef, thou art worthy the
name Sir Loin, and so shalt thou hence
forth be nominated in my kingdom!’’
Or take the word “panic,” now gen
erally used in connection with the stock
market. It is a far cry from Wall Street
to Pan of old Hellas. This god of nature,
horned and cloven-footed, was said to
lurk in forest fastnesses, that he might
pounce for sport on passers-by to see
them start affrighted at his appearance.
So one who thought he had beheld an
apparition was said to have had a
panic.
The strongest wind ever measured in-
strumentally was one of one hundred and
e;ghty-six miles an hour, recorded by
the anemometer on Mount Washington,
in the White Mountains, January 11,
{Continued on Pi>ge 5)