Gainesville daily sun. (Gainesville, Fla.) 190?-1938, 1909-12-27
LIE An cHRleTMAs.

CAREFUL DcIhbdt VI Jul AScdSAp VI "AAe
Christmas Eve morning:
"The world has strange habit Of
,hiding away under the glamour of Wis
lble beauty and brightness much that
would moisten the eyes to see, and
burden the heart to know. In city
streets, where joyous throngs on
pleasure bent crowd the pathways
the air is full OF laughter and the
pleasant speech Of men and women
to whom the world is kind. The
evergreen holly, with it's rudy Der.
ries, the flowers with radiant color,
the fruits that find summer in pal
aces of glass, vie with the diamonds
and rubies that rich men buy to
prove their Christmas kindness, and
the laughter that we hear sounds like
a general chorus to the bursts Of mu-
sic that from all sorts OF places try
to tune the hearts Of the listeners to
the festival that is coming tomorrow.
Fore It is Christmas Eve in a great
city street! .
ut is hardly possible to believe
that what we see and hear is not
typical Of the general condition; that
the same eager anticipation of the
peace and plenty OF the great Christ
day does not exist from one extrem-
ity of the city to the other. Do we
ever remember the action of the laws
that work in us. and try to understand
that all of us are apt to take our
own thoughts and feelings and cover
the lives of all our fellows with them?
If we are satisfied. we imagine every.
one else must be; our content ought
to be enough for all the world On
this coming Christmas day may every
mother who reads these words have
her hearts desire, and may she re-
member, too. that in our land the
Lord who came to us long ago Is with
us still, and in his loving grace Be
slows enough of all needful things to
satisfy all who hunger with hunger
of body or soul; that there Is no need
of want, or misery, or hate. and that
there might be none on Christmas day
this year II only the good and kind
and wise had In former years under
stood that while they feasted and
sang, their Joy would find sharp con.
trast IN the restitution that was liter
ally within arms reach OF them all.
IAN through the long hours OF the
Christmas Eve and far into the early
morning, there are little boys and
girls, ill-cIad, hungry, facing the biting
winds, with slush-sodden feet, trying
to earn few cents TO buy dry bread
Tor a Christmas feast. Women there
are who are alone and sick, fighting
the deadly weakness that Is born of
exhaustion, toiling on through the
slow passing minutes tin the dawn,
that they may not die OF hunger. Rag.
ged, homeless men crowd into the
dirty refugees for the vagrant, to lie
tossing restlessly about, coughing In
choruses OF agony, thinking In duh
horror OF the better Christmas in days
gone by. And In the hearts Of all the
unfortunate, not one bright CLEAN OF
hope shines to drive despair away;
they are living in. not passing through.
the valley OF the shadow Of death.
"All there are lives UNNECESSARILY
worse than these young girls driven
by drunken parents into the streets at
midnight, when the Christmas bells
are ringing; wives beaten by men
fresh from saloon bars where they
were making ready for Christmas day.
What must God think when groans and
shrieks from helpless human lips rise
up from sordld homes, and mingIe
with the music OF the bells that tell
the world that Gods Son loved them
all and came to earth to bring good,
viii and peacef Or rather, what should
Christian mothers think. and Chris.
tlan fathers DO. to end the discord
and give 10 the Christ the world he
died 10 saver
mot only the passing charity Of
the day. not merely the goOd dinner.
the warm clothes. and the kindly
words-sll these are good; how good
those only know who know well the
poor But the child Christ was born
that he might make strong men and
good women who would both work
and pray for the uplifting OF the sinful