E SMITHFIELO HERALD I
!i?ho i Every Tuesday and Friday.
BEATY & LASSITER
Smithfield. N. C.
Editors and Proprietor**,
Cash in Advance.
RATES OF SUBSCRIPTION:
Yeai $1.50
U .Months, f 1.00
Months, .75
Months, .40
Entered at the Post Office ut Smith
field, Johnston County, N. C., as
Second-class Matter.
T
On account of the recent bad weath
er the War Savings Stamps campaign
has been delayed, but soon after the
holidays it will open up in earnest.
THE ANGELS AND SHEI'HEKDS.
And there were in the same country
shepherds abiding in the field, keeping
watch over their flock by night. And,
lo, the angel of the Lord came upon
them, and the glory of the Lord shone
round about them: and they were sore
afraid. And the angel said unto them,
Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be
to all people. For unto you is born
this day in the city of David a Savior,
which is Christ the Lord. And this
shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find
the babe wrapped in swaddling
clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the
angel a multitude of the heavenly host
praising God, and saying,
?"Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, good will to
ward men."
And it came to pass, as the angels
were gone away from them into
heaven, the shepherds said one to an
other, Let us now go even unto Beth
lehem, and see this thing which is
come to pass, which the Lord hath
made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and
found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe
lying in a mnnger. And when they
had seen it, they made known abroad
the saying which was told them con
cerning this child. And they all that
heard it wondered at those things
which were told them by the sheperds.
But Mary kept all these things, and
pondered them in her heart. And the
sheperds returned, glorifying and
praising God for all the things that
they had heard and seen, as it was
told unto them. ? Luke, 2: 8-20.
SANTA CLAUS LIVES.
I x ? \
Nearly twenty years ago, a little
girl, Virginia O'Hanlon, eight years
old, evidenced some doubt of the
existenco of the Santa Claus, who
makes all children so happy on Christ
mas Day.
Virginia was so skeptical that she
wrote the New York Sun to find out
if there was any truth in the Santa
Claus story. The Sun answered her.
The Sun then was in charge of Mr.
Charles A. Dana, and Mr. Frank P.
Church was the author of the Sun's
reply which was printed on September
21, 181)7. Following is the editorial*
"We take pleasure in answering, at
once and thus prominently, the com
munication below, expressing at the
same time our great gratification that
its faithful author is numbered among
the friends of the Sun:
"Dear Editor: I am eight years old
Some of my little friends say there
is no Santa Claus. Papa says, 'If you
see it in The Sun, it's so.' Please tell
me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?
"VIRGINIA O'HANLON.
"Virginia, your little friends are
wrong. They have been affected by
the skepticism of a skeptical age.
They do not believe except they see.
They think that nothing can be which
is not comprehensible by their little
minds. All minds, Virginia, whether
they be men's or children's, are little,
jln this great universe of our man is
i a mere insect, r.n ant, in his intellect, |
las compared with the boundless world
ibout him, us measured by the in
telligence capable of grasping the
whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa
Claus. He exists as certainly as love1
and generosity end devotion exist, and
j you know that they abound and give
to your life its highest beauty and joy.
Alas! how dreary would be the world
if there were no Santa Claus. There
would be no childrenlike faith then, no
poetry, no romrnce to make tolerable
this existence. We should have no
enjoyment, except in sense and sight.
The eternal light with which child
hood filled the world would be extin
guished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You
might as well not believe in faries!
You might pet your papa to hire men
to watch in all the chimneys on Christ
mas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but
even if they did not Santa Claus
coming down, what woi^ld th^t prove?
Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is
no sign that there is no Santa Tlaus.
The most real things in the world are
those that neither children nor men
can see. Did you ever see fairies
dancirfg on the lawn? Of course not,
but that's no proof that they are not
there. Nobody can conceive or im
agine all the wonders there are unseen
and unseeable in the world.
You might tear apart the baby's
rattle and see what makes the noise
inside, but there is a veil covering the
unseen world which jiot the strongest
man, nor even the united strength of
faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance,
can push aside that curtain and view
and picture the supernal beauty and
glory beyond. Is it all real ? Ah,
Virginia, in all this world there is
nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank God ho
lives, and he lives forever. A thous
and years from now, Virginia, nay,
ten times ten thousand years from
now, he will continue to make glad
the heart of childhood.
LETTER FORM MR. A. VERMONT. '
Foi mer Smithfield School Man Writes
of the Fine Coasting in the Moun
tain City. Tells of AsheviU's Wood
Yard and the I'rice of Wood.
Dear Mr. Editor:
I am looking out from my stiidy
window on the glory of the snow-cov
ered mountains, they are inexpressi
bly beautiful. The sun.is just setting
and the skies truly "declare the glory
of Clod." A man should have an in
different soul not to be moved by the
splendor of it all. One must see to
appreciate the greatness of this coun
try. -
Shall I tell you that the boys and
girls enjoy the snow and the ice?
The other night they invited us to a
sledding, or coasting party. It was
an unusual experience and well worth
the undertaking. There is a street
named Flint, which is all purposes
a hill-hide some three or four blocks
long, a?phalt-paved and slick as glass.
The game of sledding or coasting is
simple. You take your sled, go to
the top of the street, lie down on your
stomach on your coaster, and shoot
the chute. There were some forty of
us, school-folks, who went, and of all
the fun that is coming to mortals,
this was the greatest. It was after
supper, the street had been roped off
for the benefit of the coasters, and
soon the exhilirating rides began. I
first looked at the scene. It seemed
that big gigantic bugs were shooting
down the street, it was certainly
weird. Several of the students invited
me to a "chute", and I thoroughly en
joyed the Wie healthful game.
And we were not the only ones, for
it seemed that a good crowd of Ashe
ville people had come to enjoy the fun.
I am beginning to understand now
why this country is considered a
health resort in winter. This and
other out-of-door ammusements are
unquestionably attracting folks from
everywhere.
All is not fun, however, in this
fine city. At present* we are, like
you all in Johnston County, hard at
work on the things that will help us
win the war. The other day the
Seniors of our High School pledged
themselves not to give or receive
Christmas presents except in their
family circle. Their savings go to the
Red Cross. And it is interesting to
see the boys and girls come to school
all eager to help in this great cause.
All the teachers have given their
silent consent to knitting on class,
and whilst I explain the lessons, the
girls ar? knitting sweaters, helmets,
etc. In the study-halls the same cus
tom obtains. Every spare moment is
spent to help along our soldier boys.
And right here, Mr. Editor, may 1
congradulate the friends of Johnston
County for the magnificent work they
are doing along the same lines. I am
especially proud of the last issue of
The Herald. It rung absolutely clear
and true on all the great issues of the
war. Johnston is awakening to the
importance of the task before us, and
it will be a sweet remembrance in
years to come to knfiw thst your
paper and the county have done their
best in this time and day. You are de
serving the praise, Mr. Editor, of
every American patriot, and wtth you
all, they should be praised who give
of tlmir time and their energy to the
great cause.
My letter may be long, still there is
one more thing that I wish to tell
about. Asiieville has a wood-yard and
this seems to be a blessing to the peo
ple. We can buy no pine, but we get
very good oak and other hard wood
for $5.50 a cord. This wood is deliver
ed to us for that price in stove length.
I discussed this the other day with a
farmer who usually brings wood to
town; he said he liked it. He can take
his wagon to the City-wood-yard and
get his pay at once .He is sure of a
market for his wood, he does not have
to drive about town looking for a cus
tomer, and we ourselves do not depend
on the farmers. This municipal wood
yard is such a success that I believe
it will stay after the war.
I must close. Several of the boys
have asked me to go with them to the
lake a* Grove Park Inn. They are all
provided with skates and are in for
a fine time. There is more in teach
ing than the mere imparting of in
formation from books, and therefore
I am going with the boys. Can you
think of a finer evening than this out
of-doors afternoon on one of the pret
tiest spots in America?
With very best wishes for Christ
mas to you and your readers, a Christ
mas hallowed with the great idea of
Service to our Country, I am very
truly yours,
A. VERMONT.
Asheville, N. C., Dec. 17, 1917.
War News in Brief.
The Austro-Germans have renewed
in great strength their effort to pierce
the Italian line and debouch upon the
plains of Vcnetia in the region of Bas
sano. In fierce fighting around Mon
teaslone in which the enemy again
I * **
suffered severe losses, and several
times was repulsed, reinforcements in
large numbers were brought up and
the Italians were compelled to give
ground. The fighting lasted through
out Tuesday and, according to the
German war office, more than 2,000
! Italians were made prisoner.
Likewise, along the southern reaches
of the Piave river, the invaders and
the Italians are engaged in heavy
fighting. A crossing of the Old Piave
on pontoon bridge was successfully
carried out by one enemy detachment,
but later the Italians drow back the
Teutons to the water's edge.
The fighting on the other fronts still
remains below normal, although the
artillery duels on various sectors con
tinue Intense. The artillery activity
between the French and Germans in
Champagne and in the mountainous
regions near the Swiss border is in
creasing in volume, probably fore
casting infantry attacks at an early
Itfatai
Again the losses to British shipping
through mines or submarines shows
a decrease. According to the weekly
statement of the British admiralty
seventeen merchantmen were sent to
the bottom last week as compared
with twenty-one the previous week.
French shipping suffered only the
loss of one vessel during the week and
this a small one of less than 1,600
tons.
An enemy submarine, however, has
torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterran
ean Sea the old French cruiser Cha
teaurenault, which was being used as
a transport. The submarine which
fired the fatal shot was itself de
stroyed. The soldiers aboard the
Chateaurenault were saved, but ten
members of the crew of the vessel
were lost.
Little material damage was done by
the Germans in Tuesday night's air
raid over London, Essex and Kent.
Ten persons were killed in London and
seventy injured. Outside the capital
five persons were wounded. One ene
my machine was brought down and
another believed to have been de
stroyed.
Another Spanish steamer, the No
viembre, has been torpedoed without
warning by a Teutonic allied subma
rine. ? Associated Press War Sum
mary for Wednesday.
a White stock hog about
two years old was taken up by me
about a week ago. Owner can get
? him by paying expense of advertise
ment and other troubles. M. M.
Woodall, Pine Level, Route No. 1.
Combs, Brushes, Hair Receivers, Nail File?, Shoe Batterers, Towder Boxes, Miners,
Picture Frames, and in fact everything for your Ladies diesser in white ware.
Large and varied line of exquisite Foreign and Domestic Perfumes.
Sewing bags, containing articles for sewir.g in every way with the fingers.
\
Manicure Sets
??????I i i? hi? ?? ????!? ? mmmmamm* *<???
Pearl and white
Ivory from
$1.25 to $10
Fountain Pens
a plenty of thern
from
$1 up
Eastman Kodaks
The Standard
of the
WORLD
/
Christmas Candles ?
3 different sizes.
* A
All the leading
brands of good
Cigars.
ON THE SQUARE
v
SMITHFIFLD, N. C.