THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1938 Page 2 THE WAYNESVILLE MOUNTAINEER The Mountaineer Published By n THE WAYNESVILLE PRINTING CO. Main Street Phone 137 Wayneaville, North Carolina The County Seat Of Haywood County W. CURTIS IiUSS Edito,r MRS HILDA WAY GWYN Associate Ed-tor W. Curtis Russ and Marion T. Bridges, Publishers ""TulTsHED' EVERY THURSDAY ' "" SUBSCRIPTION RATES 3ne Year, la Haywood County $1-50 Six Months, In Haywood County 75c One Year, Outside Haywood County 2.00 AH Subscriptions Payable in Advance Fntdrt" post offic At Wayneayille. NO ftjoond Cla8 MM mUrT provided under the Art of March 8. lt7, November ''! Obituary notices, resolutions of respect, cnta of nk. ..id lHJu! oi I entertainment, for profit, wiU be cWrf f,,r at Uie rule of one oaci pw North Carolina i ' PS ESS ASSOCIATION' THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1938 THE CHRISTMAS TREE It is said that the first Christmas tree was placed in the home of Martin Luther, of Ger many. One Christmas eve, so the story goes, Luther went for a walk through the country side. New wnow had fallen, the moon was shin ing brightly, and he decided he would like to take some of the beauty into his home to help celebrate Christmas. He returned to his home for an axe, and he and his wife trudged into the moonlit forest. He cut the tree and after placing it in their nome, put candles, upon" the branches, bits of colored paper, apples and fruits and asked the neighbors in to see the tree. They also went nto the forest and cut trees and decorated T.hem in their homes, thus establishing the custom. In a few years the custom spread into France, and the Scandinavian countries. Queen Victoria is said to have started the custom in England, wihere it was a great luxury, as there are not' the great forests that were in other countries. The Christmas tree was first placed in American homes by German immigrants and the custom so much thought of today has been generally adopted. A beautiful legend of Anglo Saxon origin claims that Saint Hon i face in the midst of a crowd of converts, cut down a giant oak tree which had 'been an object of worship by the Druids. As the blade of the axe circled his head and the chips flew in every direction, a whirl wind passed through the forest twisting the tree from its roots, then laid it down upon the earth groaning. A tiny young fir tiee was standing near, its evergreen spires pointing towards the stars. Saint Boniface dropped the axe and turned to the people and said, "This little tree, the young child of the forest shall be your holy tree to night. It is the sign of endless life, for its leaves are ever green. See how it points to ward Heaven. Let this be called the tree of the Christ Child. Gather around it. It will shelter no deeds of blood, but only loving gifts and rites of ihuman kindness," CONTROL REJECTED It seemed rather inconsistent, or perhaps it is the other way round, that Kentucky, which produces the bulk of Burley tobacco, should have voted in favor of government control for the 1939 market on Saturday and that other states not so largely engaged in the growing of this particular .-variety of the golden weed, should have rejected it. Is it that the growers of Kentucky in their larger and wider experience know best, the merits of crop control, and that the other states still have much to learn alwut the situation? As this 'goes to press the officials of the department of Agriculture hold little hope that the remaining returns will give the necessary margin. While the majority of the Haywood grow ers voted for control, a two thirds vote was re quired and the measure was defeated locally. Why did the farmers reject the contin uance of a method which had been signally suc cessful, and had given them a good cash crop at a fair price? " What will be the result? Will staggering surpluses and starvation prices take the place of control? Will it be necessary for the farm ers to resort to some independent defensive or ganization to save themselves? Or will it be necessary that they cry out for help from the government again? We just wonder. M . . THE COMMISSIONERS ATTACK THE RABIES SITUATION The county board of commissioners are to be highly commended for their recent action regarding the rabies situation in Haywood County. When we consider that around 100 persons in the county had to take treatment since last June, at a cost of more than $2,000 and that livestock totaling a value of more than $2,500 has had to be killed, the question becomes not only a grave one concerning health and life, but also of economic importance. The time had arrived for definite action to be taken for the protection of society and property, and the board of commissioners has lost no time in starting at the root of the matter with remedial measures. It is to be hoped that some plan will be worked out whereby the inspectors in each township, whose first responsibility it is to see that all dogs in their vicinity are vaccinated, can have some assurance of financial support or assistance from the county, in order that the work will not be retarded, now that the initial steps have been taken. "IS THERE A SANTA CLAUS?" The following was written by Francis P. Church and was first published in the New" York Sun in 1897. It has become a Christmas classic, that does not grow old with the passing of time, as it answers the eternal question of childhood: "We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication be low, expressing at the same time our great sat isfacton 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? 115 West Ninety-fifth Street 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 what 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 chil dren's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole truth and knowledge. "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give our life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginia. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance, to make tolerable this existence. We would have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. "Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders that are seen and unseeable in the world. - "You may tear apart the Daby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not even the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, ro mance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture Iht supernal beauty and glory beyond. Ijs it all leal? Ah, Virginia, in all this world tr.ere is nothing else real and abiding. "No Santa Claus '. Thank God he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of child hood." " -'-:"-' THE OLD HOME TOWN By STANLEY WATCH YOUR SPEED We hate to be a joy killer, but since every Christmas brings some tragic story of death on the highways, and with the extra holiday rush of traffic a certainty, one should begin to slow down a bit as a safe precautionary meas ure. . " i With no intent of skimming the cream from your Christmas happiness we enter this merely as a warning. Let us keep the good record set for Southern cities, which now stands at 33 per cent lower than the record for 1937. For with more cars on the highways, the record for 1938 has evidently been brought about by a more careful driving on the part of the drivers, and additional precaution by the pedestrians. 'yoo know what? Vou feuuers MIVT CALL THAT A BIS BIRO AISOUNO HEr?e-csui OVtK ... io TV-ivkjki A. K-ir BROUGHT uuwi VeSTERPAV SO BIO HE HAD TWO SETS OF j LOW THE CAD KNOCKEP Min VSMTH A CLOTHES f OL.tr .vy I I a. (.Li 7i J J (SRANPMM3" &4SLB WNtPEMrTr TUNEP " JUTAS MUMTCR BEM BOASTEK WAS OR" HIS PlWZg PUCK : GEMS : For Your Scrapbook "BELIEF" "With how much ease belii-w what we wish." Dryden. "I make it a rule to believe onV " uuuciaiaiiu, replied Proser pine." Benjamin Disraeli. BY D. SAM COX CHRISTMAS ON THE CREEK Story 16 "Let's have some sure-enough doings for Christmas, Blackie," Dr. Coon said, one day when Christmas was only a few days off. "We can pet Jocko Monkey and all the rest of the boys to help us, and if Billie can get Mis. Moo Cow to give him some milk, vt ! can have some ice cream and cake." "Where's the cake coming from'."' asked Blackie. "Mrs. Moo Cow doesn't throw in caku with her milk." "It seems to me I heard Jay Bird say that he saw Aunt Judy making a fruit cake when he came by there this morning, and maybe she was making it for us. Here .he comes now; lets ask him." "Yes sir." Jay Bird said, "it's the fruitiest cake I ever saw, and as big as a full moon. Aunt Judy has just put white icing all over it and set it out on the shelf by the kitchen win dow to get cold and hard, and she said she was going to leave it tneic till bed-time, when she would take it in. And she told Uncle Joe she wanted him to tke the doK out and g0 caU:h a possum as soon as it is dark, so I went by Billie's house and told him to stick to his tree. "Well, that cake won't be a bit too big for my table. Flap your wings over to Jocko's house and tell him to come here," Blackie said. And then he said to Jocko: "Jocko. I guess Jay Bird has told you that Aunt Judy is making a nice fruit cake for our Christmas dinner, but I will have t senu for Jav Bird will tell you just where to hnd it. Take this cheese box along to put it in, and be sure you don't drop it. Never mind about the dog; he wont be around." It wasn't bed-time when Jocko came galloping in with the cake, and when he opened the box, Blackie and Dr. Coon danced around it like chil dren dance around a May pole. The next morning when Billie went over to shake down persimmons for Mrs. Moo Cow's breakfast, he carried a big bucket, and brought it back right full of milk. Yes, it was Christmas day, and the birds had brought in holly and mis tletoe, and hung it all around. "Oh, I nearly forgot something," Jocko said, as he reached down in the box where the cake had been and pulled What's the Answer? Br EDWARD FINCH 7, l!IOW DID THE vjl yl CUSTOM OF CLINKING li f j GLASSES ORIGINATE? BEFORE a duel with swords the gladiators of ancient Rome were accustomed to drink together. Wine was furnished by a relative or a friend of one of them and to show that there was no poison in the glass of his opponent, the challenger poured his wine into the other's glass and back again until the con tents of both glasses were thorough ly mixed. That custom extended to social usage and finally as the days of poisoned wine became past his tory, it evolved merely to the clink ing of glasses. C WwUrn Nawipaptr Onion. A Very Merry Christmas out four pretty red candles and lighted them. "I picked these up over at Aunt Judy's." Sometime we may find out where Jocko learned how to fix a Christmas table, but Blackie sat at the head of the table, and the way he piled good things on everybody's plate was a sight. But the best of all was the fruit cake, and you never saw such slices as Jocko cut. And if Jay Bird didn't have a good time picking those raisins and nuts out of the fruit cake, he never did have a good time. Some other crowd may have had more things on their table than the Creek Folks had, but no crowd got any more pleasure out of it. By the time they had all eaten so much that Billie Possum said: "No, I thank you," when Blackie asked him if he would have another piece of roast pig, it was dark, and so Blackie asked them all to spend the night, if they could sleep in their chairs. And then they began a reg ular frolic, playing games and tell ing stories and Blackie sang his "Woof" song for them, and did a regular bear dance. Then they all sang together a song that Jocko had made up. "We won't go home until morning, We won't go home until morning, We won't go home until morning, We are having such a good time." And then Jay Bird fanned the can dies put with his wings and they all went to sleep. (To be continued.) Aim fetfwto "Jesus saith unto hi because thou has seen me, thou has believed: blessed are they that nave nor, seen, ana yet have believed.' John. "Until belief becomes faith a faith becomes spiritual understand ing, numan tnougnt has little rela- tion to tne actual divine. Marj Baker Eddy. "O belief! how much you block n,,r way." Montaigne, "Whe knows much less." Unknown. believes the tidvtdfatiia IT PAY$ TO LI$TEN Read The Ads "LONG DISTANCE Hotel deduced ' Effective from 7 p.m., December 24, to 4:30 anu, December 27 -and from 7p.nu, December 31, to 4:30 a.m., January 3. Rkdlckd long distance tele phone rates -Will be in effect thi year on Christmas and New Year's day, and the Nf on day alter each of these holi days, on calls between point in the United Stales. The low niJu rates regu larly in effect every nijjlit after seven and all clay Sundays will apply on the two holiday week-ends beginning at seven Saturday night and extending until 4:30 the following Tuev lay morning. This iiuludei both Person -to -Person and Station-to-Station calls. Use this opportunity to make both the Christmas week-end and New Year's week-end this year a time of greater happiness. The cost is low. With these special low rates in effect you can talk a distance of 100 miles for 35 cents, 200 miles for 63 cents, 1,000 miles for $1.85 and greater distances at corre spondingly low cost when using Station-to-Station serv ice. Person -t-Person -sen-it e is slightly higher. SOUTHERN BELL TEIKCNE AND TELEGRAPH C3?.:?AKY INCORPORAr:D 1 HOW DO yOU GT ( SO MUCH WORK DONE ? J Vi-vM NERVES WOULD BE fj ,-k f h a wreck a. ' fk'i& I i f yEVER SO OFTEH (St T I S JtilGHT UP iv:-:-.f" .:.-:::-: mm worn . wwppa ... . ..v " 7 77 .i , r - -VP7 t

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