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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 1904)
J THE OMAn A ILLUSTRATED BEE. NoTfmbr 20, lt)04. V; v, ? If 1 The National Thanksgiving TROMISE OF THE FUTURE'-Pboto bjr ft Staff JUtUU Dl caslooal and periodlcai aiprenalon J of thanka to lucxrnalunl rulara on tha part of masaea of peopla haa taken varloua forma and has pitiitl and greatly developed. In the monoth(Uc ayattm of the Hebrew It first asaufned that deeply rtllgloui and emo tional character which' haa been trano oiltted to like services in the Christian church. I"roni the conversion of Con Untlne, Te Deums nearly always followed very great martial victory won by a CuiiMUn monarch or general. Te Deums are associated with some of the blackest crimes against religion and humanity that were ever commuted, as well as with some of the noblest deeds. The tirnt ever heard In this wts.ern hemisphere was, of course, that chanted by Columbus and his followers on their landing In the West In dies. Cortes also thus celebrated hla fttnxioun cruelties to the Toltecs and Ax tecs. In the sume century one finds tha Protestant Reformers In Europe often em ploying the solemn liturgies of thanksgiv ing alter memorable successes for their ctun. One instance of this stands out very strongly in the history of the heroie struggle of the Netherlandii against Philip of Spain. It waa the great Thanksgiving In the cathedral of Leydon, after the de livery cf the town from the awful alterna tive of butchery or starvation by the let ting in if the waters of the North sea to surround It and drive lta besiegers back to dry land. Motley says of this touching and Inspiring scene: "Magistrates and citizens, wild Zealand era, emaciated burgher guards, sailors, sol diers, women, children nearly every living person within the walls all repaired with out delay to tha great church, stout Ad miral Bolsot leading the way. The starv ing, heroic city, which had been so llrm In its resistance to an earthly king, now bent Itself In humble gratitude before the King of Kings. After prayers the whole vast congregation Joined In the thanksgiv ing hymn. Thousands of voices raised the song, but few were able to carry It to Its conclusion, for the universal emotion, deep ened by the music, became too full for ut terance. The hymn was abruptly sus pended, while the multitude wept like chil dren. ' Thaaksa-lvlaar .Asaaasx the Puritans. With much reason an effort haa been made to trace the Puritan tradition of Thanksgiving In some degree to the prac- tic of the Netherland reformers. Many of the English Puritan, hod found refuge In lb. Low countries from the percutlonS ... . " v ' " ' ' . '7 ' -no-. in r .r V. V """ln w"nl in IKt. It la not surprising, then, that one of the earliest public solemnities In the Plymouth colony on Massachusetts bay, after this same congregation had , eml- grated, waa a general thanksgiving, pro- claimed by Governor Bradford In 1621. That It was- a foast and ecclesiastical service combined Is shown by the fact recorded in a letter of a Pilgrim that the governor ap- polnted beforehand four fowlers to go forth Into tbe wilderness and kill birds to supply the tables, and of these they brought back many. Tha wild turkey then abounded and was the bird most sought for food. This may be taken as the Institution of tho prac. tlce of sacrificing the fatted turkey as the vlotlm most fitting the day of general thanksglvlng. But a more formal appoint- sued by a president of the United States rnent of the seedtime's promise, until barns vate such high-priced land. From the orig ins; of Thanksgiving was two years later, under the federal constitution was that of and granaries have overflowed and the lnal pre-emption priot of $1.25 per acre, the whan abundant crops bad succeeded a year General Washington appointing Thursday, world has turned Its stream of gold hither- land has Increased until it Is now worth of woeful scarcity. The custom of a period ical general ' Thanksgiving grew. The Plymouth elder adopted In 1638 a law "that it be the power of the governor and assistant to command solemn days of bu- snlllclon by fasting.- Also for thanksgiving as occasion shall be offered." The sreneral court of Unuulmuii, i mso 1M nerai court of Massachusetts In 16S9 set apart the lvtn day of December (or Thanksgiving In language that follows: . . . , , , It having pleased the.Ood of Heaven to . mitigate His many frowns upon us In the summer past, with a mixture of some very signal favors, and in the midst of wrath so far to remember mercy, that our bar- dlan rn.mln hava hnil h-k uw nui wuuijjr iuigi uiai our in- their Designs of blood and spoil; that others have not seen their designs accomplished limn US. .lid that hav. amxh hmi nf Z"? w" nave sucn nmi or par Just Ood yet adding more perfection to. our deliverance. Inasmuch also as that ine ureal uoo nam or late rainnd up sucn a. uBiniai iu in nuiui.ni religion ana in- law aoroaa in ine woria, especially in ine happy accession of their ma lest lea our sovereign King William and Queen Mary, m me inrone. ii is, inererore, oraerea mat Thursday, the 19th of December Inst . be kept as a day of thanksgiving throughout the colony, and all servile labor on that day Is hereby Inhibited, end the several ministers and assemblies are exhorted to observe the ssme In celebrating the Just praises of Almighty Ood, of whose tender .r. i. it I. ih.i w. .r. not ronauinad It became gradually settled that the month most suitable for general thankaglv- In waa November, and a Thursday waa usually appointed for that purpose. ot ,ho latter. It was. In fact, th true Ing a woman servant a letter at the ba.e Thanksrlvlns became fixed In the New auccesaor of the traditional harvest fes- ment door, when a bolt of llghtn.ng struck England colonies as an annual occasion about th year 1700. The Dutch governors of Now Netherland also now and then or dered a aoneral thankstrlvlna. and the cus torn was followed to some extent by the aubaoauent Knrllih aovsrnors. j, First National Proclamation. .During tb revolutionary war th Contl- rental congress recommended th general giving of thanks on more than on occa- alon. Th first bad a particular aasocla- lion with Philadelphia. Th British bad moved toward this city after the battl of the Brandywlne and ooarss bad fled to Lancaster; aftsrward. when th disastrous news from Germantown was received, pro- ceedlng to York. It remained there for Ida months, during part of which Wash- I sgion and bis army were draining tb bit- t.r cud of misery at Valley Fprge. But taivnua rama to York later tldlnas of th rrench altlano and of tb surrender of Burgoyn. Henry Laurens of South Carolina was president of th congress, th efflo In tb Federation of States which 0OTTsciond4 most nearly with that of '-t-V .... I L I . 1. NO SIGN OS FAMINE President of the United States as after ward instituted. Mr. Laurens appointed a "'"wV LJ , f amatlon of na: h ,1 '"Vv.T.'T" a''iV i'S ' .Th Adams of Massachusetts and Oeneral Rob- tlonal thankxgivlng, and it was composed erde.u 0f Philadelphia. Richard Henry Lee wrote the proclamation: it was adopted by coniiress and Issued tav Henrv Inrens by congress and Issued by Henry Laurens the executive head of the government. and transmitted by him with a letter to all the governors of the thirteen original states. On receipt of the news of the French alliance the army at Valley Forge, on May 6, 177H, after the terrible winter which history has so vividly described, held spe- clal Thanksgiving services. Congress or- dered a general Thanksgiving on Decem- ber 13, 1781, In gratitude for the capitulation of Cornwallla at Yorktown on the 19th of October. Peace waa celebrated In the same way by order of tho Continental congress 1 H". The first Thanksgiving proclamation ls- November 26, as the day of national ob servance. The chief part of It was as fol lows: Whereas, It Is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the uiuviuence of Aliuixhly Uod, to ouey ilia will, to be grateiui for His benefits and humbly to impiure His protection and tavor. , iSow, there- f,ore' 1 ao recommend aud assign Tnurs- day the Mh ot Noveraber ,lext lo devoteu by the people of ihcae states lo Mj, :rv't of thai great and glorious Being who is tne Uenencent Author of all the good liiat waa, that is or that will be, that we muy then all unite in rendering to Him our sincere and huinoie thaiiKs for His kind care and protection of the people of tins country previous to their becoming ii.iliuii, ior ine signal aim maniiutu nurwi mi, l i h i...,., ,!.!. int.inn.in..,,u His piovlUenco. in the course ana con- elusion of the late war; for the greut degree r,t ii-miimiiI lllv inil.,n un.l ,.,!., .kl.,h ui iraiiquniiiy, union ana plenty Willi; n we have aiuce enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which wo have been enabled to esiaDllsli constitutions of gov- ei iinieiu tor our suiuiy unu uappiiieus, and .7!nowa"lafJ!P ilglous liberty particularly ine national one. instituted: for the civil and rei wit i which we are blessed, auu the means we nave or acquiring unu uinuulng useful knowledge; unci In general lor all the great and various favors which He has been pleaed lo confer upon us. , By this time the last Thursday lu No- vember had come to be recognized as the m. ,iim ,i i, . mo1 ""able and convenient time for gen- r' thanksgiving. It marked a sufliuient Pr'd. after the annual harvest to permit of th" f11 realization of the relative value ol olaen "" -ere: I'an nd Bacchus were the mythical patrons. 7 "" wasningions day that the Thanksgiving proclamation be- ""a Invariable feature of the preai dentialyear. Washington's second Thanks- H . I i y n.,u umiillnn n.a I 1 w ...... giving proclamation waa issued six years after the first, to commemorate the sup- presslon of the "Whisky Hebeliion." in H- Other presidents followed th ruls of appointing only on particular occasion days of thanksgiving, one being the con- clualon of peac with Great Britain In U16. Meanwhile, ln several states the cus- torn' became an annual one on tha part of th governors, spreading thus to the south and into the west. Its slowest ac- ceptance was ln the south, where, however, In lSos sight governors proclaimed Thank. giving. It did not become the unwritten law mat the Dresldent should It-sue a proclamation of nations! thanksgiving annually until th second year of the civil war. Presl- dent IJncoln appointed special aays 01 goners.! thanksgiving lu mi, llktf and lkM. Unwritten ba corns to require that i ' lt ' 'ti-f:fz0 "i-fs: .... rp i.iii I, i ii ii . i fto, T r- ' 1 1 ' wmn w : , ' ill ) :. HERE. Photo by a StaJ Artist each governor of a state shall second the annual Thanksgiving proclamation of the president with one of his own, naming the same day to be specially observed by the people of his state. The proclamation of the national chief magistrate is not usu- ally as long, elaborate and finely wrought as to rhetoric as It was apt to be in the early days of the republic. It now com bines succinctness and directness In marked degree. But Thanksgiving is no less an expansive festival than It waa then, and It is probable that it would go on Just the same, year after year, procla mation or no proclamation. It Is deeply rooted In the affections of the people, yielding first place only to Christmas. - e Nebraska Has Spet'rl Reason. Nebraska people have especially cause 'or feeling thankful this season. Never did prosperity smile on the people of the state more benignly, and never was the outlook more encouraging. Year after year has the harvest time returned a bountiful fulfill- ward In exchange for the products of the farm, the orchard, the dairy and the cat tle range. Peace and plenty has continued to be the lot of the Nebraskan until the Some Quaint Most Beautiful Sight of All. PARTY of Americans were dining together In New York recently, relates the Times. In the course of the dinner they fell to discuss- ing the most beautiful sights one und another had seen while trnvtn in various countries. One declared In tavor or uns.t on Mont Rlaiw Anmhrr hnrt SUllbei on OlOnt UlailC. Anotntr nafl ... . . ; . B9tn nothing to equal the valley of ihi Hudson. Tho trend of the talk teams sentimental, and one natiiot rionlareil ihar ' "t beautiful sight to him was ihe statue of Liberty as he saw It o..te from the deck of an incoming steamer after three years' absence from tne country. In a lull In the conversation, following this remark a young lieutenant, Jun mound after a run of the fever, turned to the si'l next him and said in an undertone: "Did you ever see Manila over the stern?" Freaks of Llwhtalns. A letter carrier In Kansrs City waa hand- Between them. They were both reude:ed uiivuiwuiuus Dy ine shock, dui Dotn were urougnt arounu all right, me letter was consumed. Two farm hands engaged in .u.,,e in a luu-acre plot in ooum uuaoia were killed by lightning within .h.e. ml... 1 1 ma 1' Vi . .... . , . 1 . . . . . l . . . . .. ui.s. mine young gitten. playing in a back yard in Independence, M .. were truck by lightning. One of them was killed, tha other two being only tinged. A German named Blltzen (wi.l.h ti.ens lightning In our langi.ago) was struck ani killed by a bolt while talk.ng abJUl hs queer uame with a party of frl lids in a tavern In central Arkansas. The shop of a bird fancier in Chicago was ttruck by a boll. Of two parrots In one cage one wn killed and the other .-ermanently blinded, besides being leudeied deaf and dunib. A garg of circus handi were try! g to round up an escaped t g.r in a alls- souri town, when the Liner was struck dead by lightning. During a running rat at an Illinois county fair. In whlc eleven i ' competing ior l lie j s. the wiunl..g horsa was struck dead Ins antly after Lavlt.g won tb lac by a bead on th Day Its HIS K1NT3 8H0W TUB LAND'S FATNESS. Photo by memories of the lean years of earlier his tory have been forgotten. - Experience haa been kind in that it has taught the Ne braska farmer what he can not do, and has given an Insight into some things he can do and with profit. Thus It has been estab lished that nowhere on earth Is farming more certain to bring satisfactory returns than in the Antelope state. In a com monwealth like Nebraska, where so much depends on agriculture and kindred pur suits, It fellows quite naturally that when the farmer prospers all lines of business share in the activity. Nebraska has ex tensive manufacturing Interests, but they are so nearly allied to the farm that they may nearly be classed with it, and the manufacturers certainly do well when the crops are good. It has been so long since a crop failed in thla state that the manu facturers have long ago forgotten dull times and have been busy for years. The pres ent year is no exception, and what Is true tor the manufacturers Is true for the merchants. With good crops and good prices, the whole state teems with activ ity and the prosperity of the farmer Is chared by all. S; Quarter of entnrj of Growth. Those of our readers who have been ac quainted with the state for the lut twenty five yeara reailre better than anyone tl.e can the metamorphosis that has taken plate during that time. Twe,ity-Ilve years ugo a steady stream of Immlgritinn v. ax pouring Into the state, and virgin i ialr.c wu-j being taken up by pioneer (ainvrs. Day by c ay tho frontier was being punned tiarr to the llocky mountains, and each night the sun went down on some new evidence of com ing settlement where he had risen on a wlldernets. As far back from the river as tho farming country runs, deep Into what Is called the "semi-arid" region, this tldn of Immigration flowed, and within this short period it has changed the face of tlio coun try. Tho fd house and the dugout 'have disappeared and in their stead the prairies are dotted with handsome homes, whero all the comforts and many of the luxuries of modern life are enjoyed by the vigorous and thrifty men and women who tame to Nebraska with nothing but health and strength and a determination to make a home. The traveler nowadays would have mtie trouble In convincing himself that Nebraska was originally a wooded state. Towns that then were merely a railroad station, a section house and one or two avottnrAH frnmA tiiillHInffit nt t h M th.nmi eort hRVO Krown ,nto udy lltU8 cltles wltn everything that makes for comfort of their citizens. Even in the "sand hill" region, once considered hopelessly barren, the proaperlty of the cattle raiser has found Its expression In the building of good homes1 "nd the establishment of thrifty and push- Ing towns. Each year sees the conquest of man over the unpromising natural condi tions pushed a little farther, until another quarter of a century will see the last vest ige of desert In Nebraska wiped out, and all Its million of acres made productive and valuable. The story of the state sounds like a fairy tale. Twenty-five years ago farms were given by the government to homesteaders; today many of those home- steaders are selling their farms because they feel that they can not profitably cultl- $40, 150, $60, even up to $100 per acre. No- where In the world is there a parallel for the prosperity that has been enjoyed by the Nebraska farmer, and nowhere Is thete Features of wire. None of the other horses, most of which were close up at the finish, were hurt it all. A Sl"Plss Wonder. A,bert E- enIn of Trenton, N. J.. who "a ln"1 ne not Slept a wins ior ten year will undertake to prove himself tha leeileas wonder and at the same time . .... . Wln k ... tin nA made bv a ('hicaara w,n Det ot 100'j0 nae Df t-n'ca0 "l""'" i ti cannot ao.p . thirty-one daya The tet Is to comments ln Trenton February 28 next. The morey h"" been put "P by H' C' Corbin ot chi- ca- Bna pnyaicians will mi up wllh HerP'n f th ot making sure that he drten't steal a nap on them. Herpln's wakefulness dates ba k ten years, to the tlme when n! Ue died- HU nerve" were affected so that he couldn't sleep, and he kept awake so Ion that ha couldn't get into the habit of t-noozlng again. Kind of Doctor Wanted. An action for damiges alleged to have been received in an automobile accident was recently brought In a New York county. A woman had been thrown from -rria ih. y.i frightened by an automob.U She landed ln a ditch and ... , da, ae.oualv iniured. Upon beina aa.ted to her feet. It Is is- ltUe1 lom. . k, uf j,,,' M dt)ctor r ,ni .uggesttd a phytlclm who vlsiti hli Datlante in .n ...t,.n,i.ii.. Tha inti;r.i WOman protested, saying: "No, don't call hm. i don t want an automobile doctor. Qet , a horse doctor." ,0 ' Matter of Uaslaess. Oklahomu has two country merchants, brothers, well alung la yiars and t-mong the most prosperous In that region. Una of the brothers was moved no: Iji g ago to believe that be should Join tha church, Neither had ever paid attention to relig- lous affair, but a stirring evangel fct had finally aroused tl. elder man to f el thut the church waa where he belunaei. He endeavored to persuade his brother to Join the church with him. but whenever the sudjbci was mentioned me oroinur always waived the subject sod would not discuss th mailer. Finally tb elder brvlutr said History and Its Significance j Btait ArUat HIS WINTER HOARD HEAPED to be found a more striking illustration of the creation of wealth by properl directed labor. No wonder the Nebraska citizen gives thanks for bis conditio,. Education and Culture. Not alone in material wealth has the citizen of Nebraska been increased, but in all the ways that show for growth has he progressed and expanded. Twenty-five years ago the educational system of the state was beginning to put forth evidences of the t,sdom of its founders: today It is a crown of triumph for the!.- efforts. Ne braska has stood for years at the head of the procession of the states in matter of diffusion of knowledge. Tho lowest per centage of Illiteracy is a proud boast for any commonwealth, yet the character of Nebraska's citizenship has been such as to render this merely a statement of fact rather than a boast. The public school system of the state was richly endowed In tBe beginning, and has been carefully fos tered since, so that it has always been in he lead. From the district school, In which all the rudimentary branches are taught, to the State university, where the highest of mentnl training may be had, the educational institutions of Nebraska have shared with the growth of the state. In religion the same story Is true. It was a Ood-fearlng people that built up Ne Current Life one day: "John, why don't you Join the church if I do?" "Well. BUI, I might as well tell you. You go ahead and Join lh church; but If I Join It, too, who's going to weigh the wool?" Tale of a Hull Moose. A man who tpendi co.islderabla lima euh year hunting in the northern woods tela of an experience he had with a bull moo.e. which led him to be.l ve that tl at parilc ular bull was nobody's fool. Ho t-l.gh ly Injured the beast, at closer range than It Is usually possible to approach such game. Suddenly the animal turned and ruit.ei toward the huntei wl h ljwered lnal. Th sportsman squared away and prepared lor, a second shot, but to his horror his feet became entangltd in seme' br.ers and ha fell. Close to him was a 1 irue tree me al feet In thickness. Without huviiig an op portunity to recover his weapo.i, l.o barely had time lo scramble to his leet and oodga behind the trunk of ti e t:es before the bull was upon bira. . The breathless nimrod v. as chared around that tree until bis head f.il. ly whir ed. Suddenly tho bull stopped und th.iged from the other direction. 'i'hn he mopped, again and resorted to the small boy s trbk of making a to.nl ono.wy, then i. ailing In the other. He nearly caught the now thoroughly rattled hunter by the tusk. Tha gentleman claims that the timely aiii.ul of a companion, who dropped the wily bill in bis tracks, was all that saved his 11 e. A Phenomenon of Mind. Mia. Maude Howe KlHott tells of a con versation thut took place in a friend's house in Boston, in which there waa dis cussed certain phenomena ot the mind. Some one observed that it was a curious fact thut no man can do one thing and think snother. During the discussion a little girl of 10,. the daughter of the host, was listening at tentively. "I can do one thing and think another," "What is It?' asked the father. "Well," she said, "it is very easy for me to say the Lord's prayer and think of almost anything else I want to. I uo It very night." Harper's Weekly. sPi ' -T fh co l S --1 -- -'-i? i ii 1 1 1 i i t r - - -1 . ''.V. r. - t . . I. :jv r . . : BIVAL3 OF KINO TURKEY. Photo bj a 8taff Artist. on the ocean beach. They had for them selves and families small but comfortable HIGIL-Pi.ot. ," a Staff Artist braska and made a wealthy commonwealth out of a wilderness The church came with the school, and the sans? care that has fos tered the secular education of the youth of the state hat been lavished on religious training of the young. Nowhere has the church in all its branches and its denom inations met with more material anl spir itual success than in Nebraska. It Is only natural that a people thus favored should have a capacity for the enjoyment of the good things of life, and the beat evidence of this is found In the general culture and Intelligence of the citizenship. All the material Blgns of well developed tastes and cultivated minds exist, and without the ostentatious clamorous assertion of more pretentious but less stable neighbors. And for this, with no tinge of Pharisaical self gratulutlon, the citizen of Nebraska is thankful. Increase In Material Wealth. Millions of dollars are lying In the Ne tn-iLSltn hanks Juet.now, not idle, but wait- Ing for opportunity for profitable Invest ment. All the fiduciary Institutions of the state report an Increase in deposits and a general extension of business. Building operations have been even more than usually extensive during the year, and not a hamlet, village, town or city in the state has been omitted in this direction. And the harvest of the current year has been one ot the most bountiful ln the history of the slate, while the prists that are being paid for farm products make It cer tain thut it is the most valuable ever raised lu the mutter ot. dollars and cents. It has been estimated by conservative men as being worth ln the neighborhood of $juo.000,0u0, or more than $ut for every nuu'i, v.oiiian and child living ln the state. Aside from this enormous amount adJed to the wealth of the state by the yield of the soil, consideration must be given to the live stoik industry of Nebraska, which is also enormous in extent. No exact figures are at hand, but careful estimates, buHdd on returns made to the United States government and to the state by the as sessors, indicate that there are at least 3,liu,i,v luud of cattle, 3.5U0.UU0 head of lings arta pr0bably 2,500.000 head of sheep ln the state. The total value of this trr-Ht nifirrB. gallon of live stock is more than $130,0uo,uo0. No account Is taken of the horsed, mules and other farm animals that are really a part of the machinery of the farm, and not a marketable quantity.. If tho value of the manufactured products of the state were added to the figures from the farm, it would be seen that the Increase In ma terial wealth during the year now drawing to a close lias been not far from $.ofl,ooti.uo0 for Nebraska alone. Is It any wonder that the thinking citizens of the state are thankful? ... In the PilgrfuufTuthera' Pay. A popular and also an effective way of Impressing a trulh on the mii.d of the people is by contrast. In no other way can the Thanksgiving of today be us well shown as by contrasting the circumstances of the people who kept the first Thanks giving holhhiy in Annilt i and the circim stames of the ou.uou.ouo people who observe it now. In the full of 1021 the survivors of tha Pilgrim band who landed on the granite rock at . Plymouth had by diligent cultiva tion and barter with the Indian tribes ac cumulated u sufficient store of maize to as oure. li.eui their food for the coming winter. They, by the teachings of their Indian al lies, learned to trap und shoot the gnine of the forest thut was seemingly inex haustible. They had learned that there were shell fish to be had (or the gathering ? III..-.,,. - , habitations that they had hewed out from the forest trees. They had an abundance of fuel at their doors, o that they would be secure from the wintry blasts To people who had only a year before been tossing on the tetfiptuous ocean In a frail bark off an lronbound coast, who, when they finally landed, had only meager and Insufficient shelter and but a small supply of food, followed by slckne.s, the result of these incredible hardships, con signing one-half their number to graves In a strange land. Their present comfort contrasted so strongly that their hearts overflowed with a thankful spirit and they gave expression to this by several days of feasting and merriment. They called In their Indian allies and to gether they ate roast venison and turkey, tempered with bowls of succotash. Com petition In wrestling and running took the place of the balls and dances of their southern neighbors at Jamestown. They were but a handful of people In an almost 'inknown world, surrounded by overwhelming numbers of savage abor igines. They were cut off from the rest of civilized mankind parted from them by 1,000 miles of oceaai waste their only means of communication Temg slow sailing vessels. They heard from the outer world scarcely twice a year. They had only the barest necessities of life; for clothing they must spin the wool and flax by hand and weave In the cottage loom. They had no newspapers or printing presses not even roads, let alone railroads, telephones and ocean cables. From this handful of people we have grown to a nation of 80,000,000 souls. From the Infant colonies on the edge of the At lantic ocean we have spread over most of the continent and have planted the flag within a few miles of Asia In our Alaskan possessions. Not content with continental occupation, we have taken thousands of the isles of the Pacific ocean under the protection of our flag. Our diplomacy has txcomo .world wide and the nations of earth have learned that no Important step In the world's policy can be taken without the) consent of this na tion, that has grown from a small handful who Inaugurated the Thanksgiving holiday. Its observance has become universal for all the people who make their home under ttie starry flag. - This has not always been ao, but for many years was confined to the people of New England origin. The people who settled the southern half of our re public had small use for Thanksgiving-, but preferred to make Christmas their chief holiday. For Christmas the stern Puritan had no sympathy, believing that its ob servance favored the Roman Cathollo church. Now, however, the Puritan vi-'s with the Cavalier In observing Christmas and in no part of the country is It ob served more heartily than where Thanks giving had its origin. In like manner have the southerners come to accept Thanksgiv ing as their holiday. Reasons (or Thankfulness. Americans are not this year forced to the conclusion of Charles II of England, who, after a year of unprece dented disaster to the arms and agriculture of England, his prime minister asked him: "What have we to be thankful for?" Charles replied: "We should be thankful that things are no worse." Conditions are the opposite with us this year. Our Industrie are at the full tide of prosperity, our corncrlbs are full to burst ing, the wheat bins overflow with fatness; the klne, sheep and horses on the hills and ln the valleys are full of life and vigor, th grass to see them through the winter ha grown In unparalleled abundanoe and enough is now gathered ln ricks and barn to tide' them over the year. Tha apples that were on the trees are now In th cel lar, the grapes that were on th vln are now pressed and the sparkling wine is now on draft A great abundanoe of the vege table kind are safely shielded from th frost and they have yielded with a prodi gality surpassing all former history. For all this wealth poured Into our laps should we not take a day off to show that we nre thankful? There were no scat tered families to gather the first Thanks giving; now Thanksgiving Is a day of family reunions, when the busy man of the world drops his business, taking his wife and children, returns to tns anoestrat rocf tree, where for a few hours, amid good cheer, the sire and son meet, th daughter exchanges confidences with th mother and the Innocent prattle of th youngsters crown the day. The more devout asseniDie In their va rloua places of worship and In a publlo manner thank God for Ills favors. No up-to-date Thanksgiving is now held In towns without the foot ball game. Not withstanding that some overcautious per sons do not approve of the game, th verdict of the general public Is overwhelm ing In its fuvor. And exhibitions of cour age and strategy are shown on Soldier, Krunklln und Marshall fields, not Inferior to the strategy of some great battle, as the teams of the great universities meet and rtrnggle for supremacy. Feasting t!ll occupies a large place In the program. Good will rather than charity Is the mo tive behind the gifts of tin keys to the employes of Individuals and corporations. Thanksgiving opens the lieurt and loosens the puise strings of the average man, and while he Is enjoying his abundance he sees that the unfortunate nnd poor have occa sion to he thankful for one squaro meal. ln this he lias nut gotten fur awa from the p rue I Ice of tho founders of Thanks giving, who Invited the Indians to share their feast. Thankngivlng haa not drifted farther away from its observance than th people who keep IC 4 raw