THE PEASANT BOY’S DREAM
A Christmas Allegory.
A peasant boy lay upon his cot
after his day’s hard labor, crying out
aganist the oppression which kept
him a slave. It was Christmas Eve
when all the world should have been
happy, but the lad, who lay shivering
with cold until he could not sleep,
knew no happiness. His heart was
filled with rebellion. Each breath
he drew was a curse against his. Mas
ters, for surely it seemed to him no
other life could be as bitter as was
his. If he could only brfeak this cruel
bond and find the happiness his Mas
ters had, but he was a slave. It was
his lot to sacrifice his life in bitter
ness__a life which he knew was fit
ted for nobler things. “Oh! God,” lie
breathed, “give me rest, give me hap
piness.’’ And as he spoke the words
he fell asleep and as he slept an an
gel stood before him, and looked upon
him with tender, pitying eyes. Who
art thou?” asked the boy. Ihe an
gel answered, “i am God's messenger,
come to grant thy wish. What is it
thou wouidst have?” And the boy
said, “I would have happiness.’’ “What
wouidst thou call happiness?” The
riches my Masters have.” “And thou
are sure that these will make thee
happy?” The -ongel’s voice was
strangely sad. “What more could
mortal wish? My Masters clothe
themselves in velvet garments. They
wear rich jewels and servants do their
bidding.” “And this is happiness?”
the angel questioned. “Aye, happi
ness enough,” the boy said simply.
“Thy boon is granted, ’ and the vision
faded. And the boy became a Prince;
he ruled great estates; his garments
were velvet; he wore rich jewels and
servants did his bidding; but he was
weighted down with cares and life
for him was a burden. The nobles
of the land made war against him.
Other princes struggled for his es
tate. On every side intrigue and de
ceit beset him. Even his life was en
dangered and he was ever weary. “Oh!
God,” he cried at last, “my burdens
are so he£vy. The peasants who la
bor in my fields call me harsh, but
even they are happier than I, and it
is because I am so tired that I am
harsh. Would that I were a peasant
boy, for, though the poor lad labors
hard, he can walk through thy fields
at will and enjoy the beautiful sun
light and I —l cannot leave my cas
tle without danger.” And then again
the angel stood before him and again
the boy queried, “Who art thou V’
And the angel answered him, “I am
God’s messenger. What is it thou
wouidst have?” And the prince an
swered, “I would have happiness.”
“But hast thou not happiness?” the
angel questioned. “For when I came
to thee, a peasant boy, and asked
thy wish, thou answered, ‘Give me
riches —rich garments and precious
jewels. These will make me happy.’
And then when I have given thee thy
wish, thou criest again, ‘Give me peace
and happiness.’ What wouidst thou
ask me now* to make the happy ? if
rich estates have failed to satisfy
thee, would thy peasant’s lot again
content thee? But I will listen once
more to thy plea. Speak then, what
is it thou wouidst have?” and the
boy answered, “It is but a little thing
and easy it will be for thee to grant
and if ’tis granted, I will be content,
yea, even happy, with my peasant’s
lot. The gift 1 ask is but the gilt of
sight.” “Thou hast thy sight,” the an
gel answered him. “Thine eyes are
keen.” “But I would see into the
hearts of men and understand their
trials and lift their burdens.” And
then the angel smiled a radiant smile
and spoke to him in tones of heaven
ly music. “Thy wish is granted, hap
piness is thine. For thou hast found
the one true ’ road to peace—the one
true road to joy and contentment.”
Christmas morn was dawning and
a faint streak of light sifted into the
cabin. The boy awoke. He lay upon
the same hard cot, within the same
lowly hut, but somehow his discon
tent was gone. He arose and start
ed across the fields and as he went he
whistled. When he met a companion
he smiled and the sorrow lined face
always smiled back at him, and when
he chanced to meet his lord riding
across the fields, he smiled so sweet
ly that the Master stopped and wish
ed him Merry Christmas. The boy
grew to manhood. He was still a
peasant, still labored hard each day
but he was always cheerful and al
ways he had a smile for his fellovt
man, whether he were Master or ser
vant. He was the friend of all the
people and all the people loved him
He was still a servant, but he had
ceased to be a slave and he was eve.
happy, for he had found the secret
of happiness—the secret which lies ir.
making others happy.
Stranger (to office boy): I wanna
see the editor.
Office Boy: What editor? We got
all kinds of editors around this joint,
nothin’ but editors; just like the Mexi
can army, all generals and no pri
vates.
I~have"your eyes examined?
BY AN EXPERT—COSTS NO
I? i
I Dr. J. the well known!
eyesight Specialists and Opticiai a
will be at Dr. Farrell’s office in |
Pittsboro, N. C., every fourth Tues-1
day and at Dr. Thomas’ office, Silei I
City, N. C., every fourth Thursday j
in each month. Headache relieved!
when caused by eye strain. When j
he fits you with glasses you have |
the satisfaction of knowng that!
they are correct. Make a note of |
the date and see him if your eyes j
are weak.
Next trip to Chatham County: j
Siler City:
Thursday, December 20th. |
a* 1 —- 1 " ■■ ■■ m ——..—„—.—.—
“THINKING”
If you think your are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don’t
; If you’d care to win but you think you
; can’t,
: It’s almost a cinch you won’t.
\
\ If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
; For out of the world we find
’ Success begins with a fellow’s will,
; It’s al lin the state of mind.
If you think you’re outclassed, you
> are;
; We’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself be
fore
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.
IT’S A WISE MAnTtHAT KNOWS
When Dempsey and Firpo faced
each other in the prize ring a few
weeks ago they were competitors and
they knew it, too.
When two contractors submit bids
for the erection of the same building
they are competitors usually.
When the makers of Old Crow vied
for sales with the makers of Old Tay
lor they thought they were competi
tors. That was a mistake. Their real
competitor was a proposition to pass
an amendment to the Constitution,
now known as the Eighteen Amend
ment.
Twenty years ago the competitors
of a manufacturer of oil lamps were
not other oil lamp makers; they were
the electric light companies.
In a similar way playing cards are
arrayed against modern dances,
phonographs against player pianos,
automobiles against real estate. The
obvious competitor is the fellow who
is making or selling the same kind
of thing you make or sell. More dan
gerous sometimes is a business you 1
never regard as a competitor. That
is the reason it is more dangerous.
You pay no attention to it.
How was the manufacturer of petti
coats ten years ago to know that by
1923 most women would not be wear
ing petticoats ?
Who was the carriage and. buggy
maker’s competitor when Roosevelt
was President?
What barber worried about safety'
razors during the Spanish-American j
war? Not one man in ten shaved ev
ery day anyhow. The man who could
not shave himself either had to go to
the barber or grow a crop of gosh
ding-it whiskers.
Yet there are men that took advan
tage of the very things that were put
ting their fellows out of business. The
safety razor remade barber shops. A
few years after Mr. Gillette’s hand
some face became familiar to the na
tion, barber shops took on a new ap
pearance.
The old-fashioned, gloomy, fly-rid
den hole-in-the-wall disappeared. The
colored barber retired to the back
ground. Instead came the spotless
white coat, the gleaming white chair,
the splendid mirrors, a fresh towel for
every customer and many mysterious
and interesting forms of cleanliness
and sanitation.
Are you old enough to remember
when the town butcher used to think
that Armour and Swift were his com
petitors? Driving a cow out to his
slaughter house once or twice a week
and driving back with chunks of warm
meat in a spring wagon was his idea
of being a butcher.
Those Chicago houses wouldn’t ever
run his business for him, he insisted.
Yet butchers today have better
meat and nicer business because they
have realized that this suspected com
petition was really service—service to
themselves and their customers.
The livery stable that became a gar
age knew what to do about competi
tion. Like the Japanese wrestler, it
threw its opponent with his own
strength—a very pretty trick for a
small man to use on a big man.
What is the country newspaper’s
competitor ?
To begin with, it probably isn’t the
fellow with another paper of the same
kind.
Roughly speaking it is anything
that is doing more to gain the interest
of the readers of that paper than the
editor is doing.
Sometimes this competitor is a farm
paper. Sometimes it’s a city daily.
Other times it is some of the hun
dreds of weekly and monthly maga
zines with their different departments
Even the telephone has played a part
in changing conditions under which
the editor works. Certainly the auto
mobile has; so also have the moving
pictures and the illustrated publica
tions.
Our competitor, any man’s competi
tor, is the person or thing that gives
your customers something they want
more than the thing you have to give
them.
You must hold people’s interest.
Hold their interest and you hold their
affection, you hold their trade, you
.hold their admiration.
Lose their interest and one by one
you lose all these other things.
Everything that lives and grows
must have a reason for its existence.
YOUR DOLLAR
From the Thrift Magazine.
Don’t expect impossibilities of your
dollar.
It can’t turn handsprings or do
tricks of any kind.
It’s just a dollar. Nothing less;
nothing more.
It will be your tireless slave, your
constant coworker, your unswerving
friend.
It neither eats nor sleeps, but
works on for you twenty-four hours a
day, including Sundays and holidays.
It is prosaic and ponderous, but its
patient, plodding industry makes it
the ruler of the destinies of nations.
It never has the blues, a cold in the
head, nor an attack of temperament.
It is capable of earning in an hon
est way just a few pennies a year. It
will do this consistently and steadily,
but if you try to drive it to a greater
effort you are most apt to find it sud
denly transferred to wiser hands.
No man has ever been smart enough
* to fool his dollar very long.
FARMER GOT NEW?
BEFORE CITY FOLK
THIS TIME, BY RADIO
Since radio started to equalize
things in the matter of keeping
folks posted as to what’s going on,
farmers have not only been placed
on the same footing with city
dwellers, but on occasion they
have even “beat ’em to it.” One
such case occurred on the evening
of July 4, when a party of city
men, returning from an automobile
trip in the Adirondacks, began to
speculate on how the Dempsey-
Gibbons prize fight resulted.
Passing a farm and noticing that
there was a radio antenna
stretched between the house and
the barn, they stopped to inquire if
any news had been received. The
farmer was found just coming in
from the barn. He listened to
their question calmly, and imme
diately answered: “Dempsey won
on points.”
He had heard the report of the
fight as broadcast by WGY, the
General Electric Company’s sta
tion at Schenectady, N. Y. —and he
had got the news as quickly as
anyone in the United States. Even
the metropolitan newspaper oifices
did not have it any sooner.
BEST ENERGY IS
POWER LINE KIND
Agricultural Engineer Says This
Sort Gives Farms Volume of
Power Needed.
IS FLEXIBLE SERVICE, TOO
Steadily the trend of electrical de
velopment in the United States is
reaching out to embrace the an
electrified rural sections and the great
farming areas, according to C. A.
Atherton, chairman of the power lines
committee of the American Society of
Agricultural Engineers. Mr. Atherton,
who is in the engineering department
of the General Electric Company’s Na
tional Lamp Works, is positive that
the various difficulties now retarding
the extension of electric transmission
lines into farming districts by elec
tric light and power companies will bp
successfully met.
“American farms,” he said, follow
ing the recent annual convention cf
the National Electric Light Associa
tion, “are now using three hundred
thousand isolated electric light and
power plants. Such plants will proba
bly always be used in the more re
mote districts. But it is only natural
that what the farmer really wants is
the convenient, flexible and less limit
ed service from the big city power
houses.
Farming a Big Industry
“The electrical interests themselves
want to know how far electricity can
be economically carried into the rural
districts. Farming is the biggest and
most important industry in every
country. Not only does it employ
more people, but it uses more power
than any other. It is comparable in
size with general manufacturing of
all commodities.
“Undoubtedly the chief factors In
creating the present strong demand
for electricity on the farm are the
growing realization of the labor sav
ing which may be effected for the far
mer’s wife and a newly awakened
pride in having the most up-to-date
living conditions. Yet the part of
electricity in the industry of agricul
ture Is by no means small, only ihere
must be adequate farm machinery for
electrical application.
“Electrified farm machinery must
be quite different from the heavy
farm machinery of the past, intended
for use a few hours each year, and
then allowed to stand without atten
tion until the next season. It must be
made small, efficient, probably operat
ing at a higher speed, and must be au
tomatic.
Division of the Energy
“It must be arranged so that each
morning the raw material may be ted
In, a switch turned and without mors
attention the finished material piled
or stored automatically. An entire
process with such a machine might
eonsume several weeks, demanding a
quarter horsepower to do what for
merly took four or five men and a six
ty horsepower steam engine two days
to do.
“But sixty horsepower, two days a
year, is very impractical and unprofit
able on an electrical line, whereas
eight weeks of a quarter horsepower
is quite practical and may be made a
profitable part of the producing equip
ment of the farm.”
Better Thap the Mine Mule
In a Wyom'ng coal mine there is an
tlectrical mine locomotive that is still
going strong after 27 years. It was
built by the Thomson-Houston Elec
trie Company, predecessors of the
General Electric Company, and has
Mauled 3,712,500 tons of coal an aver
age of 1.5 miles. Many a mule has
gone to a quiet grave in that period,
for mules may come and mules may
go, but an electric locomotive goes all
the time. . L . ,
THE AGE OF WONDERS.
We are living in the age of won
ders. Where ten years ago folks
would scoff at a new idea and say,
“Impossible,” they now consider it
seriously and admit, “Well, that may
jbe done. Nothing is really impossi-
I ble.”
Especially does this seem true of
the wireless. The latest discovered
use ,of wireless is its ability to make
the deaf hear. Many people who have
never heard any sound, have listened
to music and the human voice for the
first time in their lives, because the
| ear drums were effected by the finer
I vibrations of wireless when the ordin
ary tuning fork vibration made no im
| pression.
In a most remarkable book, “A
j Dweller on Two Planets,” dictated by
Phylos, one who lived on this earth
12,000 years ago, through the meduim
of automatic writing, we learn that
wireless was developed beyond our
present conception by a civilization far
superior to the generation of our day.
In ancient Atlantis an instrument call
ed the ‘‘naim” enabled one to see dis
tant events as they transpired and
| to talk face to face with friends, tho’
thousands of miles separated their
! physical bodies.
We are about to rediscover this re
markable wireless mirror. At the
present time Edouard Belin, distin
guished French scientist, is working
on an invention which he calls the
telephoto device, that when perfected
will equal the “naim”, product of a
forgotten civilization.
Nicola Tesla, American electrical
wizard, is also experimenting along
the same line and says that the means
of seeing by wireless as well as hear
ing can and will be accomplished in
a short time.
Imagine sitting in your home and
seeing some world event take place
as vividly as if you were actually
present, even to hearing of the things
that transpire. Distance is no bar
rier. The device will work at a dis
tance of five thousand miles as easily
as five miles. The vibrations will pass
through the earth’s surface unbroken.
This is a subject which would stand
columns of writing and not decrease
in interest. We are led to make an
other worn expression at the future
possibilities of our world today, “Will
wonders never cease?”
THE MAN WORTH WHILE
It is easy enough to be pleasant
When life flows by like a song,
but the man worth while is the one
who can smile
When everything goes dead wrong.
“COLD IN THE HEAD”
is an acute attack of Nasal Catarrh.
Those subject to frequent “colds” are
generally in a “run down” condition.
HALL’S CATARRH MEDICINE is {
Treatment consisting of an Ointment, tc
be used locally, and a Tonic, which acts
Quickly through the Blood on the Mu
cous Surfaces, building up the System,
and making you less liable to “colds.”
Sold by druggists for over 40 Tears.
V. J. Cheney & Co., Toledo, O.
f i 1
a
j
Sy - ii ft v* Wmmm
jwjMH
' * 1 '***
YOUR
DAILY
*
ORDER
We carry a complete line of
staple and fancy groceries—
all the seasonable fruits and
vegetables—everything that’s ,
good to eat and at the right
price too.
Our splendid stock and best
of service will give j r ou satis
faction and we solicit a por
tion of your trade. We are j
centrally located and have ev- I
ery facility of serving you
promptly.
Quality is our best asset
and low prices are a big con- I
sideration. Just call around
and let us convince you that j
we can serve you best.
CECIL H.
LINDLEY,
Pure Food Grocer
Blair Hotel Pittsboro
!
Chimes ’n* Everything.
A $20,000 hearse, decorated with
thirty-five wooden angels and equip
ped with chimes and amplifier to carry
IS PURE SILK HOSIERY .('li
j| WEARS LOMO.it |j|
1 For Active Girls |
We recommend Humming $
m Bird Silk Hose. Pure in ||
fabric and dye, and with M
m extra elastic double-lisle I||
tops, lisle heels and toes, (jj
ml these fine hose give ex- *
H ceptional wear. We have ||
1 EAGLE Nodm
For Sale at your Dealer Made in five grades
ASK FOR THE YELLOW PENCIL WITH THE RED BAND
EAGLE MIKADO
EAGLE PENCIL COMPANY, NEW YORK
SAFETY STRENGTH 1
SERVICE 1
The combination that a man demands before entrusting
his hard-earned money to any Bank. The man who places
a part of his income in Savings Account here has no fear
over its safety. The same courteous, efficient service
awaits the small depositors as well as the larger ones.
Savings and Time Certificates here earn 4 percent.
BANK OF PITTSBORO I
PITTSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA.
Capital, Surplus and Profits, $35,000.00
A. H. London, Pres., J. L. Griffin, Cashier, W. L. Farrell,
. Assistant Cashier.
SChristmasßook |
book you can give yourself or your family for ||
CHRISTMAS If
IS A BANK BOOK.
easurb comes from reading it day by day as M
grows, because you realize how it is making jM,
id more— «|
INDEPENDENT. |E
by adding four per cent interest, so even (hi
do start with a small amount it soon grows
reciable sum. * p|
* * *'****' |j|
i Chatham Bank I
3SON, President. J. J. JENKINS, Cashier. (|
W. A. Teague, vice President. [K|
Y, NORTH CAROLINA. ||
the music to the • .
on New York’s East Side 6 ’ a S i n Use
last week Capper’s Weekly tdd ? Rly
erals were getting simpler. d fun '