Nebraska Newspapers

    OF INTEREST TO FARMERS
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF POULTRY INDUSTRY
Although our common fowl was Intro
duced into Great Britain many hundreds
of years ago and brought to America by
the first settlers, the poultry industry in
its modern sense began its development
within the last century. Fowls were bred
iu England during the Reman occupation
for the sport of cock fighting. Use cf their
fle&h os food was forbidden, however, by
Druidical law. The Druids gave way to
Christianity before the 10th century after
Christ, but poultry was of comparatively
little importance for several more cen
turies. As late as 1860 fowls were used in
f&igland in pagan rites. By the time of
the first settlements in America edible
birds, domestic wnd wild, were largely
classed together as '‘fowl.’* Barnyard fowls
were considered an Inferior sort of game
to which little importance was attached.
The plentifuiness of wild fowl in the col
onies undoubtedly detracted still further
from the Importance of domestic birds.
Poultry was freely eaten in time of want,
as were all other animals. Of Jamestown
in 1609. Captain Smith wrote: ‘'As for our
hogs, hens, goats, sheep, horses, or what
lived, dur commanders, officers and sal
vages (savages) daily consumed them, some
small portion sometimes we tasted, till all
was devoured.” Eggs were appreciated, but
were almost entirely a warm-weather prod
uct. During colonial days poultry keeping
was common among the Indians, who by
purchase or theft supplied themselves with
stock. The Iroquois of Central New York
were found to keep chickens in 168", There
was slight commercial aspect to poultry
keeping previous to 1825. Most frequent
mention of poultry products in the news
papers before that time was of feathers for
beds and pillows. Between then and 1860
cheap grain in the inland districts and
Improving transportation encouraged egg
production In the Ohio valley. In 1839 there
were 16 states with poultry valued at over
*250,000 each. New York, Virginia and
Pennsylvania had the largest numbers, New
York was SI.153.413 In value. Ohio, Tennes
neo and Kentucky, however, were only
slightly lower in poultry value than Penn
sylvania. Wisconsin and Iowa, the west
ernmost states listed, had $16,600 worth
each. By 1860 poultry production for meat
was becoming Important near the cities.
At the time of the Civil war the basis
was already laid lor separation of egg
and meat production. Points close by the
cities, as Perth Amboy, N. J.. were mar
keting quantities of live and dressed fowls.
As the commercial aspect became domi
nant, poultry keepers saw the importance
of increasing production per hen and in
developing cheap methods of raising chick
ens. In 1847 two patents were issued on
‘•methods of Incubation,” though it was
40 years later that the first practicable
Incubator was Invented. Ey 1840 or 1845
Increasing attention was given to breed
ing. to feeding and management for prof
it and to the introduction of new breeds.
Astatic fowls were first imported in im
portant quantities shortly before 1860.
Their popularity led to the first "hen fev
er” In the '50s. after which a rapid suc
cession of breeds claimed attention. In
1840 the principal improved breeds were
Dorking, Poland, Java. Geme. Bantam Rnd
Hulks county or Chittagong. By 1849. when
the New England poultry breeders
and fanciers held their first show,
Cochin-Chinas, Shanghais and Plymouth
Rocks had become wellkncw>n. Interest in
the breeding of the various classes of
poultry for exhibition purposes Increased
rapidly, until by 1873 there toi- place
the first organized effort to place the
breeding industry upon a stable basts. In
that year there was organized the Ameri
can Poultry association, which had for its
object the formulation and adoption of a
standard of excellence to be used exclu
sively by poultry associations in awarding
prizes on exhibition poultry. During re
cent years the development of the poul
try industry has been augmented great
ly by the steady growth of the hatchery
business. The number of hateheries using
mammoth inoubators has increased very
materially, and the parcel-post service in
the transportation of chicks has enabled
them to be distributed to all parts of the
country. The International Baby Chick
association was organised in 191C, and
largely through its instrumentality the
quality of chicks distributed from the
hatcheries has been improved from year
to year. In the early history of the poul
try Industry the egg market offered the
main stimulus to Improvement. Not only
were eggs more of a luxury than poul
try In a land of abundant meat, but they
withstood holding and transportation as
meat and fowls could not. Consequently
many eggs were produced and prices
ranged comparatively high. In 1083 egg
shipments were reaching New York City
from Ohio, Indiana. Illinois and Minne
sota. During 1R66 the city received 150,
000 barrels of eggs, averaging over 70 dozen
to the barrel By 1874 eggs were being
marketed in New York “from the second
tier of states west of the Mississippi, from
Tennessee Georgia. Canada and Mexico.”
Receipts in 1871 were 414.000 barrels; In
1874, 405,000; in 1875. 448.000, and in 1876,
627,000. Not only were receipts becom
ing greater and sources more distant, buf
distribution throughout the year had im
proved. From 1866 to 1876 the percentage
of receipts arriving in January Increased
Irom a quarter of 1 per cent to 5 per cent,
ar.d in Mav decreased from 18 to 14 per
cent. December receipts improved but
slightly with an increase from 2 up to 2 E
per cent. Seasonal variations in prices also
were decreasing. The census of 1800, the
first to enumerate poultry, showed th«
middlewestern states to be the largest pro
duc>jrs of poultry and eggs. Until the de
velopment of cold storage, marketing wai
limited by lack of means for preservation.
Eggs were often preserved by Immersion
in lime water or oil to seal the porous
shell, and by 1870 were sometimes stored
in fruit houses or ice houses. The last
method displaced the others in the ’80s
and gradually changed to modern cold
storage, which accelerated the Increase in
poultry during the '80s and- ’90s and hat
continued to lessen the seasonal variation
in poultry and egg prices. It is doubt
ful. however. If refrigeration has greatly
influenced the fluctuation in the grewtt
of the industry during the last three de
cades. In connection with the more cost
ly storage and transportation ooming in
to use, the displacement of the barrel by
the 30-dozen egg case about 1880 was r
considrabte economy. Production cf dressed
poultry as well as of eggs was greatly
stimulated by the demonstrated practic
ability of refrigeration for belli trans
portation and storage. Prom 1800 to 189(
fancy poultry products had their greatest
development,’ Attention to broilers, squabs
capons and young ducks Increased rapidly.
The crest was soon reached, however, and
by 1900 turkeys, ducks and geese were de
creasing In numbers. Turkeys decreased
from 11,000.000 in 1E90 to 6,500.000 in 1900,
and to 3.700.000 in 1910. They still remain
practically at the last figure. Decrease ol
geese slackened considerably from 1900 tc
1910. but fell 5.5000.000, or 65 per cent,
during the three decades. With ducks, at
with turkeys, the decrease was nearly one
half from 1890 to 1910 and have faller
slowlv since then. Pigeons first enumer
ated in 1910 decreased 46 per cent by 1920
Increase at present Is restricted to chick
ens, which are raised in nearly every
county In the United States. Comparison
with egg production Indicates a substan
tial Increase In chickens during each de
cade for which figures are available. In
creases in egg production fcv decades wai
80 per cent from 1880 to 1890. 50 per cent
from 1890 to 1900, 25 per cent from 190(
to 1910 and 5 per cent from 1910 to 1920.
Egg production in dozens per capita was
9.11 in 1880; 13.09 in 1890; 1C 96 in 1900;
17.30 In 1910, and 15.C5 In 1920. These fig
ures are approximately correct regardlesf
of changes in inventories of poultry.
BACTERIA THAT SOCR MILK
The souring of milk is due to acid
forming bacteria, of which there are
several kinds. While the normal
souring of milk is commonly ascribed
to the bacteria forming lactic acid.
It is not due to these alone. Other
acids are formed by certain bacteria
that are frequently associated with
sour milk. Even bacteriologists are
not agreed on the naming of the
various bacteria involved in the
souring of milk, and a discussion of
this subject is rather technical.
"Other acids than lactic are formed
In the acid fermentation, but' the
entire acid content is referred to as
lactic when speaking of the acidity
of milk. When the developing acid
ity of milk reaches 0.25 to 0.3 per
cent, a sour taste becomes evident,
and the milk will curdle on heat
ing. When the acidity increases to
0.6 to 0.7 per cent, the milk curdles
at ordinary temperatures. The acid
ity continues, however, to increase
until it reaches about 1 per cent,
which is the maximum amount that
will be produced in milk by the or
dinary acid forming bacteria. The
acid fermentation is not confined to
milk, but is common to all sugar
containing materials which are not
themselves acid. The juice of the
sugar beet, of corn, of cabbage, of
cucumbers undergoes an acid fer
mentation because of the growth of
bacteria therein. The production of
silage, of sauerkraut, and of cu
cumber pickles Is based on the acid
fermentation of the materials from
which they are made. There are
forms of acid producing bacteria
that change milk in odor, taste, and
appearance, yet the sour milk is not
offensive in any sense of the word.
Other bacteria also sour the milk,
but produce offensive odors and a
disagreeable taste. Thus, the acid
forming bacteria may be divided
into two main groups which may be
designated as desirable and unde
sirable. This division is of import
ance to the butter and cheesemaker
and to the consumer of milk. The
chief by-product of desirable acid
forming bacteria is lactic acid:
small amounts of acetic acid and
alcohol, with traces of other com
pounds are also formed. The agree
able odor and to some extent the
flavor of milk fermented by these
bacteria is due to other by-products
than lactic acid, for this has no
odor and only a sour taste. The
acid fermenta ion of milk if often
called the lactic acid fermentation.
In reality only the fermentation
produced by the desirable group in
which lactic acid is the most evi
dent by-product should ce thus
called. Another group of bacteria
which may be classed among the
desirable acid-formin'* organisms Is
constar. ly found in milk. The mem
bers of this group have little to do
with th.r ordinary acid fermenta
tion. as they grow very slowly at
ordinarv temperatures. Organisms
belonging to this group are used in
PEAT LITTER
The use of peat litter for mature
flocks and baby chicles has increased
very rapidly during the last three
years. Peat liUe, s mined or dug
ar* processed In Gennang. Its ex
t''m.i.,e use and reasonable price in
tL United Stages has been partly
dm. *o Its use as ballast in ships
plying on regular trips between Bre
men and the United abates. Ships
carrying meat, grain and other
bulky products from the United
states to l ny ,»ave been able
to etu.n wi . p. it litter Instead of
et ry Y >lu . At present the de
r v is . ei mugh to use ail the
t > available fur ^hipping po. , on
the preparation of the fermented
milk now so widely sold in cities
and in the making of some cheese
Other types of bacteria capable oi
forming substances that impart tc
milk an offensive odor and a dis
agreeable taste not infrequently ap
pear instead of the desirable group
Instead of producing from the sugar
of milk large quantities of lactic
acid, these types generate other
acids, such as acetic and formic
which impart a sharp taste to the
milk. Besides the acids the bacteria
of this group form gases from the
sugar of the milk. Some product
small amounts of gas; others sc
much that the curd will be spongy
and wall float on the surface of the
whey. The fermentation caused by
them is often called a ‘gassy fer
mentation’ and is dreaded by but
ter and cheesemakers, since the gas
is indicative of bad flavors that will
appear in the product. The norma7
souring of milk is chiefly due to a
mixture of these two groups of bac
teria. The relative proportions exist
ing between the two in any sample
of milk is dependent on a number
of factors, most important of which
is the degree of cleanliness exercised
in the production of the milk
Where careless conditions obtain
under which soil and manure par
ticles find their way into milk, it
becomes abundantly seeded with
gas-generating bacteria, and conse
quently the type of fermentation is
undesirable. If, however, the milk is
drawn into clean utensils, and care
is taken to exclude dirt, the pure
lactic acid types are able to con
trol the character of the changes
produced, and a clean, pleasant
tasting liquid results. It will be seen
that things are well arranged by
nature; one of the most important
food products undergoes a type of
decomposition that is not offensive,
and milk, when produced under
clean conditions, is as healthful a
food in a fermented condition as
when fresh. Thus there is every rea
son for cleanliness in the produc
tion of milk, for cleanliness’ sake
and because clean milk ire arts bet
ter products and greater returns tc
every one, producer and dealer
There are other kinds of acid-form
ing bacteria in milk, but they are
of small importance compared with
those just discussed. Some of the
bacteria derived from the inside oi
tiie udder of the cow form acid
These forms grow very slowly in
milk at ordinary temperatures and
have no influence on the keeping
quality.”
BEST MILK PAIL4
It is a mistake to use a galvanized
pail for a milk or cream bucket.
Galvanized buckets are difficult to
clean and are prone to produce a
metallic flavor in milk and cream
contained in them for any length
of time. Always rise well tinned
utensils entirely free from rust
spots, for handling milk and cream.
regular lines of shipping. Use of
tramp steamers with consequent
higher ocean rates will be necessary
with a continued Increase in de«
mand.
LUCKEY’S UNLUCKY
MADISON, WLS.—What's in a
name? Well, there isn't much in 01*;
if you’ll take Paul Luckey’s word
for it. Luckey drove down town re
cently and took his trumpet, valued
at $175 with him. He parked in
front of a theater and walked
around to do some shopping. When
he got back to his car his trumpet
was 'rone. It’s just a coincidence
that hi; name’s Luckey.
THANKSGIVING
Lincoln Journal
BY ANNE CAMPBELL
For rooms sealed last against the
rain;
For suns that never seek In vain
A clean and shining windowpane,
Thanks be to God!
For porridge and lor milk and
bread;
Cool pillows for a weary head;
l-'or Iresh, white linen on my bed,
Thanks be to God!
For clean, crisp curtains, and the
breeze
That autumn sends through leaf
less trees;
For the remembered hum of bees,
Thanks be to God!
For hands that find the unlatched
door;
For footsteps on the painted floor;
For friendships, treasured more
and more,
Thanks be to God!
For soap and salt, and every small
And trilling circumstance. For all
The little nothings 1 recall,
Thanks be to God!
Without these joys, how could I go
Through life, when I would miss
them so?
For all the common ways I know
Thanks be to God!
---—» + i .. ... . —
THE CORN SONG.
Heap high the farmer's wintry
hoard!
Heap high the golden corn!
No richer gift has autumn poured
From out her lavish horn!
Let other lands, exulting glean
The apple from the pine,
The orange from its glossy green,
The cluster from the vine;
We better love the hardy gift
Our rugged vales bestow,
To cheer us, when the storm shall
drift
Our hai vest-fields with snow.
Thru vales of grass and meads of
flowers,
Our plows their furrows made,
While on the hills the sun and
showers
Of changeful April played.
We dropped the seed o’er hill and
plain,
Beneath the sun of May,
And frightened from our sprouting
grain
The robber crows away.
All thru the long, bright days of
June,
Its leaves grew green and fair,
And waves in hot midsummer's
noon
Its soft and yellow hair.
And now, with autumn’s moonlit
eves,
Its harvest time has come;
We pluck away the frosted leaves
And bear the treasure home.
There, richer than the fabled gift
Apollo showered of old,
Pair hands the broken grain shall
sift,
And knead its meal of gold.
Let vapid idlers loll in silk,
Around their costly board;
Give us the bowl of samp and milk,
By homespun beauty poured!
Where’er the wide old kitchen -
hearth
Sends up its smoky curls,
Who will not thank the kindly
earth
And bless our farmer girls!
Then shame on all the proud and
vain.
Whose folly laughs to scorn
The blessing of our hardy grain,
Our wealth of golden corn!
Let earth withhold her goodly root;
Let mildew blight the rye,
Give to the worm the orchards
fruit,
The wheat-field to the fly;
But let the good old crop adorn
The hills our fathers trod;
Still let us, for his golden corn,
Send up our thanks to G°d
-From Whittier's "Songs of Labo..
JKATITUDE OR COMPLACENCE
(Milwaukee Journal)
Surrounded by comfort, it Is easy
o assure ourselves that we are
-rateful to God, to read thet He
hath not dealt so with any nation
and feel that through all the ages
t has not been so true of any people
and never truer than now. But
there is no more of that text: Ana
as for His judgments they have not
known them.” The truth is that our
Thanksgiving day had its humble
origin when the Pilgrims had little
more than life to be thankful for,
and when in after years Lincoln
called the nation to observance, it
was again with the thought of im
ploring divine aid and rescue.
Today it is all very different. At
the peak of human comfort and se
curity, all that we can ask is con
tinuance of this happy condition. If
we are moved to worship at all, it
is with the thought of asking that
riches and comfort may never be
less. Even so, we are not quite
sure that it is the werk of Provi
dence and not our doing.
The president gives thanks for
‘the blessings of peace and honor
able and friendly relations.” If we
are honorable, thet is our doing. To
appeals of suffering we have “re
sponded generously.’’ Even more
frankly. “We have advanced in
Official "Boeticians.”
From Cedar Rapids Gazette.
W. W. Liggett, a Washington
literary gent, who wrote an expose
of liquor conditions in the capital,
has testified before the grand jury
which is investigating liquor con
ditions. If Mr. Liggett’s figures are
trustworthy they confirm the preva
lent belief that Washington is one
of the wettest citoes in the nation.
He asserts there are 650 speakeasies
as compared with 300 saloons and
retail liquor stores in pre-prohibition
days. He estimates alcoholic con
sumption for 1929 as 1.670.000 gal
lons, an Increase of 175,000 gallons
compared with 1916.
This information 1# not nearly
wisdom and in spiritual understand
ing," and "We have raised the men
tal and moral standards of life.”
Here ts a very plain suggestion to
Divine Providence that its judg
ment was good, that It selected the
proper recipients of its gracious
favor.
Can we be so sure of these fine
things about ourselves? Is it as
certain, for instance, that we have
moved toward the divine standard
as that our pastures are clothed
with flocks and our valleys covered
over with com?
It is Important to consider this.
For, as Mr. Coolidge himself said
the other day, “The test that now
confronts the nation is prosperity,"
and as he added, “History is lit
tered with stories of nations des
troyed by their own wealth." Our
practical need far more than formal
expressions of gratitude is to know
whether the things we are doing
are likely to bring a continuance of
this well being. For this inquiry,
the ancient standard is still avail
able—“to do justly and to love
mercy and to walk humbly with thy
God.”
THANKSGIVING DAY.
By the time these words come un
der a reader's eye, our Thanksgiv
ing of 1929 will be pretty well over.
Doubtless there are shows yet to be
seen, dinners still to be eaten and
dances to be danced, but the day is
on the wane. Many a worthy citi
zen is at this moment afflicted with
“a sense of fullness" and accom
panying drowsiness. Indeed the
idea of fullness seems to be indis
solubly associated with the day. The
individual can hardly experience
fullness without being—it is hoped
not painfully—conscious of it.
Feasting and repletion go together,
as they did in tne old Deuteronomy
days when it was wirtten: "Lest
when thou hast eaten and art full.”
It is a state dangerous, not only
to physical well-being, but to spirit
ual health Yet Thanksgiving din
ners must be eaten; the family,
when possible, must be gathered
round tne table, for the day is, or
should be, pre-eminently a home
day, and there must be happiness
and good cheer, "With thankful
heart what'er the meal Is,” so says
Thackeray in one of the most
touching ballads in our language.
After having stressed the religious
and spiritual side of the day—its
most important side—and done
something to minister to less fortu
nate folk—perhaps even a little
selfishness will be pardoned, by
which is meant a centering on the
family relation and the home ties.
There ought to be full hearts as
well as full stomachs—hearts full to
overflowing. It is a day on which
the family can and should be en
larged by the process of adoption
for the occasion. By this adoption
guests are made truly members of
the household In an unbroken j
unity. The day is social—a day of
fellowship—of which the feast,
hether It be a feast or not, should
be the outward sign. For. though
the dinner is a very important part
of the Thanksgiving ritual, the
words of the Wise Man, written
many centuries ago are still tme:
"Better is a dinner of herbs where
love is. than a stalled ox and
hatred therewith." The day should
be one of joy and happiness, of
kindly feeling—and of buried
grudges. It should, as people grow
cider, each year take on a tenderer
and tenderer significance, and be
more and more a day of remem
brance, as one famous meal was,
again to Thackeray, a meal of re
membrance of those who had died:
The kind old voices and old faces
My memory can quick retrace:
Around the ‘board they take their
places.
And share the wine and boilla
baisse.
So another Thanksgiving Day has
gone, or is about to go. To some
it perhaps meant little, and to
others it may even have been a sort
of mockery. But the spirit back of
it, and its beautifully human qual
ity, must have brought something
very like a blessing to many.
THANKSGIVING OLD AND NEW.
Thanksgiving Day was instituted
in a time of comparative privation,
when, as Governor Bradford wrote,
"each person had about a peck ol
meal a week, or now, since harvest,
Indian corn in that proportion.” As
celebrated in the early years of a
struggling little church state in a
bleak corner of a savage continent,
it was less a festival than a religious
observance. The Pilgrim commun
ity gave thanks that it had besu
able to hold on. The most memor
able Thanksgivings since have been
those of periods of stress and hard
ship. Lincoln was the first presi
dent to issue an annual Thanksgiv
ing proclamation, and be first did
so when, in 1803. the country was
tested and anxious as seldom be
fore. It is when all they possess Is
put to the hazard, when the gcal
altgad seems doubtful, that men are
moot thanlc'ul for their possessions
and progress.
Thanksgiving was aho, not merely
in its early history but till recent
times, a peculiarly rural holldoy.
It became the autumn festival,
marking the gathering of the crops.
The corn, the apples, the pumpkins,
were ripe; the pigs and fowls were
fat. When we pile the board with
dishes and feast to repletion, we
are harking back for one day to a
thne when American foods and
feeding had a rural amplitude. The
tratdltlon of Thanksgiving plenty
developed in an era when every
home grew its own turkey, chickens,
geese, beef and pork; when every
thicket might hide deer, quail, par
tridge and grouse; when every attic
was stuffed with dried corn, beans,
onions and herbs; when every cel
lar overflowed with cider, apples,
potatoes, pumpkins and jellies. It
was observed chiefly by a hard
so interesting however, as that which
concerns the alcoholic consumption
ol senators and representatives.
The bibulous habits of those who
have outlawed alcohol naturally are
of greater interest than the con
sumptive capacity of ordinary citi
zens. Unfortunately. Mr. Liggett
supplies no figures for the Senate
and House as he does for the city
at large. There seems to be no basis
for figuring the gallon or quart
capacity of statesmen. The only
information available affords the
opportunity to compare the booti
cfan personnel of the Senate with
the bootlcian personnel of the
House. While this comparison wil'
not establish oex capita consumption ,
HARVEST FESTIVAL
I harvest today, I will spread me
a feast.
I will call
From greatest to least
Those friends I can never repay,
Whose gifting and grace
Have been mine. Every one of them
all
Shall have his own place
In the joy of my harvest today.
I shall taste to the fullest the
pleasure
Of one who has found
Rare treasure
And carried it Joyously home to dis
play.
And there shall be laughter and
song
And the pressing around
Of those who belong
To my gladness. I harvest today.
Is it pity I see in your lock?
Ah, forget I am old!
Forget that you thought I was
lonely
And wasted and gray,
Think net what life took
But what splendor she gave me to
hold.
Remembering only
How gladly I harvest today.
There is no room for grief at my
feast,
Nor the glimmer of tears,
For the reaping has ceased,
Every sheaf has been gathered, and
they
Who gave so much,
Yes, the plenteous, merciful years,
Are the friends, come to touch
And to bless me. I harvest today.
—Grace Strickler Dawson in the
Household Magazine.
-
THE GOBBLING OF THE
TURKEY GOBBLER
By Fairfax Downey
The air was crisp, the season fall,
When on the turkey came to call
That little bird with tireless wings
Who flies around and tells folks
things.
He told the turkey, "You’re a goose,
Unless you hurry and reduce,
Your face is red, your waist’s a
joke.
You’re very apt to have a stroke.”
The gobbler said in careless mood,
“My boarding house now sets up
food
Thatis quite the best I ever ate.
I can’t help pecking clean each
plate.”
The waraer gave his wings a whirr
And chirped, “That’s rather sinister,
I see you with a noble tan—
From ovens, not from sun, old man.
"The bright, red cranberry beware—
And all that well-dressed turks will
wear.
You’ll be stuffed full of bread tnd
sage,
Unless you try and be your age.”
The gobbler gobbled all he found
And gayly took on pound by pound,
His exercise was staid and mild;
Exertion makes wild turkeys wild.
Deaf was the turkey to all pleas
’Gainst vitsmines and calories.
His requiem was this remark:
“Now what will you have—white or
dark?”
working outdoors people who had
reason to be trenchermen.
It need not be said that there is
a tremendous contrast on the more
of prosperity between the national
Thanksgiving of 1929 and many a
lean or clouded Thanksgiving of
past times- We tend to use the word
‘Prosperous” in too narrow a sense.
Today we can fairly say that we are
prosperous in our foreign relations,
at least in the sense that peace is
unthreatened. We are prosperous
in eduoatlon and general cultiva
tion; we have prospered in the com
forts and luxuries given us by in
vention; we prosper in national
unity and the absence of class cr
sectional friction. Above all, of I
course, most people will think of j
our prosperity in the narrower
sense—in having high wages, in '
witnessing a shrinkage of poverty
and in feeling a rising level of so
cial welfare.
And perhaps the most significant i
change registered by Thanksgiving i
is that this prosperity of which it |
will remind every one is now a dis- !
tinctively urban and Industrial i
prosperity. It represents for the
nation as a whole not stuffed bams I
and farmhouse cellars but a new
business era. We are assured on *
every hand that our country has i
found a golden key to industrial ,
and business problems. Not Amer- I
icans alone but many Europeans ex
tol our system of high wa^ss and
quantity production as giving ns— j
with other factors—an economic I
stability, freedom of opportunity i
and diffusion of goods unknown
elsewhere. When most people gave j
thanks a generation ago tl?ey :
thought of good crops. When most
Americans today give thaqks they i
think of "prosperity" in these new !
terms; an urban and manutactur- !
ing prosperity of a peculiarly Amer
ican kind, and of a kind hardly i
dreamed of a quarter-century ago.
With agriculture depressed, the
country in general still feels itself
exuberantly thriving; the city has
captured Thanksgiving.
Even though the change may not
be so great as some observers think,
the currents of our national life
have altered greatly in recent years.
It would be impossible for our most
typically American holiday not to
show some alterations in spirit.
it will give a rough estimate of the
relative consumption of the Senate
and House.
Mr. Liggett, one is astonished to
learn, says there is only one officii!
senatorial bootician. He is describt i
as a paragon of efficier. / who deal
in high grade liquors and makes
deliveries almost instantly. Doubt
less is the famous man in the green
hat. The public has heard of him
before. The House, according to Mr.
Liggett, requires the services of at
least six competent booticlans. ?
there are 435 members of the K> e
there is one bootician to 72’ii re; e
sentatives. But there is only one
bootician to senators.
Assuming tbaii the P13D to Oe
What Is Thanksgiving?
By Dr Frank Crane
Thanksgiving is not something
that depends upon things to be
thankful for.
Thanksgiving is a state of mind.
Most of us, when the subject is
mentioned, east about to find what
things there are for which we
should be thankful. It is a mattei
of peculiar psychological interest to
observe this experiment. For often
those whose hands are fullest of
earth’s privileges seem most forlorn,
while those who can find little of
of the world’s favors among theit
possession seem most grateful.
As a matter of fact, the amouil
of things we have to bo thankM
for has not the slightest thing to c(
with our thanksgiving.
We may be thankful for Anything
and ungrateful for everything. I|
all depends upon whether our fact
Is to the east.
We may be thankful that we hav*
a million dollars or a saucerful oi
diamonds. Or we may be thankful
for so small a boon as that we are
still alive It is even passible, if
you are going to be hanged, to be
thankful that you are going to be
hanged with a rope and not with a
halter.
So you see it Is all a matter of
relation.
Thanksgiving is not a thing. II
Is a relation between two things.
As Thomas Carlyle expressed is:
Huppiness is a common fraction, ol
which the numerator is what you
have and the denominator is what
you think you ought to have. And
happiness is the dividend obtained
by dividing the numerator by th«
denominator.
Still, there are some advantage*
which appeal to every one of us.
There are some unmixed blessing*
which we all have and for which
we all ought to be thankful accord
ing to the degree of our intelligence.
The first is Love. Not that some
one loves you, but that you love
some one. Whoever is capable ol
love in any degree, whether that
that love is requitted or not, should
give thanks For it ought to show
him that he has life with him, some
of the sparks oi that fire thal
created the world.
Service. This does not mean tha
service others give us, but the serv
ice we are able to give others Who
ever can serve his fellow men, even
in the least degree, should be heart
ily thankful, for he has some ex
cuse for living.
Work. The joy of life is self
expression, and no soul that has not
found its work can express itseir.
If in your small corner you have
found some sort of work that you
can do for your fellows, work they
think enough ol to pay you money,
for you have occasion for thank
fulness . At least you are not a
deadbeat in the universe.
Faith. 11 you believe in something
good: if within you remains some
unshaken confidence in the forces
that make the good, the true and
the beautiful in the world, you may
be thankful. For there Is no cell ir»
that hell where living souls im
prison themselves so dark and fear
some as the cell that is unlit by any
faith in good men, in good women
and the good Creator who moves
us all.
Life. If you are alive you ought
to be thankful. For as Charles Wag
ner says: The fundamental creed is
to believe in life. Ii. therefore, there
is in you any simple joy of exist
ence, you may be thankful, because
it is out of that seed that there
grows the tree of contentment.
To be thankful, therefore is not
a complex act, depending upon cir
cumstances, but a quite simple act.
depending upon adjustment.
FOB THE GIVING OF THANKS.
Thanksgiving Day is a purely
American institution, and one of
long standing. Centuries ago the
God fearing residents of the rocky
New England coast set aside a day,
or several days, each year for the
giving of thanks for the abundance
of nature during the crop year Just
completed. This event carne to be
known as a national holiday and is
celebrated religiously each year.
Naturally Thanksgiving Day came
in the fall. Thanks were not given
until the crop had been hurvested,
Now we celebrate the last Thursday
of November. By that time the
small grains have been harvested,
the corn is in such shape that it
can scarcely be damaged by nature
and the people are realty to settle
down for a qiuet winter. In New
England the early celabrators ol
Thanksgiving would .salty forth into
the woods and shoot a turkey. Tha
turkey is one of the symbols of
present day Thanksgiving altho wa
no longer shoot them wild
Thanksgiving also has a religiou*
significance. This is natural slnca
the holiday was originated for tha
purpose of giving thanks for thd
year's blessings. This feature of
Thanksgiving is still observed by
church-going people Football ho*
woven itself into the pattern, how
ever, and the Thank -giving football
game is another featiue of the hol
iday.
The Thanksgiving holiday is, per
haps, the oldest purely American
institution of a national character.
It is almost as significant a national
holiday as the Fourth of July. Tho
nation would part with several
other national institutions before
it would deny itself the annual day
of thanksgiving- _
gree 1 hat Is more efficient than
each ct the six House booticians, it
plain that 96 senators consume
he same amount of liquor as
representatives. Hence, while one
senator is consuming one quait or
■iquor a representative vUt 'onsumo
one and thirty--a hundredtt*
qUTht is an astonishing result,
wholly contrary to popular belter,
't is merely additional evidence or
i he deterioration of the > epaJC‘
nrobebif due to the popular electron
of* Whei they were elected
r v the it • \xxeb theae w&s scarcely
a senate •- ’ll) coulun b put ivway
two cS one for it nmresen
t&jyve.