Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1907-12-21
There is a Santa Claus.

1t is queer fate that befalls tie
efforts of some public and literar,
men. Lincoln S speech at Gettysburg
largely composed while on his iourno,
to that town to deliver it, has beer
read by practically almost everybod,
interested in literature, while Edwara
EYerett's elaborate and polished ora
ton on the same occasion is known to
comparatively few, j Proctor Knott
recogni2edas a great constitutional law.
yer by the legal fraternity; is known t
the general public as the man who
made the funny Duluth speech John
Hay, author, diplomat, statesman, is
thought of by some people only as M
man who wrote Little BreeS6es "
Bret Harte, some of whose stories will
doubtless live as long as the language
is printed in any quarter of the globe.
IS known OWL. Chiefly, by many, as the
,%!Gth6r of "The Heather Chinee. Z"
And other cases might be mentioned
The present Christmas time suggests
another instance, and a most notable
one. Perhaps, in the past fifty years
there was produced no intellect more
vigorous than that possessed by Charlie
Anderson Dana, for many years editol
of the New York Sun. As Assistant
Secretary Of War under Lincoln Hi,
duties were so important, varied ard
decisive, that he was sometimes calleC
the Washington government at ii,
front" His State papers were man,
and able his opinions sound and G.
great weight, and his editorials con
prehensive and thoughtful, but the il.
tuitive and instant recognition of Il T.
following gem which THE BEACc,
presents to its readers proves that +.
will live long after Mr.. Dana's NOR
'abored efforts have long been forge
ten. 1t rings true.
The following is a little girls lettc
to the editor:
Dear Editor;-I am eight wears OIL,
Some of my friends say that there
no Santa Claus. Papa says: If yo
see it in the Sun, it's So Please te1
me the truth Is there a Santa Claus?
VIRGINIA 0, HANLoN."
To which Mr.. Dana replied:
Virginia Your little friends ar
wrong. They have been affected / |
the skepticism of skeptical age
They will not believe except they sec |
"Yes, Virginia there is a SAINT
Claus. He exists as certainly as Low
and generosity and devotion exist, an
you know that they abound and civ
to your life its highest beauty ant
JOY. Alas, how dreary would be tn,
world if there We're no Santa Claus. !
would be as dreary as if there were r,
Vlrginias. There would be no child
like faith then, no poetry, no romance
to make tolerable this existence, w.
should have no enjoyment except il
sense and sight. The eternal ligh
with which childhood fills the worlc
would be eXtinguished.
You might get papa to hire men t.
watch all the chimneys on Christina
eve to catch Santa Claus, but even i
they did not see Santa Claus comm,
Town, what would that prove? Nobod,
ices Santa Claus. The most rea
hings in the world are those that
neither children nor men ever see
Nobody can conceive or imagine all the
wonders that are unseen and unseeable
n this world, You may tear apart the
'aby's rattle and see what makes the
loise inside, but there is veil cover
ng the unseen world, and not the
trongest that ever lived could pusl
side that curtain and view and pictur,
ne 'upernal beauty and Sglory behind.
it all real? All, Virginia, in all thi.
world there is nothing so real and abid
ng.
mo Santa Claus Thank God h, =
ives. and he lives forever. A thou.
and years from now, virginia-nay. |,
n times ten thousand years from now
he will continue to make glad the
cart of childhood" n