davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27
SANTA CLAUS.


Presents.
Twas the eve before Christmas, Good night"
had been said,
And Annie and Willie had crcpt into bed:
There were tears on their pillows ami tears In
their eyes.
And each little bosom was heaving with signs,
For to- night their stern fathers command had
been given,
That they should retire pc iscly at seven
Instead of at eight; for they troubled him more
With questions unhcard Of than ever before.
He told them he thought this delusion a sin,
No such being a santa Claus" ever had been;
And he hoped after this, he should never more
hear
How he scrambled down chmaeys, with prs
cnts caca year.
And this was the reason that two little heads
So restlessly toss'd Tn their soft downy beds.
Eight-nine-an the clock on the steepe TOLD
Not a word had been spoken between them till
then:
When Willies sad face from the blanket did
peep.
Ana whispered Dear Annie, is you fast asleep?"
Why no, brother Willc," u sweet soic, replies,
Il
eyes,
For somehow it makes me sorry. because
Dear papa has said there was no Santa Claus
Now we know tina there is-and it can't be de-
MED,
For he came every year before mamma died.
But then Eye been thinking that she used to
pray,
And God would hear everything that mamma
would say
And perhaps she asked Him TO send Santa
Claus here.
With the sack full of presents he brought every
year"
We'll, why can't IRE pray dest rs mamma did
then,
And ask bod to sena him with presents adens"
I've been thinking 80, oo"-and without a
word more
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27

Four little bare feet bounded olt on the floor.
And two tiny hands were clasped to each breas...
Vow, Willie, you know. we must firmly believe
That the presents we ask for we're sure to
receiver
You must wait just as still till sly the Amen.'
And by that you will know that your turn has
come them
Dear Jesus. look down ON nv brother and me.
And grant us the favor we'er asking OF Thee,
want wax dolly, tea-set and ring,
And an ebony work-box that shuts with q
spring;
Bless papa, dear Jesus and cause him to see
That Santa Claus loves lis far better than he,
Don't let him get fre.ful ami angry again
At dear brother Willie and AnnieAmeni"
please, Desus, ct Santa Taus tum down to-
night
And bring us some presents before it Is light;
/ want him to div me nice little sled,
With bright shining runne:s, and al PAINTED
A box full of tandy, a book aud a toy,
Amen, and then. Desus, I'll be a dood boy"
Their prayers being ended they raised up their
heads,
And with hearts light and cheerful, again sought
They were soon lost In slumber, both peaceful
and deep,
And with fairies in Dreamland were roaming In
sleep.
Eight--nine and the little French clock had
struck ten
Ere the father had thought ef his children again.
He seems now to hear Anni.s half-suppressetl
sigh,
And to see the big tears stand in Wilie's blue
eye,
Il was harsh with my darings," he mentally
said,
And ] should not have sent them So carly to
bed;
But then was troubled, my feelings found
vent,
For bank stock to-day has gone down 10 per
cent.
But, of course. they've forgotten their troubles
ere this,
And that denied them the ,hiice-asked-fork kiss
But just To make sure. I'll steal up to their door,
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27
LEGISLATION.

Memoranda af tho Important Legislation
at the lcar.
Civil Service Reform bill passed by Com
sress.
Prohibition defeated In the PennSyls ania.
Connecticut, Missouri, Texas and Delaware
Legislatures.
Woman suffrage defeated In the Massachu-
setts Legislature.
Woman suffrage adopted by the Washing
ton Territory Legislature.
Maine restored the death penalty.
Imprisonment for debt abolished In Nova
Scotia.
Missouri, Illinois aud Iowa enacted high
license liquor laws,
Tennessee enacted Il law prohibiting public
executions.
Massachusetts enacted a law oyiding for
biennial elections.
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27
EXECUTIONS.
Record of the Legal Hangings Of the
Past Year.

4 Record of the Legal Hangings Of the
Past Year.
While murder has been rampant through
out the laad to Il degree unsurpassed In any
prcsi ous year. the crop of hangings has also
been an unusually large one. though not SO
extensive, one would Imagine, as this cause
OF justi.c would demand. Last year Jack
ketch claimed III victims. This year the
number has hcca Ito, or twenty nine i'm eN-
cess OF that of l.s2. The hangman, a. usual,
was kept busiest in the Southern States,
which furnished ninet.-three Of the victims
while eighteen were executed In the Western
States and Territories :, thirteen in the M.di.e
States-seren al them in New lork--and
three in the New England States. Georgia
and Arkansas head the list, each having sent
sixteen curris Ia the eallows. Texas and Sir-
ginia follow next With nine each. Following
ii the record
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27
East only 3lS were reported:
FELO-DE-SE.

A Record of the Suicides of the Year
just Closing.
The suicide mania has prevailed TO an I'M
usual extent during the year. and the record
Of seif-murders IL "A long one. The causes
that have led SO many anfortnnates to put q
quietus upon their earthly career arc moro
numerous than the letters of the alphabet,
but tho chief one has been financial troubles.
Poverty, hunger or the inability to obtain
employment was the motive that induced
large proportion of the long list Of self-mur-
dcrers herewith recorded 10 abruptly put an
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27
RAILROAD BUILDING.
a Marked Falling or III Railway COnstruc-
tion Dur iIy I'll. Year.

n MNfAeU IHiItnE VII W HNb'iWdy
ton During til. Year.
During the year I~sS tue number 81 miles
Of railr nj constructed In thc ! nitad states
hrs Icsn about .j.Gaa, ar l.sa than hair tho
number OF miles built in ls-. Railroad con-
str,ciion, like everything else in this country,
GOES Ivy waves. ono oil these indniations
showed Its crest in is.,'i, another IN ISL, aud
the third, II Is evident from tie tginas Or
construction, reached it, top IN lst2. Zach
Of these waves has rnlcl lsithaf than IT. pro-
ISL, ..:i.a and in lssa, 1l,aal. After tho
panic Of ISL the annual addition to the rail-
road system dropped To IL lowest point IN
1861, when but c5l miles Of new road Wcrc
built. After tie panic 81 I'd tue bottom
came III 1876, with but !. Il. miles.
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27
HARRY'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

Cnddling down on the shccpskin rug,
Fleecy and warm and white,
Three little happy children talk,
Talk low In the warm freight.
1t II Christmas eyc." SAYS Harry;
IT Is Christmas eve!" says Grace:
lis kismas cye." liSps little Kate,
Lifting her dimpled face.
And Santa Clans Is coming to night,
Coming when We are asleep:
And mother SAYS HI In sure to bring
just what we want to keep"
Then he will bring me h golden ring
Hell bring me doll, ] know
Said Harry, Hell bring me ship,
With sails rs white az the SNOW
So they spoke OF their coming joys
In the rnddy firelight's glow,
And Harry said IN Il whisper.
oh, wouldn't ike to know
Where father II sailing Tonight
Father, away on the sen!
Mother says /. II Christmas eve
Wherever his ship may be-
Went hanl-in- hand upstairs
And three little tender faces
Bent low for their Christmas prayers.
The doll and the golden ring
In slumber were soon forgot,
But Harry, with open eyes. lay still,
Heart full Of n tender plot.
When The house was very alics
lie ercpt to TIN chimney place.
Tucked a tiny note III his stocking,
And fed With n happy face.
Twas only Il little boy u ues@a"e,
By some passing auasi tn hi
Only u sweet unselisn "isi.
Onls an exquisite thought
me- asr Santa sians: II ,..at
Ns father Il u, III s,a:
Please till MY Staetn4 Nil Hiss,
And take tham M hin for iii
Ali, surely the good aud rsta u,
Tor the ship came hnnr liza nisht.
And Harry was .laapai lii his fatli'r arm
AT the dawn of the Christmas light.
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27
MINOR CASUALTIES.
Deaths by Accident In the United States
\ Sickcning Record.

While the forces of nature have been busy
all over the world In the work of Staying
members of the human race by the hundreds
nnl thousands, i'm tins country myriads have
fallen victims to mans own inventions and
a..,riyanees. While We have been visited by
40 such great catastrophes rs the earth
.!nakes Of Java lsehia, or Asia Minor, or the
cirrus fire in Poland, yet it has been year
IT unparalleled cruelty In the United States,
as will be seen by glance at the sickening
.ocorl Of deaths by accident which We print
a.low. This list embraces all the accidental
scu,hs reported by telegraph, but does not,
If course, include all the accidental casual
tbs in the United States, by probably 20
ner cent. IL will be perceived that the largest
share Of the victims has been by drowning
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27
sd,U,,o.OO0:
THE BALLOT.

A Summary of the State Elections Held
In 1881.
Elections have been held during the year
1853 as follows:
April 2, In Michigan, Supreme Judges aud
Regents OF the State university; carried by Z
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27

Tho most or these lost their lives along our
immense snntost, or on our numerous inland
seas, though Il largo number we're drowned
brooks, the result largely OF carclcssncss.
Next to drowning, the railroads claim the
lnrpcst number Of victims. II will he COM
fort 10 nervous people contemplating ride
upon the rail, Ia he told that passengers fur
nished n very small percentage of the deaths
by rnilrod accident. Nnctccn-twcnticths of
them were either employees of the road
tbrakcmcn, nrcmcn and engineers largely,
reckless people who Thought they could
drive across the track before the train got
there" or needless persons who "walked on
the track" Fire and bursting boilers, II
will bc noted, have been aggrayatngly de-
structivc OF human life, and not few
have died from accidental shooting; nearly
MI or these were the victims OF fools who
"knew the gun was not loaded" This ought
to serve as warning to every ono who
handles gun. There arc some curious
causes OF accidental death embraced In the
appended list. For instance, Ave died I'm the
country during the year from sheer fright,
forty-one by the kick of horse, two by the
kick OF COW, nine were killed by falling
iciclcs, thirty-three by falling trees, twoby the
explosion OF beer key, Ave were cho"ed To
death by nnmasticatcd beef, seventeen were
gored to death by vicious bulls, twcnty-nine
met their fate fooling with the rcmorseless
buzz saw, seven died from the effects OF being
stung hy bees, three were killed by spider
bites, while one~a member OF the Texas
legislat,ne--~di.d from the effects oil ny-bite.
The catalogue OF accidental deaths In tho
United states and Canada for the year Is ms
follows;
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27
How Time; Have Changed /!

"Changed' exclaimed Deacon Green
to the dear little school-ma'm, a year
ago come Christmas, Il should think
they had changed. Why, many's the
time I've heard my dear old father tell
how, years ago, when he and Aunt
Mary We're children living OH their
fathers farm in old England, the least
little present used to delight them.
They were well-to-do people, too,
the Greens were; but to find one book
or ball or shepherds pipe in his
Christmas stocking would make father
perfectly happy when he was a boy;
and his sister thought box Of sugar
plnms or new doll, or any once
pretty gimcrack. was a JOY, indeed.
Changed well, I'll like to know,
Why, I'm told that boy of this day,
real boy Of the period, would con-
slider himself much-abused fellow If
he didn't find on his Christmas-tree
a ball, six-bladed knife, scientific
top, q box of carpenters tools, .
printing! jig-saw, n sled, a
bicycle, ice-skates, roller-skates, u
Punch and judy show, telephone, q
steam-engine, microscope, steam
boat, working train of ears, box of
parlor magic, pistol, performing
acrobat, real watch, gold searf-pin,
gold cuif-buttons, bound volume Of
81. Nicholas, and twenty OF thirty
other books, more or less, besides Q
pocket-book with gold money in it, and
a pair of kid gloves.
Il may have forgotten something"
added the Deacon, wiping his brow,
but, SO far as l can make ont, that's
the proper thing for an average boys
Christmas, nowadays
AS for the girls" the good man
went on, raising his voice, las for the
| girls-as for"
| How she did it, l do not know; but
that wonderful little school-ma'am ac-
tually stopped the proceedings then
and there. So, to this day your Jack
doesn't know what al average girl Of
the present day does, might, could,
would or should find on Christmas
tree.
/
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27

The ri 'd'ehcrg.r Read. nst ct las TO.
elalc unconstitutional N Virginia.
The Civil Rights law pronounced Hncousti-
tito: Ill by the Uni ed stas. supreme co Il.
Tic chic Sun.m !. Hrt III, nnlneca the
scott ,unr lsM anr,i> ai9rai
Judge Nc rns.. ~ Iii. s'e,,r. Al curt, de-
ciles tie Iowa ,am re- a.ng railroad
L ii hts Nn.o s.i'aii,n nal.
Penn lAania supreme on 4 scidcl that
i.'at.,es o. deceased 80 pr ois, who .
lives had ben insured hs spectators. 90 I'D
r,cutc, from tho spectators the amounts
paid on III. ppiic.es
The United states clcral cturi in Mis-
souri,. i'll an insnsan y cas-. d>.i ded that
cleetriaity Was net 4 : u edominau. and con-
trolling. force IN ~ .o.ies.
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27

Female suffrage REJECTED hy the British
Parliament.
4 general option i nlar Inv enfcGd ~
Georgia and South Carolina.
Prohibition defeated In III" Dakota tonSii
tufi0nal Convention.
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27

For never spoke harsh TO nv d Rings Lcso.,."
So saying, he softly assembled the stairs,
And arrived at the door, to hear both their pray
His Anna's bless papa" draws forth the Big
tears
And Willie's grave promise falls sweet on hi !.
STRANGE, strange, I'd forgotten" sud he, with
asgh,
"How longed, when child, to have Christmas
draw nigh.
I'll atone for my harshness," he inv; rlly said.
by answering their prayers ere sleep in my
bed.
Then he turn'd to the stairs, AMI fly wcat
down,
Threw of velvet slippers AMI silk drcSsin.
gown,
Donned hat, coat aud boots. and was ont In the
street
A Misunderstanding the cold, driving sic 4:
Nor stopping he, until he had bought every
| thing,
To the box full Of candy, the tiny gold ring:
Indeed he kept adding so much to his store
That the various presents ontnnmbered score,
Then homeward he turned, with his holiday
load,
And with Aunt Marvs help, in tn nursery twas
/ slowed:
Miss Dolly was seat Il beneath pine tree.
| BY the side Of 4 talle, spread ont for h r tea,
A work well filled, in tho center was lad.
And on it the ring for which Annie had prayed
| A soldier. in uniform, stood by a sled
with bright shining runners, and all painted
rcd
1 There were balls, dogs and horses, books pleas
ing to see,
And birds of all colors were perched In the tree;
While santa Clans, laughing. stood mp in the
| top,
As ii getting ready more presents to drop,
And, as the fond father the picture surveyed,
He thot for his trout le he'd been amply repai,l
And he said to himself. as he brushed on Il tear
I'm happier o-night than I've be n for year
| I've enjoyed mo,e II, pleasure than ever h..
fore
| What care ] if baak sto.k fell ten PER eent
more!
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27
MOB VENGEANCE.
The Work Of Judge Lynch in tile Last
Twelve Months.


Twelve Months.
The public may not be aware how rapidly
Judge Lynch IL usurping tho functions Of the
regular cxccutioner IN this country. out
raycd justice, inpatient ut the ltw's de-
lay, ard Indignant ut the escape OF SO many
murercrs, has rcsorlcd with great frequency
TO mob law rs the only way of wrcaking VEN
ecance upon the lawless casse. that have al-
most threatened To take possession OF some
OF the communities where they had cast their
lot While this mode OF checking crime is to be
dcpolcl and dcpre, atcd under nearly all cir
cumstancas, it can hardly be denied, when we
consider tic facility with which criminals cs-
cape punishment, and the large numbers that
are every day and week in the year permitted
to walk out of the so-called courts of justice,
To renew their dabolical work OF crime, that
there il good deal of excuse, il not slight
shade OF Justification, In the exhibitions Of
mob violence that now and then break out In
different sections of the country. During
the year just closing l,5 men have been
lynchcd in the country, Us against J. In 1882
Nearly all these victims Of mob vengeance
were furnished by the South ana West, only
one case OF lynching having occurred east of
Ohio The record Is rs follows:
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27

The most minute and trivial circum-
tances connected with those happy
aeetings crowd upon our minds ut each
recurrence Of that season.
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27

Hereafter. I'll ml'se il a in!,, leiy,,
Tohave santa CLAUS visit II .ae,. chr. s,nas
eye
10 thinking he gently extngri ,hai the light.
And trippei down tn stairs III retire for the
night.
pu, the darkne i (, flight, :na tha stars one b.
one.
Four little blue eyes out of .laep opened wide,
And at the same moment I'll, presents csled.
Then ont Of their beds they spr.ng with q
bound,
found.
They langho an they eri-l, in their innocent
Si.c.
AMI shout Il fnr Papa" IT, come quick and see
What lr, ~cnts san i Clans brought in tie
right
just the things tina, they wanted, AM left be-
fore light:
And now, added Annie, in voice soft and low.
You'll b lieye there's santa Class,' lara,
know"
Will dear little Willie climbed up ON his knee,
Determine ia secret between them should he,
And tol in soft whist er~ how Annie had said
That their blessed mamma. - hong arc d al.
Used to knecl down AMI Fray hy the side OF her
chair,
And that tod NJ in heaven hal aasw II her
PRAYER:
Then we ,os up aad prayed ins. "a WI as We
could,
And God answered cur prayer. now wasn't lie
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27
LEGAL.

some Important Law decisions Rendered
in 1889.
The Iowa Supreme court Pronounced tho
State rrohibtory Liquor law nn.onsitn-
tiausit
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27
FIRE FIGURES.

The Destruction Wrought by Fire During
the Year.
A careful record of the fires reported by
telegraph during the year, where the losses
were $4,000 and upward, shows that $50, $780,
100 worth of property was consumed in the
United States and Canada. The following
table shows the losses by States ana Terri
tories. New York has been the heaviest sui
ferer by fire. her losses aggregating nearly
0,0o0, 900. Pennsylvania comes next, with
over $4,000, 900, ana Illinois third, with nearly
30,
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27

Why is New Years eve party like
Timhuetoo?- Because it ought to begin
with capital L ".a."
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27

THERE seems magic in the very
name of Christmas.
The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1883-12-27
-
A Fatefhl Year in the
History of the
World.
s@assasa@=s@4@~~-~~~4--a54=
The Deaths from Calamities
Foot Up Nearly
100000.
The Record Of Casualties, Murders,
Suicides, Executions, Lynchings
and Fires IN 1883.
Elections - Railroad Building.
Legislation---Notable Legal
Decisions.

INC yeuf lSSt cNH my elillH 10 IhO Uluck
ilag FOR tho number Of It's distressing disas-
te.s. II Will take its piacc In history as the
most disastrous, perhaps, OF any recorded In
history: aud the luss at life, considering the
fact thu, the world has been In q state OF
pcac. aud the destroying forces of war qnics-
cent, places Il hlack mark against IL IN the
,uien,lar OF time. Wreck by sen and land,
Hire, Food and paunt plagued have seemingly
Joined forces against the human race, and
headed horror upon horrors head. storms,
unparalleled In Iulencc and frequency, have
swept the earth. cyclones have torn through
Peaceful fields ana pleasant valleys, aud lie.
fnra their slec,ri" iore MAN ana his works
have melted like snow hpl,rc the furnace
blast. Hurricanes nj sen have sent gallant
ships staggering 10 destruction. steam has
offered ita fun quota OF victims, who might
trnthfully bo called sacrifices upon the altar
of progress, The earth itself has trcmhed rs
IL In alarm mt the times which hay. come mp
on us, and In its trembling we ind horror
eliminating; islands rising and falling, rs II
the solid land was the sport Of tho waters,
and tidal waves sweeping inland have carried
destruction with them, and laid miles Of once
smiling country waste. Cholera has sprung
from its lair In the far East and added Its
tens OF thousands OF victims To the sickening
death roll The mere Juggling Of words cam
not express the full meaning OF the years
disasters, ana where language fails we will
have Ia call figures 10 our aid. The follow
ing win serve to show the victims that have
been claimed 10y grim disaster rs its own.
only well-lehncd happenings, wherein the
loss Of life has been ten or more. are included
f.,a I'll Ia as
Morris tribune., 1883-10-06
VOICE OF THE PRESS.

Mr.. ID. +. Lester Of Lac qui Parle
county reports that his wheat
products this year for the
entire farm averaged 20 bushels to
the acre AMI 30 bushels Oh his corn
ground. While threshing the latter
tie machine turned cut 400 bushels of
wheat in three hours Il golden
stream indeed. =zMonteyideo Ledger.
w. r.. ellis, chief engineer of the
st. Cloud & Willmar railroad COM
pany was iii town on Wednesday.
He expresses unlimited faith in the
projected road.-Sauk Centre Herald
Farmers must all come to this con-
cIusion sooner or later, 'that small
quantity of land well and .oroughly
cultivated, will yield larger profit
than the same amount Of labor and
Morris tribune., 1883-10-06

In another column, our readers viii
learn of the death of one who is we'll
known 70 many in this town and
eighbarhood. Judge Lathrop resid-
ed for some time at Benson, and OF
course made his presence and infiu-
ence felt there as at other places where
he has lived. He left his home at APP
pleton to visit his younger but still
venerable brother at GlenWood. On
leaving Appleton, q series of mishaps
awaited him. He was thrown by a
railway car and sustained severe
shaking. In Minneapolis he was at
tackled by some lawless characters and
robbed OF every cent he had. His son
supplied him With the necitul and he
went Oh his way, .,rriVing safely At ;he
anticipated point. On the returning
tourney, he became sick at Benson
and died there. His remains We're
sent to Appleton, his widow still re-
mains. The Rev Mr.. Hadden, Con-
willie. but who has accepted the charge
of mission church at Minneapolis,
conducted the funeral service.
The Judge was generally respected.
He was Familiarity known among those
he talked to and visited as "Grand-
papa" Everybody seemed to well
come him and listened with pleasure
to information he could we'll give, or
the advice which his experience quail
fled hin! - give. His widow IS most
atfahle and gentle lady, and the SHOWS
O. winter also aHd to the interest which
her gentleness inspires. We trust the
residue of her days will be chc@rcd,
and the SORROW of separation modified
by the consciousness that cher nus
bands deeds do follow him." and that
in her own case she has the sympathy
of ull that have had the pleasure of his
acquaintance.