New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1910-11-16
Official Paper of NewiUlm.
Thanksgiving and Bogus Bless
ings.

Thanksgiving ana bogus DlSSS-
ings.
But few more days till Thanks
giving.
Older than the republic-older than
the Fourth of July or than Washing
toms birthday, Thanksgiving, with
it's sweet savoring of the true but un-
official national bird done brown, is
the only typically American festival
says the St. Paul Daily News. Other
nations have their "Fourthso, or their
Fourteenths of July-none has any
thing just like our Thanksgiving day.
It's natural. Few of them have as
much to be thankful for as have we.
Few of them have had fathers with
spirits stern enough to breed defiance
to a king and steadfast enough to
brave unshaken the dreary misery OF
Valley Forge in making good that
defiance.
SO when we come to count our bless
ings the fathers of the republic should
perhaps come first. It's no light
thing to be able to boast fathers who
were willing to sacrifice to the utter
most in our behalf, to work unceas-
ingly to pay without stint, to fight
sturdily, to die cheerfully-all that we
might have something to be thankful
for.
And then, of course, each of US has
any number of personal blessings to
be thankful for. The most unlucky of
us can find some blessings to count in
the aggregate. You say that you are
thankful that you have prospered as
you have, or that you haven't drop
ped as much money as you might have
dropped, or that you have good health
or that you are not sick as you might
be, or that the comet got by without
any real harm. At least you may be
thankful that you are alive, Or =.
Hold on
We've heard all this before. We've
heard it ad nauseam. If this is the
best we can do we might as well quit.
We might as we'll put Thanksgiving
day in the lumber room of forgotten
festivals. For these things are not the
real thing in the way of blessings.
Tt is not that the fathers fought for
US. That was their blessing, not ours.
Ours hangs on the question: 'What
have we done to deserve the sacrifice
they made for us?"
Have we indeed been true to their
trust? Are we carrying on the torch
undimmed? Have we emulated them
in point of idealism and sacrifice?
Have we risked fortune, and life even,
that our children may ENJOY the liberty
that our fathers bequeathed to US?
Have we even sacrificed mere per-
sonal comfort on the altar Of liberty?
If we have not-and God knows
most of US haven't we have no right
under heaven to claim their sacrifice
as our thanksgiving blessing. We
must needs take a scourge and drive
the money changers from the temple
they built for US before we can with
good grace count their inspired sac
arifce as Our benson.
And these picayne personal bless
,ings of ours-that we have money,
and position, and health-what are
they if we have not the blessing of
service as tombstone to make them
reel? What are they if we have not
used our money unsel6shly, if we have
mot used our position to make some
2body happier, if we have never lifted
a finger or walked a mile on behalf OF
some one to whom we owe nothing
but the common debt of man to man?
Blessings? Why the turkey that
dies for our thanksgiving dinner is
more blessed than we! The turkey, in
dying that we may be happy, at least
symbolizes that spirit of sacrifice
which we know so little about.
It's nearly three weeks till Thanks.
giving. In that time let's see if we
can't add to our bundle of bogus bles.
sings few real ones-bless:ngs thai
will inspire our children's children te
rise up and call us blessed.
DESPITE Col. Roosevelt's inclination