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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 1908)
f riw j?ifaort WiiMfliilWli'fwi-Kwr'1 ffM"'Hiiw"inwiaiiippfiiii T -WW j' The Commoner. NOVEMBER 20, 108 13 r f jwairwflftpt VV tfty- Some Thoughts on Thanksgiving There is no hard and fast rule I about making the last Thursday in November Thanksgiving day. It is merely a custom. It is therefore a "moveable holiday." Governor Bradford of New Eng land issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation, the cause being the ar rival from England of a vessel full of supplies for the starving New Eng enders. Thanksgiving day as we observe it, however, did not become a recognized national institution till President Lincoln issued his proclam ation setting aside the last Thursday in November as "Thanksgiving day." Since that time it lias been faithfully observed by every president with one exception, and ho issued a Thanks giving proclamation. In 1865 Presi dent Johnson made the first and only departure from the "last Thursday in November" rule by fix ing upon the first Thursday in De cember as Thanksgiving day. The governors of every state save Rhode Island followed the president's lead. Rhode Island insisted on the regular day. Does anybody really know how it came about that the turkey is con sidered an absolute necessity on the Thanksgiving dinner table? The common or garden variety of turkey certainly has nothing to Tecommend it over the chicken unless it be its size. It seems strange that in the old days -when venison, bear meat, squirrel and other game was plenti ful that the turkey should become the Thanksgiving leader. "Will some one kindly explain this turkey business? Twenty-five or thirty years ago everybody went to church on Thanks giving. Now everybody goes to the football games. Then they go home and are thankful that they did not see any more killed and wounded. A New York surgeon declares that the human stomach may be easily reduced one-third. This, however, has no particular interest for us at this time of the year. What we want is some knowledge of how to enlarge the Thanksgiving purse about three thirds so as to supply a lot of stom achs that expect to be considerably distended about 2 p. m., Thursday, November 26. The late Captain Crouch of Omaha was a gallant soldier in a Kentucky confederate regiment, and he was a mine of good stories to the newspa per boys of that city. Sitting in the World-Herald office one day he told of a Thanksgiving experience in 1864. "We -didn't .have anything in par ticular to be thankful for that year, caid Captain Crouch, "and. on our aide there wasn't any -proclamation. We knew of Lincoln's proclamation, however and we discussed it in camp. A few days before Thanks giving according to tne normem -endar I set out at the head of a scouting party down In the Tennes see mountains. There were i five of us, and we scouted through the hills until Ave -were plunib worn out with out finding anything worth le There didn't seem to bo a Yank within a thousand miles, although Q b-vr ia hills were full of em. The night Ipefore Thanksgiving we nttsviiAri Komn -npjir .a .little 'spring. building a' fire that fried our meagre supply oi oacon anu oaiceu our pone, but didn't show far enough to bo seen by the enemy. "About 5 o'clock in the morning we were awakened by a Yank who yelled 'Hello' and showed a flag of truce. He said he belonged to a scouting party of five or six and wanted to know If wo would 'ceaBo hostilities' for a while and do a lit uo swapping-, mat strucK us, an right, and we agreed. A half hour later our two parties were snuggling up to a warm fire and swapping. We had plenty of tobacco, but it had been a long time since we'd drank anything in the way of coffee except that made from parched rye and wheat. The Yanks had real coffee in plenty but they were honing for tobacco. They also had plenty of hard tack and we had more tobacco. "We swapped tobacco and coffee and jacknives, and played a myste rious game with cards in which va rious things changed hands, until about 11 o'clock. Then one. of the Yanks suddenly exclaimed: " 'By George, boys; this is Thanks givin! Let's celebrate.' "Beinig chock full of real coffee and having accumulated a store of Yankee notions as a result of our mysterious card game wo endorsed the Idea. So we set about getting dinner. We combined our stock of bacon, the Yanks furnished coffee and hard tack and we baked some genuine ash cake. I've eaten many a Thanksgiving dinner since then, but that was the best one I ever set my teeth in. Say, boys, I can just tiiRtfi that genuine coffee yet. "Then we rolled over closer to the fire and smoked until the atmosphere was blue. About 5 o'clock the leader of the Yankee party yawned and remarked that it was time to go. So we bade nn.oh other trood bvo and the Yanks shouldered their muskets and started away. Looking back over his Rh milder the leader shouted: " 'This truce ends in just fifteen minutes. Then you Johnnies look out!' "Fifteen minutes later we were again sneaking around under cover. Just about supper time I felt a burn ing sensation In the calf of my left leg and heard the crack or a musKei. Don't know which one or tne yanns was responsible, but he took a piece of flesh out of my leg with that bul let, and left me limping lor a month. Tint the erallon or two of Teal coffee J consumed that day amply paid me for the suffering." make such a horriblo mess of pot hooks and thon expect a free Ameri can citizen and printer to wear his brain to a frazzlo trying to decipher 'em. The follow that wrote this a a ' Devil Geo, Bo, don't say no more. If, youso knew who writ dat stuff youso would " Printer Don't give a rap who wrote it. Whoever ho is he ought to have it crammed downJiis throat with a" Slam! Bams! C-r-r-raBh-h-h! Biff! When the noise subsided all that could bo seen was a wrecked com posing room. A moment later tho door to tho editorial room closed softly and a man resumed his swivel chair after depositing a-badly scarred stick In tho corner. "Quite a romlnder of old times," ho muttered as ho picked up his pen. and resumed writing on a review of a pile of books in front of him. Being naturally a little curious we took a poop at some of tho tilos under rovlow. We saw: "Alone in Cuba,' "Nnturo Fakirs I Have Finished," "Trusts I Have Busted," "Race Suicide and Other Fables," "What Labor Ought to Have," "Climbing San Juan Hill and Laying Down Before Jim Hill." In 20lo Having at last gained an entrance into "soBfiicty" by vlrtuo of his In herited millions, Mr. DoNorgan Von CromblltcrrrockH sought an author ity on horuldry aud expressed a wish for n coat-of-arms. "Explain to mo your family and financial connections," suggested tho authority on heraldry. This was done with a wealth of detail and circumstance. A fow days lator tho young man was given tho design. It was a Bteam shovel rampant with a Panama canal contract couch ant, on a shield of shimmering silver that looked vory much liko an ox panso of bluo water. In Doubt "I seo that old Grabborly Is spend ing money with a lavish hand." "Yes, and I don't know whether ho is purchasing immunity or more1 ly having a fow twinges of a lony dormant conscience." Tho Week After I can not sing tho old scngs; I can not sing tho now. My voice is full of whiskers And I am feeling bluo. Brain Leaks First prepare your Thanksgiving dinner. Then hustle out - and find somebody who hasn't any dinner and mighty little to be thankful for, and bid them to the feast. In 100D Scene, a weekly newspaper office in Gotham. Characters, a printer and the office "devil " punter "Now who the blankety, .blank and double dash used his feet to write such a norrime mess oj. - eV&h! Don't talk o 10 Pointer "Why not? It gives me oHfv to mv hatred ana. UiAZZZZZlf. anVman vho. oilier iiuuu -"v, w .. Fine feathers make expensive hats. A fight for right Is never wholly lost. A receipt for pew rent Is not a passport to heaven. The man who leads must oxpect some stabs in tho back. Tho man who has never exper ienced trouble can never appreciate joy. There is one thing worse than a begin. Faith may stumblo in tho dark, but doubt will tumble in broad day light. There are some people who think they are cutting 'cross lots to heaven. Some mon take an interest In poli tics without having any principle about it. Richos may buy immunity from men but that's the only kind of im munity it will buy. Wo always feel sorry for the vounc medical graduate who can not raise a set of whiskers. Wo are now encaged in trying to invent a pay envelope that just can't be opened until wo get home. It will npt suffice for men to open their mills if they shut their eyes and hearts to truth and justice. Tho man who thinks he Is getting the worst of it has only to wait a while to be convinced of his error. They may have beat us to a frazzle but they already had us messaged and advised and coached and nagged to a frazzle. At forty-five we wish we could as mitaklv learn to let trouble alone as the baby learns to keep away from the stove. A lot of money that is often spent on a wedding would have been better if used to purchase a safety net for the fall out of tho honeymoon. Tt'a difficult to make tho average woman understand the electoral col lege business. But we've never yei iinnrri a man "who could explain ;with any degree of success Just why it exists. 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"Why, -what part of tho. bird do you mean?" "Tho bill." ,, , Xater, Jiowever, -heuwas.compolJetL ito note the fact that -not even that, diadJbecn pverlooked. 51 .AGKMTS JCAKW $75 to2SO a month aellltifirKov- Siandaliowyoar loyalty. Wo 118,21. tl.X Cat- .aloe atiows roaay irtyk. W diiconaa traas parcat tUMMUMtrMtoany pkotosr,ddres.lodKe. eiBr- btemf.otc JttazorBtMU Mftflcs. Kuaxantoed. areat Mvtty Ctrtfarjr ., MfSt., CanUa, Or WdingcanirelvoB.iiithe.d3iicket and v .wouia'-uy""""' 'J ,v