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DECEMBER 21, 1906
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The Commoner.
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KEEPING CHRISTMAS IN THE HEART
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gran' rasslin' match is goin' on in ivry
iV til' clwlvSMVl rr1nti f. r ". .y
the American Malne ' we'e aU n a augl e
fight n' quarrelin', robbin', plundhrin' or'
murdhrin', accordin' to our tastes It'a whnf
Hogan calls th' struggle fr Sence an' it"
always go on while there's a dollar in the
wurruld a woman, or a ribbon to wear in on?
coats. But on the throe hundred and sixty-flf th
day suddenly we hear a voice: 'Gintlemen, gintle
men, not befure th' childher.' An' we cot un an'
SjflSndlS i?USt ffi, ,Ur Cl0thes an' 8hake
pretindin' it was all fun. Th' kids have come in."
Wouldn t things bo changed if after the truce
observed December 25, 190G, the men and women
of the world failed to renew the fighting and
the quarreling? Wouldn't life be more than worth
the living if after keeping Christmas in tho
form, by filling the children's stockings on Christ
mas eve and exchanging gifts and salutations with
friends on Christmas day, we kept Christmas in
the heart for the balance of the year?
One writer gave us a hint when he said that
.the kindness and good cheer generally prevalent
during the Christmas season represents tho nor
mal condition of society when it shall reach that
perfection possible among human beings. And
there are those who believe that in spite of wars
and rumors of wars between nations, in the face
of oppression and greed among individuals, we
are moving to that very condition where keep
ing Christmas in the heartmen and women will
obtain during all the year the inspiration and ex
altation they derive during the few hours of tho
designated season when they keep Christmas in
the form. And those who indulge in this bit of
optimism tell us that love is leading the way.
Well, Love knows the way; and the men and
women who follow her call will find it.
And how are we to put in the entire year
"keeping Christmas in the heart?" Certainly not
by hanging up the stockings every evening of
the year; nor by continual exchange of gifts; nor
by making perpetual the strain and labors of
the Christmas season as we now observe it. But
rather bv toninc down some of the tn fulness nr.
.-. if you prefer to call it, the enthusiasm of that
ar . .... u.. . - .
-"season, so that in our efforts to make a snowing
for ourselves and our immediate friends we put
no undue strain upon the pocketbook of our bread-
. winner, and impose no undue burdens upon the
poorly-paid shop girl. She though we sometimes
iw forget it is the child of some other parents who
are just as anxious that their child be comfortable
and free from vexatious burdens as we are that
our child be surfeited with Christmas gifts.
It is by the use of a little leaven that
leaveneth the whole lump; by a little spreading
rt out of tho great pile of friendly salutation, of
l.r generosity, of good cheer and of kindly disposi-
""T " tfon that now .characterize the Christmas sea
son; so that without detracting irom tne joy ot
'that period, we contribute to the continuing hap
piness of men and to the permanent well-being
of the world. "But only Love may lead love in,
to Arcady, to Arcady."
One would be thought simple, indeed, were
he to aslc in this day: "What is love?" There
are, ready at hand, so many answers to the ques
tion and most of them are plainly illustrated in
every day life.
The mother bending o'er her first born tells
us 'that is love and the love light that lies within
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that mothers eyes tell us that, at least, is truth.
future of mG' raft l aacrlflco h,s a for th0
know thl i y' iloIlB UB Umt ,s lov; ""I wo
Knows. a8 n0 Wh f0GlS U,,d' f0c1'
ihl "" ,OV0 ,S dSCrIbod in
"A warrior so bold, and a virgin so bright
Conversed as thoy sat on the green.
A! nGd0n each ot,l0r wlth tondorost delight,
A onzo the Brave was tho name of the knight
The maiden's tho Fair Imogene."
nn Tho manly lad with the first touch of down
on his lip knows what love is when, turning to
the sweetheart of his youth, ho says:
"If you become a nun, dear,
The bishop Love will be;
The cupids every one, dear!
Will chant 'Wo trust in thee!'"
One poet tells us "Love is madness, Jove is
sadness;" another that it Is "Tho sweetest joy,
the wildest woe." One grown crusty in bachelor
hood calls it "a delusion and a snare;" and a
hopeless one declares "Love Is the tyrant of the
heart; it darkens reason, confounds discretion;
deaf to counsel it runs a headlong course to des
perate madness."
But the biliousness of the poets and the cyni
cism of the despondent can not affect the views
of the man who has walked by love's side; walked
by love's side when he gathered the myrtle with
Mary; walked by lovo's side when he led to tho
altar tho girl of his choice; walked by lovo's side
at tho cradle of tho first born to that holy union;
walked by love's side and held within his own
trembling grasp lovo's firm hand by tho little
grave in which was centered that common inter
est which binds two hearts closer than any mar
riage vow yet spoken by a priest.
We know that when the maid and the lad,
tho mother and the father, and the friend have
spoken thoy have told us o love and that that is
love, indeed! But all these are but representa
tive of the real thing the out-cropping In particu
lar individuals of that which was to affect all in
dividuals; tho triumph in particular quarters of
that which was to dominate in all quarters; tho
hint strong and beautiful, but a mere hint never
thelessof that great "truth of truths" which
Disraeli described as "The principle of existence
and its only end."
Keeping Christmas in the heart as a rule of
life rather than as a more holiday pastime it will
not be necessary "when the children como in" for
us to "brush th' dust off our clothes an' shako
hands pretindin' it was all fun." Then "the chil
dren's season" will last the year 'round; then the
air will be full of music; the world will bo full of
flowers; life will be full of hope because the
hearts of men are full of love.
The world is not growing worse as some of
the disconsolate would have us believe. It is
growing better and there flows, at this moment,
from the hearts of men more of tho milk of hu
man kindness than at any other time in the his
tory of the world. What if meanness and oppres
sion are revealed? The very revelation shows
the power of public opinion; and shows, also,
that the trend of men's thought is upward. What
if doctrinaires complain that men are becoming
Indifferent to the details of creeds? That is bc-
?
CARE FOR THE AGED
One of the growing problems of this country
Is that of caring for the aged and indigent poor
who, while not to bo classed as paupers, are not
wholly able to provide for themselves. There
are a great many of these who have some means
that would, if properly handled, maintain them,
but which would be entirely inadequate for their
needs If they were lert to their own judgment as
to investment. It would be unwise to let these
aged ones undertake to invest their little funds,
for there are too many so lacking In conscience
that they would defraud their helpless victims.
Clearly, then, it is the duty of the state to take
a hand in the matter and provide for these aged
and practically helpless" 'ones. Privately con
ducted homes for this class have not been marked
ly successful, the element of personal profit being
too promirient. ,'.,', ,. iA
M ' Under' state supervision these homes could
bo cbndticted without the element of profit enter
ing therein, and the guests of these homes could,
by contributing from their slender means, bo re
lieved from the feeling of dependence that Is so
repugnant to those who have been able to provide
for themselves until misfortune beyond their
power to prevent overtook them when they had
arrived at an advanced age. This is a matter
which demands immediate attention in all parts
of the country. s
There is a growing need for that kind of
charity that is in reality love for that is what
charity means.
JJJ
THE ULTERIOR MOTIVE
The newspapers are devoting much space
these days to giving accounts of wage increases
on thegreat railway system of tfie country, and'
many of these newspapers .seem to believe that
the increase Is duo to the, extreme genprosity of
the railway managers. Others look a; little deeper
and make note of the fact that the railway
brotherhoods have exerted their power of or-
?w, y V0 moro nnlncd than over la
their efforts to got closer to God.
Dr. P. L. Hall, one of the bout known of Vrv
brnska bankers, responding to tho nuwttoii-
aide ,Srn?rlng WrH?" "'H-Hw and
countrVin whlh Tr W"? .a generation In this
counto in which tho moral hazard a a basis for
credit entered so largely as In this." fr
or i.fn i?1 m,en ai t,,rn,nK lo th0 better thing
of life. They know that lovo and tho tilings it
stands for aro alone worth cultivating; they know
notehbor talt ,mU,C0' t0 ay trP r 555
noifchboi, to encourage vanity and indulee in
bombast Is veritable waste of time. Thoy fee"
with tho poet of old who wrote:
The -warrior for the True, the Right,
FlghU in Lovo's name-
. T"Msr ZZuZ! l,ml fl8,,t
"1'hTh,oovoI,,tr u, ,,o,,rt' j-i
That lovo, or none, is fit for one
Man-slmped like thon."
"Keeping Christmas in tho heart" will yot
SZfwIIlVnf11 f mCn; aiid h W), nd0Pla at
"My bounty is as boundlefl an tho soa,
My love as deep; tho moro I give to Theo
i'ho more I have, for both arc Infinite."
In art and literature tho little child Is mndo
the representative of innocence for obvious rea
sons. I ho Danish queen who wrote, "Oh keen mo
Innocent, make others great" voiced what is to
day the wIhIi of many thoughtful parents with
respect to tho future of their children, as it well
might be the wish of thoughtful men with respect
to the future of their race. Men of tho
past who were controlled by vanity where they
were not moved by groed, struggled under tho
embarrassments and handicaps ot thosa who
would be "groat;" let the men of tho futuro bo
touched with the satisfying qualities of Innocence
and find that contentment awaiting thoso who aro
willing to seek it along the simple lines where
Love will lead the way.
For my own children I brentho thin Christmas
prayer;
Give them knowledge; but hold them true.
Itlpen their Intellect; but keep their hearts
young.
Lead them to the heights where by learning
much from their teachers men may give much
to their fellows; but let them retain to the end a
practical trust In the tenderness of men and a
simple faith In the goodness and the allnces of
God.
Let them be kind to every creature to evory
man grown weary, to evory woman grown faint,
to every child made homeless, to every bird In
the air and to every beast In the field finding In
all things something to command their concern,
and in all beings something to stir their
affections.
Keep Christmas within their hearts, work-day
and play-day alike, making each one fool, during
all the Journey through life, that:
"Whatever mine cars can hear,
Whatever mine eyes can see,
In nature so bright with beauty and light,
Has a message of love for me."
ItlCHARD L. METCALFE.
ganization to secure the increase. But' while
it is doubtless true that the railway brotherhoods
have had much to do with the Increased wage,
it is equally true that there was another reason
which had great weight with the management of
the railroads.
Realizing that the general public has been
aroused to the fact that they have been paying
exorbitant freight rates in order that Inflated divi
dends might be paid on watered stocks, the rail
way managers have conceived the Idea that they
can blind tho public by granting an Increase in
wages. "We have Just Increased wages ten per
cent, therefore it is not possible just now to
decrease the freight rates," will be the excuse
offered by the railway managers for a continu
ance of tho exorbitant rates. Of course the man
agers would father grant a ten p"er cent Increase
in rates than to reduce dividends to a fair per
centage oir the actual investment. Arid If the
'neoiile will only talk enough about the generosity
; that .grants a ten per cent Increase in wages they
may forget 'to demand a' redaction of freight
rates to a reasonable basis.
.Miute-yitoiiJIit.