The news & observer., 1904-12-25
Comments OnLiying Topics
Archibald Johnson.)

because we want to make them happy,
is beautiful but the dragging or this
fine custom into the market ana max
ing Christmas the time for the settle
ment of unwilling obligations, destroys
the spirit of that happy ume ana
makes the glorious festal day a burden
too heavy to bear.
Sensible neople should set their
faces against this custom which is do
ing so much to mar tn JOY OF the
Christmas-tide. 1t is. or ought TO De.
day for the children, anyhow, and
it is never a burden to make chlid
happy. 1t matters not how much
money may be at the disposal OF par
entS, or how little. Children care not
for the money value of gift. II II
tastes good or looks pretty it is all
right, and serves it's purpose. II all
of us could have the mind of child
and would be content with the simple
expression of affection that we feel for
each other, what a delightful season
Christmas would BET
AS the case now stands, many good
people look forward to holidays with
dread, and find them the drearIest and
most Wretched days of the whole year
Instead of being care free they are
overborne with care, and do what they
may to discharge" thir Christmas OBJ
igations, they are miserable for fear
that they have not satisfied the friends
for whom they carry so useless a bur
den.
A short loving letter of apprecia-
ton, With cheerful word of encour-
agement or of praise, or even admoni-
ton, is better than diamond ring for
a Christmas present The ring may
be given at some other time, but it
would be better not to give it then, for
there are SO many others to whom eX-
pensive gifts cannot be made, and at
Christmas it is our business to make
people happy, not envious.
If valuable presents must be given,
give them to the poor who cannot
repay them. Let us make of this
Christmas a time of simple pleasure,
doing the little things that mean so
much and yet that count so little in
dollars and cents: for loves offerings
are not enriched by their money value,
but rather cheapened by it. Tokens
that speak to the heart cannot be
bought with money, and the simpler
the channel through which they are
conveyed to the loved one the brighter
they shine.
After all, the glory of the birth
day of our Lord is to manifest His
spirit and do good to those who need
our help but who cannot return our
gifts. Brighten the lives of the little
ones and send a beam through the
door of poverty; but let those in the
same circumstances as ourselves wait
until Christmas has gone to receive oul
gifts. The merriest of all Christmas
days are those in which we expend
not the most money, but the most un-
selfish and loving service to brighten
and bless the weak and the needy.
A Great Administration
Gov. Chas. B. Aycock has given
NORTH Carolina four years of as fine
service as any chief executive who ever
honored that high office. Passing by
the prosperity that our people are en-
joying in the constantly enlarging vol
ume of business in every line, the
moral influence OF the present admin
istration has been most remarkable.
The long strides forward that have
been made by the temperance move
ment must be gratifying to every lover
of his kind. And North Carolina has
seen new vision of universal edu-
cation. Much of this wider outlok is
due to the personal work of the Gov
ernor who has been a uaming evangel
pleading with lofty and thrilling elo-
quence for chance for the poor boy
North Carolina, of all the States, Heed
ed this mighty campaign of four years
for of all the States sheswas perhaps
most strongly chained to the past by
reason of the false doctrine promul-
gated by her leaders that education
was never intended for the common
people. The opinions of these leaders
has not changed, but our noble Gov
Vernon exposed the fallacy of their rea-
fsonlng and kindled in the breast of the
poor boy hope he neeVr cherished
before. For this courageous course ne
mas been called fanatic an educa-
tional crank, and other things, but he
has not deviated from the line of duty
by hairs breadth He is a man OF
the highest courage and would face q
frowning world without flinching il
duty demanded it. We grieve to see
him step down an dout of a position ir
which he has been so eminently use
full. He carries with him into private
life not only the admiration but the
affection of the people Of North Caro-.
lima. He is not only the braniest, but
one of the truest and best of tie sons
Of the old State.
The South's Problem
It is not the negro, though so mucf
has been said and written about him
but it is the part that money is tc
play in our social, religious and pO-
litical life. Heretofore this question
has not confronted this section, fol
our people were in a hand-to-hanC
struggle with poverty in the rebuild
ing of our civilization wasted by war
hut the indomtable Southern spirit
I has overcome the adverse conditions
that surrounded her and St1nds to.
day ready for the race for CONNER
cial supremacy and financial power.
The great staple of the world. King
Cototn, is here. New England once
possessed it, but the South has torn il
from New England's hands and claims
her own. Our cities are bounding for
ward, our railroad facilities are eqla
to the best, and our hitherto slow-go-
ing and indolcnt life is thrilling with
the spirit that made the North SO great
and strong. For some reasons this new
day should be hialed with gladness
but it brings to us new dangers which
II they oVcTtake us, will make oul
prosperity cost us too much There
are some things in the world that are
better than money. One of them is
manhood. The South will have lost
ner glory if she ceases to produce Eel
Vances and begins to make JAY
Goulds. Plain living and high think
ing is better than luxurious living
without any thinking at all. We fan
cy that already we Seesa sad coanagt
coming over the minds of some men
ew know. We have heard men laugh