Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1898-12-28
How Christmas Tide Was OBJ
served in Newp ort News.
BREAD UPON THE WATERS
Primcely Gift of the Darlinss to the EN-
ployees of the Street Railway. Six
teen Thousand Dollars Ovid
ed Among the Men.

Christmas, with its many beautiful
and tender memories, it's good will and
good cheer, its happiness and pleasures,
has gone. and the people are already
looking forward to new year with it's
hopes and busy prospects. VI
In Newport News Christmas day was
as quiet and peaceful as any other Sun
day in the year. In all the churches
special services were rendered. beautiful
Christmas music sung, and rmo
preached, appropriate to the day and
its wonderful lesson of peace on earth.
good will toward men" All of the
churches were largely attended both in
the morning and evening. and those
who went, We're well repaid for it. .
The real celebration of the OCCASION.
from the viewpoint of the small boy,
and those who toll for a living, came
Monday when h legal holiday was
generally observed. All public offices
We're closed-at the Courthouse and
elsewhere. including Of course, the
banks. The postofiice observed Sunday
hours. with the difference that one de-
livery was made in the morning, a fact
that was appreciated by the public. The
shipyard closed down for the day. and
its forty-nve hundred employees took
full advantage Of the holiday. as did
also the laborers on the sewer work.
At the Jail the good Wonen Of the w.
CT. U. served turkey, sandwiches and
~dellcacies to the men. The changing
did not &C out Monday or yesterday.
The warm-hearted people of Newport
-.ews did not forget the pastors Of the
city. They were all remembered. Rev.
j.. T. Ribbie, rector of ST. Paul's
Episcopal church, was treated TO a reg
ular pound party. Rev. Z. T. Well
ford's friends pounded him all through
the week. Rev. w. r Motley, pastor of
the Thirtieth street Christian church, is
n of the happiest people in the city
on account Of the valuabl presents
that were received by him Among
them was cne of $40 in money; a fine
teachers Bible, and many other costly
gifts.
The congregation of the East End
Presbyterian Mission made Rev. Mr..
and Mrs. Wexford happy by presenting
them with a beautiful parlor chair. The
gift was very highly appreciated by the
recipients, as indeed, were all the gifts
in every case.
A PRINCELY GIFT.
But the happiest men in this section
Of the earth are the employees of the
street railway, who were the bene-
fciaries In the early Sunday morning of
one OF the most princely gifts ever re-
CORDED IN the annals OF ChriStmaStide
5ir.l,l4 HE-s . half dozen years tina
ti tf& fns ~ 4 in operation, the men
',ss f'-!r@a .9r to the office night by
4EHy!6' Gt 1H'f: f#N~aS over and above what
.A~ 80 he cars called for, rep
tiifsac &t 'FE hat had not been rung
iftH .IHft}set M! crowds and for other
Ieaseiis. ~sgregating s24.0G0. OF
this amount Mr.. J. S. Darling. formerly
president of the old company, Mr.. F..
$. Darling, the superintendent, and Mr..
j.. S. Darling, were entitled to two
portion Of stock in the old
The Darlings decided to make the en-
ployees a gift of this snug amount as
a Christmas present. and as q recogni-
ton OF their faithful services. The
plan was no sooner made than steps
were taken to put it into
The amount was checked off so as to
allow each man a sum in proportion to
the time he had been on the road, and
lis salary, the conductors and the
motormen getting Sc a week for every
week OF their connection with the com
pany; the engineers S.; and the others
in like ratio. The cashier of the com
pany, Mr.. Reynor, who has been with
the company from the first, was the
recipient of 81 1000. Another man got as
ranging between $500 and $500; the ma
jority Of the checks were for amounts
between $1$$ and $500.
Among thnamounts received were the
following: skid Hudgins. s715: Fred
Tennis, $615: Charles Backus, 1884;
Nick Lee, 1884; Mr.. Wray, s414; Mr..
Weber, $3.50. The smallest check was
for s12.
Not a single employe of the company
had the slightest intimation of the
coming windfall. Saturday a notice was
A." fAnGtlH ~ inst TIJnfino al 4 ha ~. n %,
at the power house in Hampton at 1890
O'clock that night. but nothing was said
as to what the assembling was for.
Some Of the men feared that a general
cut was to be made in salaries, and the
surprise that awaited them was little
less than astounding. When the men
had all gathered in the power house,
Mi. j. S. Darling arose and made them
a brief but eloquent speech. a little inn
peded. albeit, in it's delivery by the
lump that kept rising in the throat of
the speaker. He told the men that in
times past they had served the old com
pany faithfully, and he hoped that
they would do as Well by the new com
pany. He said that often under the
old egine the question OF raising the
salaries of the men had been consid-
cred. but every time some increased ex-
pense had !nterfered with the plan. and
ii had to be postponed. He then told
them why he had called them together,
and the checks We're distributed. Many
OF the men had never before held in
their hands checks for larger amounts
than a few dollars. and when they
opened their envelopes and found
checks for hundreds, each accompanied
by a lettel worth quite as much one
way as the little slips of paper were
worth the other, they could scarcely be
lieye their eyes. A great cheer went up,
and the excited fellows crowded around
their generous benefactors to shake
their hands and receive from them
wishes for a merry Christmas and a
happy new year.
Hns ~ - Chrie@ ~ o,J - oo- $1,000.