Daily Kennebec journal., 1908-12-16
Maine Gossip
A Question.

If there isn't any Sarta Claus, who is it
Turns your feet
Toward the shop where gifts are smiling
as you walk along the street?
Who is it sets you thinking, though
vou're busy as can be.
About, the songs and laughter. round the
children's Christmas tree?
Though you VOW this Christmas business
is nuisance, anyhow
There's an influence at work that clears
the froWninS from your brow
The small tin trumpet sounds a blast that
wakes your soul serene
To homage for the doll who is a lady
and queen.
And the once prosaic world where it has
been your lot to dwell
Is q realm of destinations meath some
mystic fairy spell!
If there isn't any Santa Clans, who is it,
day by day,
That turns our thoughts to Christmas,
strive to shun it rs We may?
Who comes at this bleak season armed
with telcpathic arts
And by generous suggestion domlna tes
our minds and hearts?
Washington Star.
Every member of Names 1926
Oranges should read State Master
Stetson's address.
The Red Cross Christmas stamp is
proving the fad Of the 1908 holiday
season.
The game will keep coming down
from the woods for some time, but it
was all killed in open season.
There will be a mass Of interesting
facts and figures in that report Of the
Maine Tax commission which is to be
filed next Friday.
The Lee Town hall which was
burned last week was church in its
early life and it's exterior had re-
manned unchanged 1t had been much
used for dances in recent years.
Over at Surry the smelt fishing busi-
ness is beginning in small way, and
a few shipments have gone through
Ellsworth to city dealers. Indications
point to quite a village of tents on the
ice this year as a number are on al
ready, and others have their houses IN
preparation to be put on as soon as
the ice is sufficiently thick as not to be
dangerous. The past two years the
smelts have been scarce but the fisher
men are looking for a change TINS
winter
Maine customs officials have been
notified to look out for any laths or
other lumber which may have belonged
to the British bark Shawmut. which
was wrecked off the eastern coast
about two weeks ago Quantities OF
laths have been picked up along the
eastern coast by fishermen and others
and it is believed that these came from
| the Shawmut. Lumber coming from
New Brunswick and picked up in this
way must be retained by the salvors
| for a certain length of time and then
| may be sold on payment of duty.
| Reports from many small places
along the Maine coast say that the re-
cent gales have raised havoc with the
| lobster fishermen's traps and that
many of them have been forced to give
up fishing for the winter Frank S.
/ Willard, one of the largest lobster
dealers, in Portland, said Saturday
that this was the usual occurrance
every year as when the real winter
weather starts the fishermen have a
hard time and lose many traps while
others give up the business altogether
until spring He said: "The present
year has been an extremely prosperous
one for the fishermen and dealers as
the continued mild weather throughout
the fall and early winter months has
been ideal and not severe enough to
keep the men from pulling their traps
every day. Then again the Holsters
have seemed to be very plentiful and
Z faif1ad by the good weather the fisher