davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-19

'l''hhihu ny l-lelt
son OF Eric the Red, OF Norway, and
describe the southwark voyage OF his
little vessel past the snow.clad noun
talns of Labrador and the wooded
shores OF Newfoundland, until Vine.
land, an indefinite region on the New
England coast was reached.
Here Lief, who was n Christian. and
the members OF his little band of dar.
ing adycuturcrs spent the winter OF
1902 and no doubt on the bleak New
England shore the beautiful feast.
whose God-lke spirit has softcncd and
conquered the world. was celebrated.
The Norwegian visits to Vineland
were continued by ThOrw aid and Thor
stein, brothers Q! Lief. who had sue.
cecded 70 the patrlarchal office and
possessions OF his father: aud on the
deaths in quick succession Of both
Thorwald and Thorstcln the wife OF
the latter, Gudrida. married "A rich Nor.
wegian named Thorfn and accompa,
MED him and a company of his follow.
ers to Nucand, whore they lived
three years. Gudrida was pious
soul. When her second husband died
she visited Rome narrated to Pope
Benedict an account OF her adventures
in this far western void and with tho
papal blessing returned to Iceland.
whore she founded convent, Of which
she became abbcss.
There are no records bearing on the
Christmas days spent by these hardy
Norwegians In New England, but in.
agination can well picture the renewal
in this strange land OF the Christmas
customs of Scandinavia. And thus It
Is entirely legitimate to assume that
by them the first celebration OF the
day was observed in the new world.
History, and tradition as well. are
silent after this on new world affairs
until tho coming of the Spaniards, fol.
lowed by the Portuguese, French and
English. by them the feast of tho Ma.
tiyity was celebrated, and long before
Plymouth Rock was discovered. to be
made the cornerstone Of a new civil.
ization, hardy fishermen from France
chanted the hymns OF tho Catholic
church in tho waters of Maine An
old French chart gives to certain IS
lands near the Machas river. @; st Of
Pcnobscot, the names Of Isles dcs Rois
MaEes and IIayrc Magc-Islcs OF tho
Magian kings, and Magiau harbor-
in memory OF the three wise men, who
followed the mysterious star. to lay
their offerings Of gold Of franNncenso
and OF myrrh before the Babe OF Beth.
lchcm.
In stern and puritan New England
Christmas was placed under ban. Tho
Plymouth colony. indeed. did not pass
prohlbItiye laws, but in 1922 Gov Brad.
ford placed all Christmas games under
interdict and those who aftorward
observed the day did so secretly. But
The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-19

much sooner and the Mary Ann or
lin amt never been heard Of since
she left that South America place to
go round the Horn on her way to
China
The bright eyes of Betty Green
we're wet with tears as she opened
the oven door to raise the pie TO "A
higher shelf Ever since Jim Busby
jailed to return in time for the wed.
ding which Betty had SO carefully
prepared for four years AGA wed
ling which was to be the big event
If the Christmas season at South
Cove she had had a lonesome life.
Two months after the Christmas
that was to have been llrtty's wed
ding day her aged father had been
carried to the village cemetery. lcay.
ing her alone in the world With no
other relatives, and with no friends
except those at South Cove Betty re-
manned in tho little fishing town in
which su, had been born nearly TWEEN
ty.scycn years ago.
With the baking finished. Betty left
HE kitchen and went into her bed
COON She wanted nothing 80 much
49, 10 be alone in that room that had
uron her fathors-in that room where
he kept carefully preserved the wed.
ling clothes she had layishod so much
care upon four years ago. These
'luthos and the faded photograph OF
Jim Busby on her bureau were all
that we're left her Of her romance.
With these She would spend her
Christmas eve, would live over again
HE counting days. And Jim should be
here with her That would be her
Christmas.
With care she took each garment
from its wruppinEs in she bureau
irawcr and spread them on the bed.
The pretty wedding dress which
sarah Glover had helped her max"
yes, she would put it on tonight just
as she had planned to four years ago.
lin would like her to do that; he had
Iways liked to see her prctt,ly
dressed and maybe Jim might soc
her from the spirit world tonight
As she fastened the gown she al.
most forgot that Jim could not be
4
The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-19

he did not wait She heard the door
swing. a heavy step on the floor, and
a yoice--oh! such familiar voice
calling Betty.
Jim! My Jim" she answered, as
she pulled open the door of her bed
room and sprang into the arms of q
strong, bronzed sailor
Far into the night she listened to
Jim's tale OF shipwreck on the Pata.
gonian coast. of the months and years
Of practical captivity before he could
get back to seaport.
And now" he said, Il am home
claim my Christmas bride"
And l have our Christmas baking
DONE" said Betty.
WRIGHT A. PATTERSON.
The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-19

there, that 1t was all
a makc.bclicye As
she stood before the
mirror the smile Of
four years ago came
back again She noted
the color in her
checks, IL was like Il
bridal blush
A rap at the door
dispcll,d the illusion
she had permitted her
self for n few mo-
mcnts. She could not
go to tho door in that
dress. The caller
would have to wait, but
The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-19

Betty Green sighed as she placed
the pie in the oven, and pulled q
kitchen chair up beside the stove,
The new ncighbor, who had but re.
Gently moved into the town. and who
knew nothing Of Rettys history. had
just left. With the Christmas spirit
everywhere she had thought OF
course Betty was preparing u feast
for the day
Nov, il Jim hadn't never sailed
AWAY on that watcrloGEcJ old Mary
Ann. az he did a.going on four year
ago, guess could a been preparing
for Christmas like other folks. II
there hadn't been nobody else, jim
and me could OF enjoyed Christmas.
and then maybe thcrc'd bqon some
body clse-somcbody what just about
now would been liking dolls or tin
cars, and II so Jim and me would a
been having Christmas tree for that
The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-19
Whom to Thank,

81 suppose you feel very thankful to
Santa Claus for providing you with
such a fine turkey" said the minis.
ter to Uncle Lijah's little boy.
Nav. sah," replied the piccaninny.
"Uncle tole dis chile ter be than'ful
ter Farmer Green fur leavin' his hen
house dore on de lar"
The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-19

Tree in marvellous glory CLEANED
And going and coming. and com
ing and going.
With drumm"rs a.drumming and
buGlcrs blowing,
Tcrc all Of the children that ever
have played since ever the
world began
And each little fellow and each little
maid delightcdly laughed and
ran.
The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-19

the Massachusetts Bay colony. follow
Ing the example OF Cromwell's parlla
ment, which prohibited all observance
of the feast and decreed that holly
and ivy were badges Of sedtion" en-
acted law, In 1859, obliging all men
to labor on Christmas day and inHlct,
ing tine upon those who observed tho
feast. II was not until l6Sl--more
than 20 years after the passing Of the
Cromwell regime and the restoration
OF the Stuart dynasty to the throne
that this law, abolishinE personal free.
dom and liberty OF worship, was re.
pealed: and several years after this
the spirit OF New England was reflect
ed In letter written by Rev. Joshua
Moody to Rev. Increase Mather, in
which the observance of Christmas
was thus referred to: And the shut.
ting up OF shops on Christmas day and
driving the master out OF school on
Xmas holydales are very grevous."
Elsewhere throughout the colonies
the feast OF Christmas was observed
Both New Amsterdam and New York
maintained the old.world customs as.
ISOLATED with the day and in the south
the beautiful festival mover lost its
hold upon tho hearts OF the English
settlers.
Today there is no ncrth, no south.
no east, no west. to Christmas cele.
bratlon in the United States. The
story OF tho Babe OF Bethlehem ls
written on every heart and every
tongue on Christmas morning repeats
the song the angels sang over tho
Judean hills: GLORY to God in the
highest and on earth peace to men OF
good will"
The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-19
Worse and More Of Il.

Concord! Concord" shouted tho
brakeman. as the train pulled into
the station during n tremendous out
burst of thunder and lightning.
The clever woman grasped her
umbrella firmly.
Not only conquered" she ejacu-
latec. but taken by stormi"-Youth's
Companion
The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-19
FsNss q 4; g 6 tt1ls,s,s54
Si-.3:i d : % =; y y EiSg:SrN
OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS
Holiday Celebrated in America
Before Time Of Columbus.
The Christian Norsemen Undoubtedly
Observed the Occasion on the
New England coast-ln Early
Colonial Days.

lille tho settle
ment OF tho Amer
lean continent is
modern and It's
history clearly de-
fined, pro b n b ! y
there were Christ.
mas celebrations
in what is now
the United States
several centuries
before the first
voyage OF Column
bus. r he chron.
iclcs Of Iceland
tell the story of
the visit made TO
The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-19
49, y! - II, - GL-rl In.
- ~" -. isH,E pS'.-SStJ 49,. y - ~
CHRISTMAS ROMANCE

. n preparing for
Christmas-me. Good
ness knows | visit |
was, brt Christmas do.
lngs amt for me no
more. And Just be.
cause ] was n baking
something to eat to-
morrow, which hap
pens to be Christmas,
she thought | was pre-
pairing for that day a
special"
The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-19

80 m @ b o dy,
and we'd be
n having the
best Christ.
mas in all
South Cove
My how |
did try to
keep Jim
from sailing
IN that Mars
An II \ Il y
body " hat
In W any.
thing about
ships knew
she wasn't fit
to go to sea
in but Jim
says its the
only berth
he's likely to
get and TAX.
The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-19

ever man has guessed;
And going and coming, and coming
and going,
With drummcrs a.drumming and
buelers a.blowinE,
Were all the children that ever were
known since ever there was an
earth,
In hundreds, in couples, and all alone,
each chanting a song of mirth.
The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-19

and all Of
them sang
in t h { q
d r q Il M OF
mine, a song
that ! wish
| knew,
Tor II had n
melody fair
and fine and
every tone
was true.
1 IL II - A..
The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-19

And then In this
" on dorf u |
dream ] dream.
ed | thought
that the Christ.
mas Tree
Crew fairor and
fairpr until II
sec m e d no
faircr a thing
could be;
And all of tho
children the Y
call g d m y
name and all Of
The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-19

And then in this
wonderful dream
OF mine the chill.
dren ran to and
fro
And marched in n
long and winding
line as swiftly as
they might go;
And each as he pass.
ed the Christmas
Tree looked up
with q radiant
face,
The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-19
M t7.k>--, - or l. Dt.5.1-rfS ~;
~ T. r. tssrGZjb,SpI IN ~, y - ~
MY CHRISTMAS DREAM

DIV, this was the won
derful dream | had
IA dream Of the Christ.
mas Tree:
dreamed that n melody
sweet and glad rang
out from somewhere
to me,
And out OF the silvered
east they came and
out of the rosy vest
More children than ever
a man might mama or
Evening journal., 1912-03-09
"A BROTHER OF GIRLS"
BY The REV. r. L. JACKSON

The above title is not original with
me. II is how the Arabs designate
the man to whom God has given
clean heart to look on all women as
his sisters, and courage to protect
them. Such a man, be he old or
young, is "a brother of girls" There
are many such brothers among our
American men. / am happy to say.
They are the very soul of chivalry
and honor in their relations with
womankind They are finely thought
tul and nobly tender toward all wom-
EN- with whom they come in contact,
whether i'm business or social life.
Ihey would scorn to take advantage
OF any woman whom circumstances
nave, more or less, thrown into their
power. They draw back in horror at
the thought of being responsible for
the loss of self-respect incurred by
women who have suffered the bounds
of womanly modesty to be overstep-
ped They endeavor to fulfill the fine
injunction to treat every woman as
courteously and cOnscientiously as
though she were his own sister.
But Of how many other men is it
possible to say this? The clean heart
to look upon all women as their sis
ters and the courage to protect them
have not been given to them; on the
contrary. they look upon them as le-
gitimato prey. Happy are they when
circumstances cOnspire to throw
them, helpless and defencless. into
their grasp. It is precious little Of
the real brother they are to them
then! Yet it is these same ruthless,
conscienceless destroyers of woman's
honor and happiness who are up in
arms wien a sister of theirs is defam-
ed or betrayed Then is all their
deadliest wrath aroused. But they
deem themselves free to deal as they
please toward other mems sisters
am told tif / am wrong, | wish to be
set right that there are secret or
ders which impose upon their MEM
bers the obligation to treat the wOm-
en- Of fellow members with honor and
chivalry. lnasmuch as nothing is
said about other women. We may infer
that a similar obligation toward them
is not laid upon the members of. these
orders. Now. if this is the cae, then
I not not hesitate to denOunce such
a discrimination as unworthy of a
civilized man. Is moral obligation of
such a character that it is binding
under one set Of conditions, and not
under another?
We are living at a time when il
| is imperatively necessary for every
man to be a brother of girls Think
of the vast numbers of young womer
at work in offices, stores an shops
side by side with men-obliged. il
many cases, to toll as strenuously
and increasingly! Think of the small
margin of strength they are obliged
to work onl Think of the temptations
they must face and overcome. Is i
Evening journal., 1912-03-09
SATURDAY. MAR. 9. 1912
THE SOCIAL UNREST.

- HERE is much discussion throughout the
J. country about the compensation received by
certain classes of persons including ministers and
college professors and other teachers The trus-
tees of some institutions of learning of the first
rank have taken hold of the problem of increas-
ing the pay of teachers believing that such worthy
workers are nadequately compensated.
Funds are being secured the income Of which is
10 be devoted to increasing the salaries of the
instructors Much money has been givon for the
erection of buildings and their equipment with
fine apparatus but the point is being comprehend
ed that fine buildings and fine equipment do not
make the college or the university 1t is the men,
the teaching force
In proportion to the services they render their
compensation is less by far than it should be.
In fact the pay of these classes and of ministers
and of men in some other professional or nom
professional work which requires intellectual train
ing is rdiculously small And the problem of de-
cent existence to these classes is becoming acute
with the higher cost of living and the standard or
living that is required of them
BY means of their unions aboring men have
been enabled to contend for living wages, but the
classes to which we have been referring have no
such protection. They are forced to depend en-
tirely upon the good will or the financial ability
of their employers.
In the upheaval that has been going on in our n-
dustral and social conditions these classes, the
intellectual proletariat," as they are sometimes
called have been ground if by milestone. They
have been doing much thinking. Being intelligent
men they see The vast accumulation of fortunes in
the hands of the few; they see the trusts manpu-
lating products and victmizing the people for the
sake of personal aggrandzement. They sec that
the country is rich and prosperous, that its wealth
is greater than ever They see the chauffeur OF the
rich man in the big cities getting higher pay than
the college professor whose duties arc as import
ant as those Of any other man in the community.
They see all this and they think. And if they
think very long and if there are not changes, this
great class of the intellectual proetarat will
unconscously find themselves in the ranks OF
those who compose the army OF unrest. Not only
will they be in the ranks but some of them will be
leaders joining in the army Of education that IS
camoring for a more equitable distribution of the
wealth of the country.
Those who stand firmly for things as they are
think that policy of silence can suppress unrest
of this kind but it cannot do it. The country is
going through a process of education, concerning
human rights and the rights of property the rights
of wealth and its limitations and responsibilities
This educational course cannot be checked. II
is inspired not by envy and malice and demagog
ism, as some think but il is inspired by the funda
mental principles of justice against which the flag
rancy and impudence of aggrandized wealth, &C
cumulated often under suspicious circumstances
seriously OfendS.
Evening journal., 1912-03-09
By
"HOLLAND'

result, buring oil would follow the
course of the lightning.
"In the early '7Os of the last century
| was standing in the office of a manu-
foctory near Pittsburgh at an hour
when violent thunderstorm was
gathering in the distance. As watch
ed the electric clouds and began to see
the distant flashes of lightning, ] be-
came convinced that the course of the
storm would be directly over couple
of large oil tanks which were in plain
view and which ] knew were filled
with OIL
Il made up my mind that | would
stand at the window and watch the
course of the storm. The clouds moved
very rapidly. The lightning became
very vivid and was of the kind called
chain lightning. The clouds were very
black and it became almost as dark as
night, except when the whole country
was Illuminated by big bash of light
ming Once it seemed as though the
storm would veer away from the vi
cinity of the oil tank, but it did not.
"A few minutes later, when the cleo
trio cloud lying low, was directly
over the tank, / saw a most brilliant.
vivid stream so to call it, of lightning
as the electricity was discharged from
the cloud This stream of electric hre
struck the oil tank directly upon the
top.
Instantly there shot up from the
top of the tank a superb volume OF
flame, a gigantic pillar of fire. 1t
seemed to me to follow the exact
course of the electric stream, and with
such inconceivably prodigious energy
had the electric bolt converted the oil
into tongue of flame that the whole
volume of the oil was consumed, ap-
parently in almost as quick time as
was needed for the charge OF the elec-
! trio bolt from the cloud to the tank.
| Of course, that was not exactly what
happened. After the pillar of fire had
centered and then disappeared, what
remained of the oil in the tank burned
up.
"I have often thought Of this phe-
nomenon and have sometimes tried to
study out the natural law which was
obeyed when the bolt Of lightning
| struck the oil tank. I can understand
| how electricity in the form of lightn-
ing could have set the oil on fire, but
to this day | cannot understand why
that gigantic and brilliant Pillar of fro
rose high in the heavens the instant
after the oil tank was struck by light
ming
Il presume other persons, especial
| " those who are regularly occupied
in oil territory, have seen lightning
strike an oil tank; but so far as per-
| sonally know, ] am the only man who
ever witnessed the entire phenomenon
the approach of the storm, the dis
charge Of the electric bolt, the strik-
] ing Of the tank and the instantaneous
| mounting into the air of a gigantic
solid column of fire.
Copyright. 1912. by b J. Edwards.
All rights reserved.)
Evening journal., 1912-03-09
HOW 1T IS WORKED.

m HE decision of the court in the case of the
/ Traction Company has merely aroused the
public TO a keener interest in the great questions
that affect the city and the state. 1t will start the
public to considering the relations between the
public service corporations of a monopolistc char
acter and the people in general 1t is question
that cannot be put out of the way. 1t will not be
discarded.
The people will look into their political and mum
icpal and state affairs deeper than ever before.
They will consider the alliance that has existed
in the affairs of Delaware between the public SER
vice corporations and politics. They will ask the
question whether many of our political leaders do
think Of private interests first and the peoples
interests subsequently, if at all. They will keep
their eyes the next legislature. They will look
beneath the party labels and whether this can
didate or that candidate represents the people or
whether he represents some special interest and
IS wearing the party tag simply for the purpose of
serving private interest better.
We all know the fierce partisanship that partv
leaders try TO arouse how they appeal to party
prejudices and call on the voters to rally around
the old party emblem, but we all know what hap
pens in the Delaware Legislature when the shake
down comes, how the party emblems are tossed
aside and the men really line up for OF against a
special interest.
In many states this kind of thing has reached
such a stage that there are bipartisan combina
Evening journal., 1912-03-09
ATHLETES IN AFTER LIFE.

THE average citizen in this country is proud
Il of the fine young athletes who figure in the
college and high school, and other games and track
competitions, and he believes that the athletes are
long-lived and become magnificent specimens of
manhood.
There has been an investigation of the effect of
athletics on the physical condition OF young men
and statistics have been gathered concerning CPS
former athletes in the naval academy classes from
1891 to 1911. OF this number nine have died and
twelve have beeen retired for disability OF these
twenty-onc six were afflicted with tuberculosis,
eight with mental or nervous diseases resulting in
suicide in three cases, two with acute alcoholism
and two with heart disease
All these cases we're traced directly to the strain
due to track and crew racing, football and the pre-
paratory training required. OF the remaining GOA,
no fewer than l98 have disabilities abnormal
conditions which we're probably induced by too
strenuous athletics if not actually caused by them
1t is probable that the same record would be
made by an examination of the former athletes IN
the colleges and universities. But it would not be
fair to attribute the physical disabilities to the
athletic training
Take any number of other college men in after
years and the record of disabilities would probably
be larger than that of the athletes.