The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1908-11-27
Thanksgiving Thought.

Christian land and God-tearlng
neople; and it is one of the means OF
keeping it SO. 1t does not signify
that once a year we shall count up
our blessings and make yearly IN
voice to see how we stand as to the
good things and the bad Every
day ought to be Thanksgiving day.
It stands for Christianity and pat
notism which holds the Nation to-
pether and marks 1t as the greatest
Nat;on in the world. 1t reminds
us that God brought the Christian
Informs across the sea and planted
them here for the purpose OF max
ing it Christian nation without
this reminder we should forget the
hardships and dangers through which
our forefathers passed and the al
most tinsurmountable obsticles they
overcame and we would cease to be
grateful to them and to God. Then
LET Il, refresh our memories or those
early times by readiug over the IN
cidepts of their coming and colon
izatior, and compare our own pros.
perous time and our own personal
condition with those of the pilgrims.
Our feelings of gratitude will be
greatly increased even if we could
see no reason for it before.
When we call t0 mind that first
Thanksgiving, and think of all the
advers ties through which the peoble
had gone, of the ravages of disease
and death caused from exposure
aud from a scarcity of food; OF
their constant fear of the indians
and wild animals, how good our
own things look to US! Common
things become luxuries that were
thougt to be bare necessities. And
when we read that "the women
gathered clans and mussels from
tn. frozen beach and ate ground
nuts, acorns, and scant FISH, we
will be quite satisfied with GU
Thanksgiving dinner even five have
no turkey and cranberry sauce.
How does this menu look in con-
trast with the above:
"Oyster soup and picked oysters
celery and crackers, boiled salmon
with a rich sauce, roast turkey with
giblet gravy, beef la mode, baked
ham, boiled tongue, mashed lnsA
and bakea sweet potatoes, steWed
tomatoes, boiled onions, maca1oni
and cheese, cranberry sauce, puck
les, mangoes, and spiced fruits,
mince, pumpkin, and apple pie,
plum pudding, floating island. pound
cake, ralsins, nuts, oranges and
coffee"
There is enough food mentioned
to make five dinners. 1t is what
one won - prepared herfelf, and is
a sample OF m"ny others.
hope the extreme in eating on
this day has been reached and
saner and more moderate way is
coming. believe this is true and
already this annual feast day is
beng made a day not merely one
on which to cock and eat but oTe
on which to EN- jhasize patriotism m
and the goodness of God. The ex-
treme of eating works disasterously
now as did the need of enough to
eat In that early time, by causing
disease AMI death. The doctors
said last year that "ninety per cent
of the cases of grip and colds aud
pneumonia could be traced TO the
Thanksgiving and holiday gorging"
How hard it is to break away from
old customs. We do not want TO
break away from the customs OF
this Thanksgiving day, but to
modify our use of it in measure.
Make it a day of JOY, prepare
dinner that is tempting but within
moderation and common sense.
We count cur blessings in material
things too much and depend upon
them fer happiness too eEtlreIy'
Often these material things like
money and power prove just to the