Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1898-12-03
OUR CHRISTMAS SHIP.
St. Paul Sails With Cheer For
the ManiIa IrooQs $3.50.
MANY HOLIDAY GIFTS IN HER HOLD

She Carries Twenty Thousand Pack
ages of Presents and Dainties For
Our Soldier Boys Forty Women
Nurses Are Bound For Service Over
the Seas.
The Christmas ship sailed recently
from San Francisco, followed by the
same merry din of whistles and the
same cloud of steam from water front
engines that have sped all the other
ships departing to the Philippines. and,
although there is something of an anti
climax about a transport that goes when
the war is done, there were much of
military hustle and joyful anticipation.
But more interesting than the good
bys was the cargo. Across thousands of
miles of sea the ST. Paul goes to carry
Christmas cheer and holiday greeting
to men whose homes are shrouded in
snow, but who are themselves swelter-
ing under tropic sun. In her hold are
packed all imaginable good things
plum puddings and canned turkey and
fruit cake and cranberries in tins and
other good things, not the sort mother
used to make, but things that mother
cookies and ginger bread men, with raj
sins for eyes, where You eat first an arm
and then leg-gingerbread men made
for those who once stood as little knick-
cred boys, their heads barely above the
table, and watched the hands WELD the
rolling pin and sprinkle the board with
-four. and, though the hands have
grown old and wrinkled since then,
they have not lost their cunning, and
they would not have surrendered for
any money the privilege of making del
icacies for the Manila boy. In thousands
of homes all the way from New York
to California women have said, HE
liked it so, - and there are tears a-plenty
mixed with the Christmas cheer. All
over the west women will wait anxious
" for news of the st. Paul. There are
few men in Manila who will not have
some fragment of Christmas cheer
The hold of the st. Paul was filled to
the matches with packages of all sizes
and shapes, from collar TO piano toxes.
These were re-enforeed with strips of
til and bound with ropes Messages were
scrawled On the outside begging all to
whom they might come to see that the
packages reached their rightful owners
There was one straggly m ssssge. printed
by baby fingers which said. PLEASE
give this to my papa
From afar the Christmas ship pro-
claimed her gentle errand, and to a few
| did it appear that there was some incon-
gruity in celebrating the festival of
peace on earth and good will to men by
sending gifts to those engaged in the
| trade Of war. The outward sign Of the
St. PauI's errand consisted OF great fes-
toons Of cabbages, which draped her
| from stem TO stern and in the distance
looked like evergreens There was also
| huge painting of Santa Claus. which
| was left mp as an awning when the
| steamer sailed and which proclaimed
| her mission to all who run and read on
| the high seas. This was net the conven
| tional Santa Claus clamberiug oyel
| snowy roofs and down hospitable chin
| neyss but as no one would recognize
| Kris kringie without his frosty beard
/ and his reindeer. so this melted Iookins
Santa Claus had his reindeer team wad
| ing through the ocean, and his sleigh
| was boat In the Lohengrin boat were
all manner of good things. TOYS an6
| turkeys and Christmas trees, and espe
cially good things TO eat, fer more and
more people are coming to understand
that one of the important things about
. soldier Is his stomach.
No other transport has carried pas
ssnger list Wherein women and mez