Omaha daily bee., 1907-02-15
ISL. VAL DOWNS PESSIMIST
Historic Custom 0utlivss IN Prominence
Man Who Knocked It,
LATTER IS NOW RAISING CHICKENS
Meantime Omaha and Other Energetic
American Baillwicks Are Patron
iEinE the Tradition In
Big Round sums.

The pessimist who, on February Is, 1882,
predicted with solemn mien and doleful
voice that st. Valentines day would have
passed from the worlds calendar of i'm
portant events within a decade after BIO
mournful prophesy, has not made good. He
is now raising poultry on the outskirts Of
Three Oaks, Mich, and keeping mighty
close to home.
Thursday being Valentine day, as It IS
commonly known, the minds OF the young
folks run to thoughts of love, while their
feet trip as on wings Of the morning when
the postman appears over the horizon. All
day Uncle Sans minions of the mail serv-
ice were the busiest persons in the land,
They carried thousands Of tender senti-
ments and artistic reminders to the lads
Benson and Dundee
The advent OF another Valentine day
brings up again the early history OF the
day and how II was Instituted. John Doe.
the best living authority on this subject
wrote in a recent article an interesting
account Of st. Valentine and the day.
During Day of CIaudius III.
In this sketch it was noted that st. VAL
entlne was merry wight living in the
year go A. D., during which year Claudius
II caused Mr.. Valentine 10 be crucified in
the forum at Rome. Colonel Doe further
states that ST. Valentine wanted to receive
an exclusive concession to sell seat cush-
ions-llke those used at the Vlnton Street
park-in the forum. Claudius had
brother-in-law to whom he gave this con-
cession. Then Valentine wrote an article
to the Rome Tribune, signing his name and
charging Claudius with graft also sending
an anonymous picture to Claudius. Clau-
dus expert photographer mike Sullivan)
identified the address on the picture as the
writing OF st. Valentine, who was indicted
by the grand jury and ordered to be cruel
fed in the public forum. With his dying
breath. st. Valentine said: ,"Claudlus, you
are no gentleman"
The cruclfixion of st. Valentine occurred
on February Il. the day before the Luper-
calian festival. This festival in those days
was something like the Ak-sar-Ben festi-
val in Omaha. the chief differences being
that in Rome there was no petriied man in
the street fair and the board of governors
wore armor instead Of soft shirts, as in
Omaha.
Day Is MemOrinIl1ed.
The day on which St. Valentine was
crucihed was memorialized by the church
and gradually changed to it's present form
of observance. A shrine was erected on
the Palatine hill by the church in Rome for
the dead saint.
In the United States Valentine day has
been dignified within the last two years by
the passing OF the repulsive comic forms
of valentines. These valentines, used for a
long time by persons of narrow minds to
remind some disliked person OF his short
comings or personal attributes, are nearly
obsolete. These cheap paper comics have
been replaced, by the postal card forms,
some OF these being real works of art,
while others have humorous illusions. with
the sting removed
Some OF the best artists in the United
States have drawn for the postal card val
entines, as well as some of the other forms