The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1881-11-24
The Day Of Thanks.

Let US all be thankful. 1t is good
to give thanks and rejoice. Although
there are different grades of joy and
a variety of causes for gratitude te
the Giver of all good gifts, there is
nobody so destitute of blessingsand
benefits that he is warranted in hav
ing an utterly thankless heart. Even
though there be some whose general
frame of mind is not a thankful one,
there is at least one day in the year
when all men ought to be as thank.
full as they can. That day is to-day.
1t is not because Of proclamation by
the civil authority that we give
thanks. That might be formal and
perfunctory business. We will give
thanks from grateful hearts, for We
have received innumerable blessings
and mercies.
But it is objected on the part of
some individuals that they have re.
ceived no such avalanche of bless
ing and mercy as to fill their hearts
with gratitude to the Almighty. On
the contrary, they think they have
seen the distribution of benefits to
others, without being themselves
partakers to such an extent as to
afford cause for thanksgiving or
grateful joy. And yet even these
individuals might be thankful that
they are not worse of. The case of
the dilipidated sailor is familiar to
everybody. When he fell from the
masthead and broke his arm, he
thanked God that it was not his leg;
and when, after recovery, q second
fall fractured his thigh bone, he was
just az thankful that it was not his
arm. The elastic gratefulness of this
afflicted mariner is fit subject for i'm
itation BY many who might well be
a great deal more thankful than they
are.
In all Gods fair universe, there is |
not another land so highly favored |
as is ours. A free people under .
free Government, there is room |
enough for all, and every man has
an opportunity to make his life just
what he plsases. The pursuit of
is not only an inalienable
right, but the means of procuring |
are here exceptionally
abundant. The land is the peoples,
with all that Is on it and under it,
together with all that it is capable of |
producing. No inexorable task.mas-
ter draws from them the fat of the |
land. No grasping landlord levies
ties upon all they possess. The soil |
and the cotton and grain it produces;
the mines and minerals, and the
fruits Of the whole earth are theirs,
to own and enjoy as the reward of
honest industry. No man in this
land exercises proscriptive right
over these blessings of a bountiful
Providence. They are the free and
anincumbered property of every
man who is willing to work for them,
and who, by thrift, is prudent
enough to keep out Of debt. Verify,
his is glorious heritage. Whilst
% day being thankful that our lives
have fallen in such pleasant places,
t should be the highest aspiration
# every man that he may be ena-
lied to prove himself worthy of a
ountry SO singularly blessed. |,
That the people own the land, and
ne free to govern themselves, are
he paramount subjects for thank
illness. These being rightly en-
loyed, all else will follow.
That right employment means a
reat deal. It means that the land
hall be made the most Of, and that
he Government shall yield the
rcatest good to thegreatestnumber.
To make the most of the land,
leans that agriculture shall be pur-
ned with all the effectiveness of