The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-04-04

Holidays are short lived. They out-
lived their commemorate features and
arc gone. Their vital force, their excuse
for being goes and the husk alone Is
left Who're are the Roman saturnaiia?
What does Protestant Eng land know Of
the forty odd holidays, fast days and
Toast days once commemorated? The
only festivals which retain vitality arc
those prott cted by religion and by good
eating. New Years ID waning. The
custom of making Now Year calls is
already bad form" ST. Valentines
Gay within ten years has lost its life.
1t merely serves for q few cheap and
malicious Jokes. Not one-tenth as many
valentines are sent as ten years ago.
All Fools day, with all Young America
TO back it, ia rapidly losing it's grip.
Memorial day is new, but with all due
respect, the next great national day
will kill it. Fourth OF July is boys
day. No one will walk four squares to
hear patriotic speech Thanksgiving
never did have much of grip outside
of old New England stock. Christmas
alone gains strength, because hero the
Christ child lives forever in p rpetual
chi.dhold. Easter Monday is assuming
| some lecAli:ics tho holiday phase. In
Washington it is the prettiest holiday
of the year. For thousands Of children
60 to the white lot o. Cisi.ol grounds to
roll their gaily colcrtd Easter eggs AMI
havo a coed time. 1t is the prettiest
sight tho world can see aud we'll worth
trip to Washington. After tho eggs
are rolled custom has created White
House receL ton to the children who
yesterday crowded in and asserted their
democracy by thrusling heir eggy little
paws into tho Zig list Of Grover Glove
land. notice that lots of Roanoke
youngsters, more iha- ever b fore, had
their dy'd Easter eggs yesterday. 1t
would suggest that lhc hcaut full green
slopes OF l1o;ei Ro,no'ta would DO q fine
place to 70 eggs and an sure Manager
Winner will not object next Easter
Monday Roanoke is young yet, but it
ought to begin &C iuiring few customs
and traditions. even If, like tho pro-
LoSed one, IL is a 50 cond hand
Church Influence In Roanoke
There was tho tidy sam OF sos in the
plates at s.. Johns Easter Offering
Roanoke is fAvorel city never was
In one in viii h the c iurches can exer.
else 80 power full an innueuc, for good
Whatever the united chu ches OF Roa-
noke demand they will get l believe
that over eighty per can't OF the popula
ton of Roanoke go TO church. The aver
age in Northern cities is about sixteen
per cent. Tho oiurch intlIence in Roa
noke is positive q d absolute. Every
| young woma in RJAhoke belongs to d
guild, OF a circ.e, or a socic ". (Toere
| are noe old women 10 Roanoke A good
| percentage Of young men belong to the
Y. M. G. A They are all working for
some good cause For the next three or
four years they have got to work to get
| their c1urches out cf debt, to support
the hospital and TO build big y. Nj C.
A. building. TIE TINES wants TO see a
public library come into tho benign
| circle OF icnuencs of these beehives OF
noble impulse wishin the next two years.
Church building Association.
How many ProtestaDts know that
when the Catholics wart to build
church they can get ali the money thew
want at our or five per cent. | am told
it is so. Catho ic Churches always get
paid for and the finances of that wonder
full organization are managed with tho
same cOnsummate wisdom which has
been characteristic of the church OF
Rome for centuries Why do not some
poilanthropic and hard headed million
aires endow national church building
| and loan association on fifteen year
payment plan: II would pay in Sc 7eral
ways.
Mountain Fires.
Mountain fires arc blazing in eyery
direction, and the owners of th :eatened
property are praying for rain. Ono
heavy fire was raging Sunday directly
sou h of the city and hack fires were
set to protect the now Virginia Female
College which is being pushed forward
rapidly toward completion. Immense
quantities OF timber are killed each
spring by these fires, but it is princi-
pally Scrub, good only for posts and
hicwcod mountain FIRE at night is a
wondrous thing 10 behold. Terry Hill
makes fine point of observation.
Plant Trees. Piant Trees.
Councilman Crabill has good, level
mead on everything ne discusses. He
wants che city to plant trees on all the
residence streets. 1t is good idea.
me man who plants tree discharges a
debt 10 posterity. Trees are healthful,
beautiful. useful and Ornamental. The
fall, believe. is the best time to set
out trees, but many kinds can be set out
in the spring. This tree planting idea
ought to start in the schools. Scores Of
colleges have class trees, each wear
planting it's leafy memento. have
seen Old men shed tears over the mem.
cries which their class treo awakened.
George w. Chllds has at his beautiful
place hundreds of trees planted by as
many distinguished guests. That sim
tleman has planted as many trees as
G1aHnfDna bo, Ioup Storl{pc,