The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-12-23
The Perverted Spirit
of Christmas.

tBy a City Mission Worker. J

Editor Richmond Virg1nian:
Sir--The community spirit and the respon- I
stveness Of big-hearted Richmond to every ap-
peal for the relief OF the unfortunate or suffer
ing, is creditabe 10 our capital city. If there /
rs house home which viii not be frightened
by the invasion Of Santa Claus. it VIII be the
result Of a regretabe oversight II is a grea.
pity that there Is not more universal recos.
milton Of the fact that very much Of the suffer-
ing that the community IS quick to alleviate
is caused by the community itself, positively and
negatively Why do people sanction harmful /
institutions and social customs? Possibly the
evils TO which refer palmer seen and more
acutely realized by those engaged In the work
Of our charitable organizations; and yet It would
seem that every body must be cognizant of them.
The writer walking along Of our
streets few days ago when the al-pervasive
holiday spirit seemed 10 imbue everybody and
my eye was attracted by a pretty Autograph of
Santa Claus and, alas. tho Merry Christmas
sentiment which fared ont In bold fancy let
tors proved TO lee advertisement OF liquor
house! That conception Of "A Merry Christ
mas" is responsible for many n woefUl Christ
The city hecds the distress signal al
right but It's tho city that permits (for
revenue, forsoothD the existence of traffic
that in very large measure causes the distress
calls con the b,ar< which the Merry Christ
mas liquor al. adorns I two drunken
man)
And some Of our papers, which are honestly
soliCitous DOUBT, for the ample provision
OF an oil around Santa Claus visit and print
pathetic pictures Of little girls crying
empty stocking, carry flaming advertisements
Of the so-Called Merry Christmas stuff that
is fruitful source of poverty, wretchedness
and crime and which makes for the very con-
ditons that these same papers cry out to realize!
Thank Cod The Virginian whose motto is, 1T
Stands for Virginia" will not sell it's space to
traffic that is nmical in It's effects to the highest
Interests Of the men. women and children of
tho old Commonwealth
And there is another phase of this question
the social drinking custom happily dwindltng.
but too largely ana mschievously prevalent
The egg-nog bowl is regarded indtspen-
sable adjunct Of many Christmas breakfas
tablet And, strangely enough, mothers
who at nil other times regard the danger of
intox3cants on their boards. make a license OF
christmas timc," Just few instances per
sonally known to this visitor A little boy
seven years old was taken out of Christmas
bonfire and conveyed to a grief mother
Just d little while after she had given him egg
nog. 1t made him tpsy and he fell into the
fire, receiving burns from which he has never
entirely recovered
Again, there was whose appetite for
liquor had been conquered and for five years
he had been a sober and prosperous man. The
family happy one. On a Christmas
morning the wife and mother, taking an undue
liberty Of Christmas time" served egg-nog
which caused the mans old appetite to be re-
vived He died Of alcoholism, leaving his
family In poverty The saloons-for which the
city gets the revenue-received all his incmoe
and the city helps to keep the wolf from the
door Of the widow and little ones
Once more: A young bride insisted on her
husband taking glass of egg-nog at Christ
mas, He had never touched intoxicating liquors
and sensbly held the view that no man knows
his strength and he only Is safe who does
take his first drink. But the young Wifi
prodded him for his weakness" in being afraid
of Il glass Of innocent eEg-noR at Christmas
time" He yielded and both himself and wife
ascribe his miserable downfall TO that glass
+ of egg-noEg
, Stn another Two little, poorly clad children
stood shivering at shop window looking
longnRly at the pretty toys. The Black Maria
rolled by conveying to the station house the
father who had just been elected from a saloon
where free cgg-nog treat the attraction
And these instances-which could be multi
piled many tinnes-are not only typical of the
poorer classes" but. alas. there is many
saddened heart and home right here in Rich
mond today in the realm of the well-to do
The mansions could tale unfold as well as
the humble cottages, And--shaH / say II p
1t Is mistake to imagine that drink and
drunkenness is altogether conferred to the male
sex. "A by any other win smell
as sweet and even drunk by any other
name Is Just bad!'
/ At time when thoughtful and reverent
humanity Is gladstone the of good
will and unselhshness, Isn't 1t peculiarly APP
propriate to be careful by practice and in
duence to discourage those things which drag
men and down and thus lowering the
social scale at a frightful cost the financial
consideration (as great item It is), being
the smallest equation? The day has passed
when this called fanatcism. 1t is the
duty Of the strong to protect the weak-the
solemn duty Of society to throw every safe
/ guard around it's own composite life And
those at whom the thoughtless and cynical sneer
for being weak are weaker than the social
life that permits dangerous and pernicious
toms,
Richmond Va Dec 49, 1913.