The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1914-12-24
AN OLD STANDBY

The best Christmas editorial ever
written. so far as we know, appeared
In the New York Sun some years
ago. II has become a literary classic
of Christmas time. Every year ell
newspapers receive requests from
their readers to publish IL. This
year has e no exception. Ine
authorship of the editorial has been
generally credited TO the late Charles
A. Dana, but IL was written by a more
obscure though not less Brilliant man.
The author was the late Frank Z.
Church. who was one of those re-
genuises OF the editorial
room whose names are never known
To the outside world. who oil with
cut fame, TO produce daily something
readable. Mr.. Church in his editorial
is There a Santa Claus?" did more
than produce something readable. lie
touched the heartstrings OF childhood
and struck a responsive appreciation
from all humanity. The editorial was
written in reply to n letter TO the edi-
tor OF the Sun. enc Of those scores OF
letters newspapers receive every
Christmas season. from Virginia
O'Hanlon. eight a old. who asked:
Please tell me the truth: Is there a
san CLAUSE" Mr.. Church wrote:
virginia. your little friends are
wrong They have been affected by
the skepticism or a skepticai aEs.
Ihey do not believe except they see.
Ihey, think that nothing can be
which is not COMPREHENSIVE by
their little minds. All minds. viz
Etnls. whether they be mems or
ehildren's. are little. In this great
uniNerse OF ours man Is n mere In
sect. an ant. In his Intellect. a.
COMPARED with the ~boundless world
about him.. az measured by the in
whole OF truth and knowledge.
Yes Virginia. there ~ n Santa
1nus. re exists as certainly A.
exist. and you know that they
abound and give TO your life it,
mshest beauty and Joy Alas how
were no Santa Clausi IL would be
az areary as " there we're no vir-
Einias. There would be no child
like faith then. no poetry. no ro-
nance % make tolerable this EXIST
ence We should have no enjoy
The eternal tight with which mia.
hood oils the world would be ex-
Not believe In Santa Claus, You
might a. well not believe in fairies
nnoonn miEht get your papa 60 hire
christmas eve 90 catch santa Claus
but even ~ they did not see santa
Dhas coming down. what would
ENNN NfnNf| nobody secs Santa
'lauE. but nat ls no sign that there
no santa Claus The most real
things In the world are those that
uelther children nor men can see.
I'D you ever see fairies dancing on
the lawn or course not. but that's
no proof that they are not there.
Nobody can conceive or Imagine All
the wonders there are unseen and
uuEecnble So the world
on may tear apart the Hahvsa
fattlo see what makes the noise
inside. but there ls n veil GOVERNS
the unseen world which not tho
man. nor the united
strength Of ali the strongest men
th1t over lived. could tear aparf
only faith. fancy. poetry. love. ro-
nance. can push aside that curtain
and view and picture the aurernai
beauty glory beyond TaW 4ff
rDhlI Al. virginia. in an thfa
world there BEL nothing else real ana
abiding
no santa claus Thank God De
lives and he lives forever A thous-
tnd years from now. Virginia. nav.
Ten limos ten thousand years from
now. De viii continue % make rIad
the heart 0f childhood