Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1915-12-22
THE NEW YORK SUNS
SANTA CLAUS EDITORIAL
There Is n Santa Claus, And He VIII
Ever GLADDEN. The Hearts Of
Little Children,

Nearly twenty years ago, little girl
Virginia O'Hanlon, eight years old
evinced some doubt of the existence o
the Santa Claus. who makes all chill
dren happy on Christmas Day.
Virginia was so skpetical that she
wrote the New York Sun to find on
If there was any truth in the Santa
Claus Story. The Sun answered her
The Sun then was in charge of Mr.
Charles A. Dana and Mr.. Frank p
Church, was the author of The Sun:
reply which was printed on September
81. 1897 Following is the editorial:
I'VE take pleasure in answer
ing at once and thus promptly the
communication below. expressing
at the same time our great graft
fication that its faithful author is
numbered among the friends of
The Sun:
Dear Editor: 81 am eight years
old Some of my little friends say
there is no Santa Claus. Papa
says off you see 1t in The Sun, it's
so. Please tell me the truth! if
there is a Santa Claus?
VIRGINIA OHANLON.
115 West Ninety-Fifth st.
Virginia, your little friends are
wrong They have been affected
by the scepticism of a sceptical
age. They do not believe except
they see. They think that moth
s,,r h. x,rI1s oh &c
hensible by their little minds. All
minds, Virginia, whether they be
men or children. are little. In
this great universe of ours man is
n mere insect, an ant, in his intel
lect, as compared with the bound
less world about him, as measured
by the intelligence capable of
grasping the whole of the truth
and knowledge.
Eyes, Virginia, there is a Santa
Claus. He exists as certainly as
love and generosity and devotion
exist, and you know that they
abound and give to your life its
highest beauty and JOY. Alas! how
dreary would be the world if there
were no Santa Claus. There would
be no childlike faith then, no
poetry, no romance to make toler-
able this existence. We should
have no enjoyment, except in sense
and sight. The eternal light with
which childhood filled the world
would be eXtinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You
might as well not believe in fai-
ries! You might get your papa
to hire men TO watch in all the
chimneys on Christmas Eve TO
catch Santa Claus, but even if they
did not see Santa Claus coming
down, what would that prove? No
body sees Santa Claus, but that is
no sign that there is no Santa
Claus. The most real things in
the world are those that neither
children nor men can see. Did you
ever see fairies dancing on the
lawn! OF course not, but that's
no proof that they are not there.
Nobody can conceive or imagine
all the wonders there are unseen
and unseeable in the world.
you might tear apart the baby's
rattle and see what makes the
noise inside, but there is a veil
covering the unseen world which
not the strongest man, not even
the united strength of faith, fancy,
poetry, love, romance, can push
aside that curtain and view and
picture the supernal beauty and
glory beyond. Is it all real? All.
Virginia, in all this world there is
nothing else real and abiding.
NO Santa Clausi Thank God.
he lives and he lives forever. A
thousand years from now, Vir-
ginia, nay, ten times ten thousand
years from now he will continue to
make glad the heart of childhood"