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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 1908)
-r-wnpw""r' jr The Commoner; VOLTIFME; 8l NUMBER 43 Mr i ffl J?" it R "AC Christmas-Time" We all are here! Father, mother, si8ter, hrother all so dear! Each chair is filled, each voice is heard Tn laugh or song, or'gleesome word. We dream we shall be always found, Thus gathered, the old home-hearth round. BlcsBed be the meeting, and1 the spot; Tonight, be every care forgot!' Let joyous mirth assert its power; Let warm affection rule the hour When all are- here. Are we all here? Some one is missed a vacant chair! The merry throng that graced the hearth, And gave the hour Its guileless mirth, Is thinned by fate's relentless hand; Some one Is absent from the bandr Some, Hlce a night-flash, passed away sSmesank slow-fading, day by day; SbmeVtffijrffe's maelstrom, whirled Lost to' the old home; save fn heart. , OV vacant chair I" Charles' Sprague In1 Scrap Book.. that with the gift of His Perfect Son, promised to "With Him, give' freely of all things." We are all just little children, in need of the support of the Father's love. No effort of out own will spare us from some of the) discom forts and trials of existence. While it is required of us that we "do," it is also demanded of us that we "trust." In a sense we- do, all of us, trust to some higher power; but we- should learn to trust more to believe more, and to take courage with stronger hearts, because of the trreat narent love of God. In, these 'times of stress and worry, of cruel want and weary waiting, we must do as the children do look to the higher love. The clouds will clear, things will mend, times will brighten, and although just now, in many homes, the lack is great, we must believe "in the power which, pro claimed "Peace on earth; good will toymen." Let us accept the lesson, looking up as a little childn .and be lieving firmly that "He- doth all things well." We wish you5,ajfconi fortable and cheerful Christmas!' The Old Children Ah, even still, we all are here! E'en they, the absent, held so dear, Fond memory brings, our hearts to 'cheer. And through the haze of buried- yeai'3, Each' dear, remembered face appears! We- see them, as In days long past; Fond loo'ks from memory eyes are " cast; Dear hands rest softTy In our ownr Sweet voices"- speak in memory-tone. We words recall; we smiles behold, Of dear ones, safe In heavenly fold, Or tossing still fn stormy strife, Brave-battffng on the fields of life. 0, olden bartd, wide-flung: today, We hold yon fn dur hearts, alwayt Living", or dead, or near, or far, Wfth you we watch' the Christ-Child's stars We- live again, the oldr,gIad times; We haarw.fth: you,, the- Christmas 4 -js cnimes; ,tvO4&ckttered- batidf each' one so dear, We1 all are here! We all are herel -H, W, Mr The Lesson of Christmas Giving It Is a, beautiful custom the Joy of giving; which comes to us, more urgently at thfs season than at any other. Yet there should be more In the Cltrfstmas festival than the giv ing of a, doll to the girlie; the pair of spates to the boyr the hanging-up of the tiny stockings, the decking of the Christmas tree, or the dinner which Is to follow, All this Christmas-giving Is but a symbol recalling the great gift of God the giving of the Savfour to the sin-crushed world. Tv eiTtvw rihWri nhrTrl tha storv he told fn all fts 16vlng details, as often as the Ch rlstmas-tlde comes round. The gift of God ia greater than the toy pack of the mythical Santa Claus and the little heart should early ho filled with appreciation of this won derful love, and Us utter dependence for all good and happiness on the great parent heart of God. . The child'tf own eyes can see, with, what joy you AH all Its little wants, and the lesson of the higher love should bo carefully Impressed upon the sympathetic little hearty Let your love for him, your loving tenderness, be! to the child a symbol of -the love WhiTe watching and planning for the hdlfday joys of the young people and children, do not forget the; feeble old folks who are In- their" second childhood, arrd who long to1 Jolnwith you In the merry-makings arfd fes tivities. There is nothing more piti ful than neglected old age, and to crowd feeble old persons away Into a corner by themselves, refusing to let them- have any Interest In the busy times about them- is- crueL I They do not realize that.thefr "hands have lost their cunning and they longuto help you ins any way they can. in the distribution of pres ents, 'remember their little' wants they are few, and find out their likings they are easily, pleased. Even the fact that you1 hive given them & thought pleases them, Un less they are utterly helpless, or im becile,, they can still do5 many ffttle things, and the children should be taught, to respect their little treats, or presents, no matter how cruder for the hands that give tfcem ire guided by love alone They seek to bless, ..always, and the services of love will not always be at our com mand, O, be kind to the old and gentle to their infirmities:, Speak the kind word, give the air of in terest to your attentions to them, and do not let them feel that you deem their presence a marpldt to your joys. Go out of your way, It needs be, to brighten the'ir gray lives, it only by a kind word. The holiday time, to them, is swarming with the ghosts of dead joys, 'and the habit of staying at home that the proverbial "wild horses" could not "budge" them from their prisons. To such women, no amount of chains and bars could make a place more of a prison than the home has be come to them. They just get in the habit of staying at home, and then, they get into the habit of dreading to have any one come to see them. They get out of touch with every thing, and the community generally lets them stay out of touch. Many such women would be a very valuable- acquisition to any gathering, if they could but be drawn in, and once havliig overcome their dread of meeting others-, they are easily en trapped again. But by staying: too closely at home, one becomes mor bid, and sensitive, and gets the Idea that everyone Is against them, and efforts to get acquainted with thenx are regarded, in some Instances,, as mere curiosity and impertinence. It ' Is not only women who get Into this state of feeling 'r but many young; people especially if1 self-conscious and shy, get entirely out of touch with others of their ager and In do ing so, become uninteresting- and un attractive, ' Such people are apt, too, to become embittered and distrust ful,, and this spirit sets them stEl further apart, until life becomes a. burden to them. If duly the socially Inclined would tactfully seek thfs class out, and by means: which they know how to employ, get them out of their seclusion, it would be a Mess ing, It Is a. blessed thing- to "re member the forgotten," and to throw a little sunshine onto a darkened pathway, but tact and patience, and kindly sympathy must all enter into the work. Not all the poor, br lone ly or discouraged dwell' In homes of poverty. pthe- companies in town3 or villages are generally very glad to exchange privileges with rural lines. Now la a good time to' talk the matter over land decide on what you are to do. !The lines should be a common propl ertyr out each man should buy hia own phone. Write to manufacturers and get information and estimates oe ,cost and of the proper methods to pursue. Get together, taking your wives with you, and talk the matter over In all its bearings; get all the information you can,, then act. Get as many subscribers, as possible, aa the more families use the lines, the greater its value to you. Now ia the time to take the matter up. The Farm Teleph lone The question of how to keep the young people on the farm is- much discussed, and every year, the dis cussion Is 'bringing the solution of the problem nearer to the people. Among the most advocated measures discussed by agricultural papers Is that or installing telephone lines, thus connecting the neighborhoods and ensuring a measure of safety as well as sociability that would do away with a very ereat deal of trm loneliness so severely felt by both young and old. This Is, of course, In addition to the uses of the telephone for business purposes. It Is claimed mat a telephone system Is not so very expensive if put In by the farm ers, themselves. The average cost of a six-mile line, with ten subscrib ers using telephones, is estimated at cost of about $20 for each sub Bathing, the Baby Here Is a picture, which many mothers will laugh over now, but once it was no laughing matter to themr at least when their first at tempts In this line were made: "When she begins to undress the small one her confidence, which has risen high during the preparatory movements, has ebbed away until, when she beholds the soft little body, she wonders if she will dare attempt the bath alone. The wash-cloth of soft linen, according to nurses dic tum, is nut Into the water and , mopped over the tiny face and head 'by way of experiment, which elicits a howl from baby. Mamma wonders miserably whether the water is too hot or too cold. Her courage comes back as she reflects' that even if it Isn't at Just the right temperature, it will not burn, or freeze the child; ,so she proceeds to bathe from the little head down getting, hotter ana more nervous,, for the baby seems so unaccountably limber can anything , he wrong,? His lungs seem to be in good condition,, however,, ana mnux rm concludes)- that so long as he is able to howl with such force she will venture to proceed. When the time pomes to turn him over,, she wonders if she can do the trick. Taking a tleht srrln on her courage and on the slippery baby, she succeeds In bring ing the little red back Into view, aae bathes and rubs lightly, for this mother if Ignorant, Is. conscientious, ,and tries to , do everything as it should be done It Is only experience that Is lacking, and frequently this Is dearly bought. After much struggling- -with bands,, sleeves and pins, and with weeping on the part of the mother and howls of orotestation on Lthe part of the child, the process is completed," Clara North nuiy iu Men, and Women Magazine, Mothers do you not recognize the picture? a they sorely need your loving-' sym-1 scriber, and the line would require pathy. . " sr -- .4 i j - The Social Season Nearly everybody "goes " some where," or wants to do so,-at this time of year, and now .is a good time to set things in shape to keep up the cordial spirit so fully developed un der the charm of the Christmas holi days. If you live, in a village, or large town, there are many ways in which the social spirit may be kept auvo, ana there are many people who will not let it die; bit those who most need this social stimulus are the ones who got the least of it. There aro womon, especially-those living "iu thtocountry, iyho get so in - .. a re-building in from "nine to twelve years, while the telephone would last much longer, if properly cared for. Free literature, giving instructions for putting In the line Is furnished by dealers, Each subscriber fur nishes his quota of expense the nuniher or polesor an equivalent In money, and the labor of putting the line up is the work of the men them selves, along the line, A telephone system may be put In at a monthly rental by some company doing such business, and this, at first cost is the cheaper method; but the farmers" shouldrorgantze- a comnanv and ox their own outfit, and though the firsts cost isgreater in this Case, the cost of maintaining the line-is-, small, nnd "For a Good Dinner" One of our brother readers, who assures us that he "knows how to cook," sends us the following method for what he calls "getting up a good, cold-day dinner.' He says it is by no means "like mother used to cook, but begs that we try it. Here it is. Select a piece of beef, five to eight pounds, according to the size of your family; have it cut from the under side of the round, which is a cheap, but juicy portion, but can not oe used for steak, yet is the finest fla vored of any beef- Have the piece as nearly square as possible, wipe j well with a damp cloth, and tie u Into compact shape. Into a via? bottomed, deep iron kettle, put three generous slices oi xat, b -port chopped into small pieces, crisp this slowly in the kettle, drawing out the fat, but not scorching. vn;J well done, skim out the pork, an" into the fat' drop one small carroi and one good sized onion, com AN OLD ANXi WELI TJO&D BBMEDT Mrs. WinsiawVSoototwo Sybcp forchlldwn 4tUilnff.should alwayabe used tor fhftlren v w .teethlpgi It softens tbe gums, allays tbe rauu cures wind colic and la the best remedy for aiw rbo?, m "Twenty -Ave cents a btI. jP "k. r iiB.