The Washington times., 1915-12-20

to death about Christmas.
She has two perfectly good
children, a generous husband.
plenty of money in her own bank in
her own name. two aunts. two regular
uncles. and one of the bachelor va
riety, a grandfather and two grand
mothers-a perfectly ideal family for
a perfectly ideal Christmas.
But the woman next door can't see
her way out Of her Christmas troubles.
IT'S all so false" she says, so much
pretending and fibbing and what ] call
up-and-down lying about 1t. There 8
Santa Claus. to begin with. I think it's
absolutely wicked to tell children there s
Santa Claus. and teach them to be
30 fond of him. My children believe me
because I always tell them the truth.
How are they going to feei about II
when they find out the Santa Claus
fraudT
Why, the very churches connive
at It! We're going to have a Christmas
tree in our church. and the Sunday
school superintendent is going to dress
nm for Santa Claus. He's tickled to
death over his white whiskers and red
flannel overcoat. Such childishness, and
so deceltful, I call it! My children are
awfully smart. and they know the Sun
day school superintendent very well.
What IL they should recognize him and
ask me about It? What could L say?
How could they ever believe a word
he says again? And then. there are the
books that people are sure to give them.
Grandma is talking about Jack the
Giant Killer already. Just think OF It.
giving such murderous thing to a
timid little boy to read. And grandpa
has got The Night Before Christmas.
with brand new illustrations. all picked
out. More fairy tales!
And I simply know Aunt Sarah has
hcen waiting for a chance to give little
for whole year.
What am I going to do about it?
The whole world seems to be in league
against my attempt to bring up my chill
drcn in The real, honest world, and not
TO teach them a whole lot of things
that they've got to unlearn by and BY"
She isn't hypochondriac or ner-
Nous subject at all. my friend. the
ago she was one of the most whole
some. natural. jolliest women l ever
knew.
Just Loving" Needed.
lust the sort you'd Ask In to have
pot luck" with you when the cook was
III. Just the kind who would be a per
feet treasure or A camping trip. and
now she's like this, All on account Of
Ciubs-women's clubs and the striving
for what she loves to call the "ethica%
point of view.
don't believe that woman breathes
without stopping to think whether it's
ethical or not. And as for her poor
children, she's making sucf a consci.
cntious and all-ahsorbing study" OF
them that she doesn't seem to have
anything left to love them with. am
children do need such lot of rlain
everyday. old fashioned. simple-hearted
come and cuddle"me' loving.
They really cannot thrive without It
Ask the metron of any orphan asvlun
in the world about 1t and she'll tell yol
the same story. Babies die in found
ling asylums not always because the,
are neglected or because they wer'
poorly equipped to begin with, bCt be
cause they are starved to death fol
want of love. There's nothing rarticu
larly scientific about this, but it's tru'
lust the same.
wish the woman next door WASH
Killer and the rest of his CORY friends
like Jack the Giant Killer myself
I'm just that unregenerate. And as 70
Jack who climbed up the beanstalk III
wouldn't have been life to me withou
him somewhere in the foreground. o
the background, whichever you want t
call It.
When ! think of that handful Of spot
ted beans-purple and red and gold the,
were YOU rememper-I don't blame ia cl
bit for trading his mothers cow 70
them. And when l remember the wa,
that vine grew up over Jacks windov
in one single night, and what Jacl
found at the top "f It, well, I wouldn'