Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-23
Written for The Star.

Written for The Star.
"Beautiful-beautifulr' you exclaim. as
you stand by the window and watch the
fakes come swirling and driving and dane
Ing and drifting down. "Beautiful?'
Yes. beautiful, indeed. is 1.-THE beautiful
but did you ever stop to think what snow
really means to man. huddled. sheep-like. in
cities; scattered, like stray sheep. over the
bleak countryside?
Is the world to have cheap bread this
year? Is the backbone of the nation''-the
agriculturist-to be generally prosperous
during the twelve months beginning with
next July? Is the merchant to suffer no
falling Off In his business? In brief. are hui
man activities in general to be pursued at
the white heat of the present day? Then
over the vast area Of America where winter
wheat Is grown snow must lie upon the
ground through the better part of the win
ter.
Struggled beneath blanket Of snow, win
ter wheat is secure from the blighting eff
fects of frost. So long as IT is thus covered
the farmer in Kansas, his neighbor in Ne
braska, his rival across the Missouri line
the German settler in southern Illinois and
ali the rest in the winter wheat belt find
let there come time when the white bian-
ket is rolled off the gigantic beds and a bit
Ing atmosphere tells of frost on the way.
and every son of the soil In the belt is filled
with phrenetic agony of soul. For his pre-
cious crop is threatened with winter kill'
and there is little hope of full pocketbook
for at least another year unless God, In HIS
mercy suddenly overcasts the steely dome
with leaden snow-iaden clouds.
Snow-lots Of it-in the winter wheat belt
means general prosperity. Its absence leads
to fresh mortgages on homesteads but late
ly cleared Of such loads, dear foodstuns Tor
the entire country and all the Worid-ano
moreover Samantha will not buy the new
black silk dress that she has been counting
on for SO long nor will John receive the col
lege education he and his old father have
been planning for these many years.
Are the little children of the city to get
their daily nourishment, fresh from the ten
thousand udders on which the city depends
for its milk supply? Is the preacher TO
reach the bedside of some fast dying mem
Der of his flock before death comes-the doc
tor to be In time to save life? Are the hui
manities, the commerce of the nation, to go
on uninterruptedly? Then there must be
little or no snow. s,,t
What Snow Does to Commerce.
AS regards snowfall, last winter was the
worst in the history of New York city
Time and again the railroads were blocked
completely by the SHOWS. At such times
the milk dealers, almost without exception.
found themselves unable to fill regular or
ders, and what little milk they had on
hand distributed for consumption by chill
dren and invaNds only on order or physl-
clans And then, on the word of physicians,
many, many of these two classes were cut
off more or less from their only food, with
untoward effect, to say the least.
Ask an express company what raliroao
blocked by snow means to It. carload al
of forS M
stuff spoiled in transit. Medical and sur
eical apparatus, on possession of which life
itself depends, stalled In drifts In cuts
Business prospects blasted by the non-ar-
rival of the necessary capital In locked
pouches, as per arrangements made In
hopeful vein a few days before.
Ask some railroad official what a snow
blocked line means to him. Trains buried
In cuts and desperate battles to rescue the
entombed passengers before lethal numb
ness steals over them. Trains OF cattle
frozen stiff in transit. The mail system
Of the whole country disorganized. Thou-
sands of dollars worth of freight ruined,
and, when the snow begins to melt frozen
switches after the sun goes down and ire
quent consequent wrecks
And yet-and yet, absence of snow in re-
gions where it is customary makes full
graveyard
Does there come three-inch fall that
packs we'll 'twixt foot and frozen ground?
The land is filled with the merry laughter
OF young people, the sled and sleigh IN
dustries prosper. money Is turned over fast
in the effort to take advantage of the OPP
portunity for pleasure. And old people,
venturing out alone, slip on the CLASSY sur
face, breaking bones and counting death
itself Lumber men are instantly busy
sending logs down slides to mills Struggled
In the hearts of sheltered mountain glens;
and the hunter, fretting impatiently at bad
luck only the day before, now joyously
shoulders his gun and tracks the self-be-
trayed game to the forest.
Blessing and Menace to Health.
Does there come fall upon fall, till the
snow on the level reaches horses belly.
and the winds in other places have drifted
1t ten, twelve, twenty feet deep? Those
farm families not forehanded enough to
lay in sufficient supplies for the winter
may find themselves in dire straits for sus-
tenance ere communication can be opened
up with the world again. Business becomes
stagnant In the towns dependent for pros
perity on the presence of farmers living
round about. And yet, did the SHOWS fail
to fall, before another six-month had
passed the town bank would be holding
notes signed by three-fourths of the towns
business men.
As 1t falls, snow washes the atmosphere,
revivifles. exhilarates; but let 1t lie for any
considerable length of time in much used
city street, and 1t becomes a dire menace
to health and life. a breeding place for
countless billions OF germs. It brings forth
the latent charity that's hid In even the
gruffest heart: 1t boosts up the price OF
coal by the pail to such high figure that
thousands Of the poor are forced to huddle
around fires built OF what little fuel they
can gather In ash heaps and from scrap
piles. If unselflsh heroism will do it, snow
opens the gates of heaven to many q poor.
devil of fellow-read Tolstofs Master
and Man." And for conflrmatory evidence,
as well as for that which reveals how cra-
ven Wanted courage becomes In the face OF
binding snow. read. further, the ltera-
ture Of the west.
Boys Are Late to School.
snow-and THE helping hand Is extended
to one and all of country side, regardless
Of previous and present standing
Win Simpson lives six miles from the
school house-the farthest distant Of all the
boys Over night five-inch snow has fall
en- on the previous SHOWS OF nine and four
and onc-half inches, and the morning
breaks bitterly cold. A mile down the road
lives Sam Brown. Forgetful OF the fact
that he and Sam are rivals for the same
girls affections. and INDUCED tn fist fight
only the day before, VIII trudges willingly
in the wake of his father to Sans house
and the two boys, boon computations appa-'
rent1y. head through the glistenfng waste
to the home OF the three Ruster boys. a
good mile and q half aWay. Arrived HERE