The evening herald. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1906-1942, 1914-12-23

i parents more than ever the last
sew days by the truth-seekinx little
oncs. torn between the taants of the
children who say there Is no Santa,
aud the, are foolish 10 believe so, and
their yearnlng to stiil believe that the
Good Saint who rewards all good
children oat OF q jolly spirit Of mercy.
How to answer and spare little heart
aches is a puzzle.
In this connection. tho following
from the editorial page o. the New
York sun some years ago. which I'm
mortailred among newspaper men the
s2-year-old man who answered the
childish question. is the ideal answer:
We take pleasure In answering At
once and thus prominently, tho COM
nunication below. expressing At the
same time our great qualification that
its faithful author ts numbered among
the friends Of the Sun:
Dear Editor--f am eight year,
old: some OF my little friends say
there is NO Santa Claus. Papa says.
II you see II In the Sun. IT'S so
Please tell me the truth: Is there a
Santa Claus. PHrLOMENA-"
Philomena. your little friends are
wrong. They have been affected BY
the skepticism Of a skeptical age.
They do not believe except they zee.
They think that nothing can be which
Is not comprehensive TO their little
minds.
All minds. Phil, whether they be
mems or chiidrens'. are little. In
this great universe OF ours man Is a
mere insect, an ant. In his intellect. as
compared with the boundIess world
about him. ss measured by the intel
iigence capable OF grasping the whole
truth and knowledge
Yes. Phil. there is a Santa Claus.
He exists as certainly as love. and
generosity. and devotion exists, and
you know that they abound and give
TO our life its highest beauty and Joy.
Aias' How dreary would be the
world II there was no Santa Claus!
II would be as dreary ss II there were
no little Philomenaa-
There would be no childi!ke faith
then. no poetry. no romance. TO make
tolerable this existence. We would
have no enjoyment. except In sense
and sight. The eternal light with
which childhood flis the world would
be exiinguished.
NOT BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUS,
You might as well not believe IN
fairies. You might get your papa to
hire men 10 watch in all the chin
neys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa
Claus, but even II they did not see
Santa Claus coming down. what would
that prove,
Nobody sees Santa Claus. but that
Is no Sign that there IL no Santa
Claus The most real things In the
world are those that neither children
nor men can see. Did you ever zee
fairies dancing on the lawn? or
course not. but that's no proof thai
hey are not there. Nobody can con-
,eiye or imagine all the wonders there
are unseen and unseeabie in the
world.
You may tear apart the baby's
rattle and see what makes the noise /
inside. but there 10 a veil covering the
unseen world which not the strong
est man. not even the united strength
II all the strongest men that ever
lived. could tear apart. Only faith,
'ancy. poetry. love. romance. can push
aside that curtain and view and pic
ure the supernal beauty and glory
beyond. IL II all real! All. Phiio-
nena. In all this world there 10 moth
ng else real and abiding.
No Santa Ciausi Thank God, he
ives. and he lives forever. A thous-
md years from now. Phiiomena. nay.
en- times ten thousand years from
low, hs will continue To make glad
he hearts of chljdhool.