Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-26
THE MORNING AFTER
1t Brings Its Regrets, Of
Course, But Then
IT'S ONLY ONCE A YEAR
And Really. Old Crouch Didn't
Mean All Those Things.
MISTLETOE AHEAD OF MONEY
Getting Back Into Lock-Step Not
Half Hard When You
Feel That Way.
MIsTLETOE AHEAD OF MONEY

The chief clerk who had not been late
since that time in 1876 when the $50 car
ran off the track snapped his watch at
?:01 this morning and grumbled nightly.
Eight of his force were late. The reason
he snapped his watch was because the
janitor, in his haste to get away to a
gorgeous Christmas tree celebration on
Thursday evening had forgotten to wind
the clock. The janitor is family man
and the chief clerk remembered. with
something like regret, that he had given
the janitor a Christmas present, and de-
termined right then and there to dock the
recipient for not winding the clock.
II was half an hour later when all Of the
late ones had taken their desks. Some of
them came in cheeriy. Justify telling of
what their little girl said when she I'M
wrapped that big package and what she
had done when her mother showed her
how 10 work the little automobile that
will run for an hour-sometimes. Others
came in with terrific look of disgust
savoring of headaches and soda water.
Just Only Blufing.
I'm. UNI, never again. one of these
said. I'm going to stop making Christ
mas a day for gorging myself. Hello.
boss what are you looking so grumpy
about? Didn't your Christmas dinner
agree with you. either?'
Gentlemen. I never allow Christmas to
interfere with my regular duties
Yet the chief clerk knew he didn't mean
that. and he knew that If he did mean it
he would be alone among all his fell
lows. He knew it this morning when the
newsboy did not get to his house on time
with the morning papers. He knew it
when the sleepy-hedded conductor gave
him the wrong transfer. He knew it
when the maid carefully placed two
oranges on his plate instead of two two
minute eggs. He knew it when the mail
was late. He knew it when the Office boy
appeared smoking a cigar that Judge
Taft would be proud of-and smoking it
in the office. which was lese ma jeste if
anything ever was.
The chief clerk is out of step with the
world. or else the world is out of step
what is the matter. Either he does not
fit in with Christmas or Christmas disor-
sanizes the entire machinery of things.
Mistletoe Bigger Than Money.
But there it is. No matter how
powerful the organization that men
build up with the blood of their hearts
and the sweat of their shoulders, along
comes a happy, CHEEKY, green reathed
little fay and whispers Merry Christ
mas" and the whole business topples
over and mistletoe looks bigger than
money. Three little stockings hanging
in a row over the mantlepiece or by the
fireplace make a veil that hides from
sight every other solitary thing in the
whole world. And as for a Christmas
Turkey and a blazing plum pudding
together they will knock into a cooked
hat every scheme that mere man has
carefully planned to keep the sordid
world going on its sordid way
So today every one is suffering from
Christmas hangover. The world
played a while yesterday with the
Vulnerable pounds of candy, sucked the
paint from a herd of jumping jacks
and Noah's ark animals, smoked a
mountain Of cigars, drank an ocean OF
toasts, forgot enough about the every.
day drudgery to Tighten million bur-
dens-and today we all have to gel
back into lockstep while the chief
clerk yields the whip, and it's mighty
hard to do it.