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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 14, 1940)
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) WHETHER you celebrate Thanksgiving Day on Novem ber 21, because of the President’s proclamation, or on November 28, in accordance with the tradition of its observance on the last Thursday in November, it won’t be long now until you’ll be “talking turkey.” For, so strong is tradition, that no Thanksgiving Day dinner table seems quite complete unless there s a ■ roasted turkey on it. That’s one day in the year when the turkey is our “na tional bird” even though the bald eagle officially holds that title and is thus recog nized for 364 days of the year (365 this year). But on a Thursday in November the white-headed “king of birds” temporarily abdicates and his place is taken by a king for-a-day—the turkey. As a matter of fact, he might have been our “national bird” throughout the year—if Benjamin Franklin had had his way about it. Soon after the Declaration of Independence was signed, a congressional committee was ap pointed to choose an official seal for the new republic. Like most committees, this one immediately began squabbling over its task. When some one proposed that the bald eagle should appear on the seal as a living symbol of the nation, there was immediate op position and Franklin became the leader of the anti-eagle faction. He declared that the bald eagle was a lazy, cowardly, cruel car rion-eating cousin of the buzzard and therefore no fit object to put on the seal. In its place he urged that the honor be given to the wild turkey as a more temperate, hu mane and judicious bird. Six-Year Dispute. So bitter was the opposition to the eagle that it was necessary to appoint no less than six con gressional committees to wrestle with the problem. Alter six years the pro-eagle faction won out and by vote of congress on June 20, 1782, the bald eagle was officially adopted as the symbol of Ameri can freedom and of the majesty of the new nation. Not only was the eagle to be placed on the great seal of the United States but he was also to appear on the first coins issued. The designs of these were rather crude affairs and the eagle on them looked much like a turkey —and a slightly tipsy turkey at that. Whereupon Franklin, still unreconciled to the choice of a national bird, wrote to a friend: “1 am not displeased that the fig ure is not known as a bald eagle, but looks more like a turkey. For in truth, the turkey is in compari son a much more respectable bird, and withal a true native of America. He is besides (though a little vain and silly, it is true, but not the worse emblem for that) a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British guards, who should presume to enter his farmyard with a red coat on.” two years laier ne was appar ently still unreconciled to the honor paid to the eagle instead of his choice. The Order of Cm cinnatus, an organization of army officers who had served in the Revolution, had also adopted the eagle as its emblem. Franklin wrote to one of its leaders, de claring that a bird too lazy to fish for himself, who robbed the honest fish hawk on every occa sion and who was so cowardly as to permit the little kingbird “to drive him out of the district” was “by no means a proper emblem for the brave and honest Cincin nati of America,” who by their prowess had “driven all the kings birds from our country.” But evidently his letter didn’t do much good for the eagle remained the emblem of this order. Franklin was quite right in call ing the turkey a “true native of America.” That he was one of the authentic "first Americans” is proved by the fact that his bones in fossil deposits show that he is of prehistoric origin, and what appears to have been roost ing places for domestic turkeys have been found attached to pueb los and cliff dwellings in excavat ed ruins of untold centuries ago. It is a curious paradox that this native American bird should come to our Thanksgiving tables bear ing a foreign name which gives the erroneous suggestion that he came from the European-Asiatic country of Turkey. Yet such is the case and here is how it came about: The Spaniards who conquered Mexico found turkeys, both wild and domesticated, in that country as early as 1519 and it was no less a person than Cortez’s own confessor, Fra Agapida, who wrote back to Spain from Mexico the following, “There is a bird, much greater in bigness than a peacock, that is found within the forests and vegas all over this country. It surpasses as food any wild bird we have found up to this time. The natives do shoot these birds with arrows and catch The Arst great seal of the United States, adopted by congress in 1782. them in various kinds of springes and snares. Specimens of this splendid fowl were almost immediately sent back to Spain and the Jewish merchants, who were the leading dealers in such commodities at the time, thought they looked more like peacocks than anything else. The Hebrew word for pea cock was “tukki,” from a Hindu word "toka,” meaning “trailing skirt,” and these merchants be gan calling them “tukkis” or “American tukkis.” Soon the word "tukki” became corrupted to “turkey” and led to a confu sion as to their origin, even though they were of American rather than Turkish nativity. A Royal Gift. From Spain the new delicacy from the New world spread to other parts of Europe and won in stant favor. Turkeys were taken to Persia by Armenians, and to Batavia by the Dutch. In France —where the turkey was, and is, called “dinde” because they be lieved it hailed from India—the bird was Arst served for the wed ding feast of the lively young Charles IX and Elizabeth of Aus tria. Twelve turkeys were con sidered Ane enough for a royal gift from the merchants of Amiens to Charles. By the mid dle of the century, England met the bird, and in another 20 years it was being plentifully raised in various sections of Great Britain. And now comes one of the curious paradoxes of history, in that this “native American” be came an immigrant to the snores of his own land. In 1629 a letter, written to Governor Endicott in Salem, Mass., by his agents in London, assured him that “tame turkies shall be sent you by the nexte shippe.” So in a short time the New England variety of the North American wild turkey was being mixed with his partly do mesticated descendant from Mex ico via England—thus complet ing a curious 100-year round-the world tour. It is probable that not one tur key in a thousand which will grace the Thanksgiving table this year will be a native wild turkey. For the original New England wild turkey (Meleagres Ameri cana) is all but extinct in the part of the country where he first made his appearance on that festal board. The wild turkey of today (Meleagres gallapavo silvestris,) according to ornithologists, is found in greatly reduced numbers only from Pennsylvania and Ohio south to the gulf states and west to Arkansas. There is a smaller variety, the Florida wild turkey, in that state; in southern Texas is another, the Rio Grande turkey and in the Rocky mountain re gion, another, Merriam’s turkey. All modern domesticated turkeys are derived from the Mexican wild turkey (Meleagres Mexi cans) of the earliest days. The First Thanksgiving. But to get back to why the tur key occupies such a prominent place on our Thanksgiving day dinner table—of that first celebra tion, held in Plymouth in 1621, Edward Winslow wrote back to England as follows: “Our harvest being gotten in, our Governor sent foure men on fowling, that so we might after a more speciall manner rejoyce to gether, after we had gathered in the fruit of our labours; they foure in one day killed as much fowle, as with a little help be side, served the company almost a week, at which time amongst other recreations, we exercised our Armes, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest of their greatest King Massasoyt, with some ninety men, whom for three days we en tertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five Deere, which they brought to the Plan tation and bestowed on our Gov ernor, and upon the Captaine (Standish) and others.” There is no doubt that among the “fowle” at this feast, enjoyed alike by the Pilgrims and the In dians, was the native wild turkey, for that bird had long been a staple in the diet of the red man. Incidentally, that familiar ex pression “talk turkey” dates from ! those early days and we are in debted to the Indians for it, too. In one of the Thirteen Colonies (it cannot be stated positively which one, although from certain aspects of the incident the sus picion arises that it was in New England) an Indian and a white man agreed to hunt together for a day and then to divide the spoils. This they did and the divi sion proceeded agreeably enough until only a crow and a turkey remained. Thereupon the white man, vol ubly frank and seemingly gener ous in manner, said: “Now you may have the crow and I’ll take the turkey; or I’ll take the turkey and you may have the crow.” But the red man was not so easily taken in by this glib proposal and replied indignantly: “Huh! Why you no talk turkey to me?” And ever since that time, so says the legend, when a person began to dissemble, to conceal his real meaning in a superfluity of words, to attempt to “put over” something on another, it became time for the other to advise him to "talk turkey,” i. e. to be straightforward and get down to business. Election Statistics (Table below shows state by state re sults In the election of the President (electoral vote). Congressional Repre sentatives. U. S. Senators and the gover nors of each state In which these posts were at stake.) <3 HS> H*1 Sg> o2 2iS ! ^ &j M State * * 3 DRDRDRDR Ala. . 11 9 Ariz. .3 1 1 1 Ark. .97 1 Calif. .22 11 9 1 Colo. . 6 2 2 1 Conn. .8 6 1 1 Del. .311 1 Fla. .7 9 1 1 Georgia 12 10 1 Idaho .4 11 11 Illinois 29 11 16 1 1 Indiana 14 4 8 1 1 Iowa . 11 2 7 1 Kansas 9 16 1 "Ky. .11 8 11 La. . . 10 8 n Maine 5 3 1 Md. .8 6 1 Mass. 17 6 9 1 1 Mich. . 19 6 11 11 •Minn. 11 8 11 Miss. .9 7 1 Mo. .15 10 3 1 1 lt> Mont. .4 111 1 j Neb. . 7 2 3 1 1 Nevada 3 11 N. H. . 4 2 1 N. J. .16 4 10 11 N. M. . 3 1 1 1 tN. Y. . 47 25 19 1 N. C. . 13 11 1 N. D. . 4 2 11 Ohio .26 12 12 1 1 Okla. .11 8 1 Oregon ,5 12 Pa. . . 36 19 15 1 R. I. . 4 2 1 1 S C. . 8 6 S. D. . 4 2 1 tTenn. .11 6 2 1 1 Texas . 23 21 1 1 Utah .4 2 1 1 Vt. . . 3 1 1 1 Va. . . 11 9 1 Wash. .861 1 W. Va. 8 6 1 1 5Wis. .12 16 Prog. 1 Wyo. .3 1 1 TOTALS 449 82 267 162 22 12 18 15 Additional Congressional Results. * Minnesota has one Farmer-Laborite. t New York has one American-Laborite. t Tennessee has one Independent. { Wisconsin has three Progressives. NOTE: It should be remembered that only 33 states elected governors and 35 states elected senators In this 1940 elec tion. (Tabulation below gives the popular vote for the presidential election as reported by the varb ous states.) Roosevelt Willkle Alabama . . . 179.589 27,651 Arizona . . . 77,212 41,833 Arkansas . 102,805 26,495 California . . 1,750,876 1,240,231 Colorado . . . 198.675 212,435 Connecticut . . 417,858 361,869 Delaware . . . 74,387 63.059 Florida .... 338,847 121.033 Georgia .... 240,734 41,482 Idaho .... 117,201 99,490 Illinois .... 2,130.194 2,036.431 Indiana .... 860.472 884,557 Iowa. 572,655 622,737 Kansas .... 348,974 465,599 Kentucky . . . 481,550 350.222 Louisiana . . . 186.171 29,542 Maine .... 154,774 163,928 Maryland . . . 364,168 250,362 Massachusetts . 1,052.678 916,411 Michigan . . . 1,025,963 1,032,963 Minnesota . . . 622.032 583,536 Mississippi . . 100,825 4,737 Missouri . . . 946,125 856,531 Montana . . . 109,130 73,379 Nebraska . . . 256,761 341,863 Nevada .... 31.567 20,946 New Hampshire . 125,625 109.992 New Jersey . . 1,014,978 947,638 New Mexico . . 105,031 82,754 New York J . . 3,262,273 3,029,180 North Carolina . 575,072 182,706 North Dakota . . 113.909 144.635 Ohio .... 1.728.020 1,584.855 Oklahoma , . . 468,397 342,672 Oregon .... 229.819 202,715 Pennsylvania . . 2,168.693 1,884,847 Rhode Island . . 181.881 138,432 South Carolina . 85.077 4,193 South Dakota . . 114.623 159,370 Tennessee : . . 323.710 150,531 Texas .... 682.173 162,755 Utah. 153,434 93,006 Vermont . . . 64.244 78,335 Virginia .... 236.512 109.682 Washington . . 349.869 244.057 West Virginia . . 483.566 360,769 Wisconsin . . . 693,017 672.343 Wyoming . . . 58,262 51,998 Total . . . 25.960.408 21,606.691 (Above figures are unofficial. Com plete und official returns are announced following canvass by the various slate boards.) Election Sidelights: Both presidential candidates car ried their own home voting districts. Roosevelt received a majority of 74 votes to win, 376 to 302; Willkie's native town gave him a margin of 438 votes. The count was Willkie, 4,151; Roosevelt, 3,713. Post-election celebration kept Manhattan firemen busy after Roosevelt’s victory became appar ent. More than 50 fire alarms were turned in as a result of street bon fires set by celebrants. • • • In order to record the electoral vote the 531 presidential electors will gather on December 16 in their various state capitals and send their votes to Washington by registered mail. These letters will actually be tabulated by Congress on January 6 and President Roosevelt will be sworn in for his third term on Janu ary 20. Members of the electoral college used to get a trip to Wash ington but in 1934. congress decided that its duties were too routine and turned it into a “correspondence school." I New Flair for Satin Increases As Women ‘Rediscover* Fabric Bv CHERIE NICHOLAS A FLAIR for satin has developed that extends throughout the en tire program of fall and winter fash ions. Not only is its smartness rec ognized but women are rediscov ering how marvelous satin of pure silk dye feels in the wearing. It has even come to be regarded as an enthusiastically accredited year round fabric. Satin is being importantly used in the realm of costume design in com bination with other materials as in the styling of fashionable bolero and long-coat ensembles. The vogue for satin also reflects in everything from hats to shoes, bags, gloves and countless other accessory items. Ever so chic are long satin eve ning wraps in black or colors. Designers who know, declare that the satins they handle must neces sarily be of the pure-silk type in order to arrive at the lovely effects in shirring, draping and general ma nipulation achieved in the stunning modes illustrated. Then too, they point out the economy and practi cality of all-silk satin in that it wears so satisfactorily, cleans so beautifully and proves up to the mark from every test angle. A style-distinctive version of that ever-perennial favorite, the white satin blouse, is shown above to the left in the group pictured. Its fit ted midriff accords with an out standing fashion trend. Tucks start ing at the diagonal yoke seam are released into soft bust fullness. The hat worn with it is an artful transla tion of the Suzy flsherwoman sailor. Jeweled buttons down the front impart sparkle to the very effective green silk satin overblouse with small rolled collar pictured to the right. Artful shirrings accent the longer waistline. A soaring hat of pleated felt and ribbon by Louise Sanders tunes to the colors of the blouse. From the milliner’s viewpoint sat in is declared an ideal medium. For the pompadour turban shown below to the right, satin in the new “hu aca” (potato peel) brown is com bined with black. Note that this hat is worn well back on the head to show the new off-face hair-do, al together a very characteristic move ment this season. The hat as well as the black satin handbag designed by Lilly Dache reflect the trend to soft unpressed pleats. The bag in clines to the new long narrow shape that is the "last word” in design. Renewed interest in evening gowns fashioned of satin is evi denced throughout the present style program. In the inset panel we are showing a satin dinner-dance gown that demonstrates the exqui site grace with which satin yields to soft draping effects. A new han dling in the side drape gives a de cidedly up-to-the-minute aspect to this gown so artfully created by Kiviette, noted American designer. A long panel back, also the V-neck decolletage, are intriguing details. Some very good-looking long-coat costume suits include a blouse of satin matched to the color of the cloth that makes the coat and skirt. Especially outstanding is the all black ensemble that tops the satin blouse with long coat or bolero that is handsomely braided. With a cos tume suit of this description the program of dress for daytime wear is aptly solved in a flattering way. (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) Gloves Match Hats Dozens ol colors in the newest American leather gloves make it possible to follow fashion’s latest dictate which bids you match hats and gloves or hat trimmings and gloves. Here a gay red hat and equally red mocha gloves put color spice into a black suit. Since the hat flaunts beige wings and a dark green veil, either beige or dark | green gloves could also be used. Notice how the buttons fasten on the side. Jerkins Transform Costume Magically Jerkins are becoming increasingly popular. You can have anything from a sports jerkin of colorful suede, velveteen or corduroy to an esthetic evening type that can be slipped over any simple frock. Jer kins, with their long torso lines, look stunning slipped over frocks with all-round pleated skirts and are dramatic when worn over slinky long pencil-slim evening gowns trailing long skirts or the new harem skirts that slit up the side. Fasten Dress, Blouse With Jeweled Buttons The smartest way to fasten your dress or blouse in the new to-one side way is with a single large fur covered button. These fur buttons play into the scheme of furred en sembles cleverly, the button match ing the hat of fur or the fur buckles that are so new for pumps. Jeweled buttons are important this season, especially on blouses of rich fabric. Many black velvet dresses are enhanced by the spar kle of rhinestone or jewel set but tons. Match Sweater, Crepe Skirt for Evening Wear Colorful crepe evening dresses are selling with matching sweaters to serve as formal jackets. Embroid ered sweaters that sparkle or that are gorgeous with metal thread and beadwork take on the new long-torso lines. Smart afternoon dresses have pleated skirts with form-fitting hip length slipover sweaters that are all over sequin embroidered. You’ll Find This Doll Fascinating to Make "■ - ■■■■ — — ■ ■ lIBBlMriiTilBMfclEuEaaiatjKXealMMMiSaiaW TPHIS doll is as fascinating to make and dress as she is to look at. And what little girl or grown-up wouldn’t be charmed with her gay clothes, yam curls and easy-to-embroider features. * * * Pattern 2578 contains a pattern and di rections for making a 14*/2-inch doll and clothes; materials required. 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