Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1912-11-27
THANKSGIVING DAY.

DNADiNANb' " 10 l'NNAANA - fAlAl'l
cas- day Originating in the
parlous times Of the country's
earliest settlement, when our fore
fathers, realizing the over-present
danger from the wild and savage In
dians, whose lands they were "appro--
prlatlng," and whose country they had
jumped, how thankful they should be
that they were alive, set one day apart
for returning thanks to merciful
creator and the inventor Of gun
powder that this was possible, It
doesn't look, at this remote period, as
though they had a great deal to be
thankful for other than as above
stated; but then our forerathcrs were
not educated up to the standards Of
these electric and gasoline days
And yet n comparison Of their con-
dltion with our own shows some
strong points Of similarity though in
the present day we, the common poo
pie, stand rather in the position of
the Indians than that of our scrappy
old forbears, who carried their rifles
on their plow handles, as they broke
the stubborn sod, and wore the same
guns, topped out for Sunday with a
pair Of bell-mouthed horse pistols, to
church Sundays
They had come over to this country,
and were given a hospitablo welcome
by the unsophisticatod native born
Americans They Immediately began
TO locate the lands lying around un-
used, and to drive their red brethren
from the places they had been accus-
toned to roam over Naturally there
was a considerable difference Of opln-
ion as to the proprioty OF this course.
and the red man proceeded to lift the
foroiops Of the white brethren, and all
that was his, whenever the occasion
Offered, The white brother, who had
fled to this country to get larger
dose Of freedom than was handed to
him at home, resented this little me-
gathering trait Of the Savage,
and on the occasion or the latlcrs
visits TO, or near the white settle
mcns, welcomed them with bloody
hands to hospitable graves.
All this is changed, aud the mdl-
ans, or such ns are left, can now see
us hoist with our own potard," and
getting about the same kind Of mcdl-
cine we prescribed for them three
hundred years ago.
We have exploited the Indians
lands Of the whole continent, and
such as are left are now college stu
dents aud land owners under the
charge Of old Uncle Samuel himself.
Here is whero, ms he thinks OF the
treatment Of his ancestors by ours.
that his laugh comes In Carnegie and
Morgan John d., IIetty Green, the
railroads, steel Trust Harvester
Trusts and the thousands Of other
corporations without bodies, to he
kicked on souls to be- condemned, are
following I'm the footsteps of our brave
old ancestors, and treating ms as
they did the Indians They are APP
propriatng and graspmg the things
that were the peoples, and they are
pushing MS steadily away from the
things they want just as our onccs
tors crowded the Indians out They
are growing too, aud more coming
over all the time, I'm spite of the ter
rifle havoc the late r. r. made !
amongst them when the tust-hustng |
stunt made q thousand or 30 pieces OF |
them which amoeba like, each be- |
came new entire and extremely .
agile hug
Nut what's the use looking a gift
horse ln the mouth-or mQuiring too
closely into the pedigree OF Thanks
giving day II Is here again or will /.
be tomorrow and whatever It may |.
have been, 70 has como now to mean
a day OF real Thanksgiving. A day /
that whIlo as nation, we return
thanks for the manifold good and