Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1915-12-25
VISITS SANTA CLAUS
FOR LITTLE READERS
OF CAPITAL JOURNAL
United Press Reporter Inter
views Him at His Home,
the North Pole
Omitted Press Correspondence.) }


At the North Pole, (Via Wireless. y
Dee. 24.-Santa Claus was Just coming
out of the big silver barn where some
of the Santa Claus children were put
ting final gloss on the sleek brown
coats of the hundred handsome rein
deer in their roomy ivory stalls when
the United Press man met him.
Hello, there" said Santa as he
sat down in big snow chair and went
on polishing the armful of spun.gold
harness he carried, "I'm glad to see
you, although am sort Of busy. You
see, II have to work pretty fast to-
night if m going to get around to all
the little boys and girls in the world
What can do for you9"
The reporter was surprised to find
such q cheerful, busy wonderful scene
here at the North Pole, where every
thing is just bleak, dreary field Of
snow and ice and leaden sky 354 of the
365 days in the year, and he couldn t
answer at once, he was so busy looking
around at the mountains of presents
everywhere. He was most of all in
terested in the little Santa Claus chill
dren, hundreds and hundreds of them
all looking like little pictures Of their
daddy, hopping and skipping busily
about among the millions Of dolls and
hobby horses and toys and games and
candy and everything imaginable, put.
ting the proper name tags on every one
and ne really didn't see how they
could do it, Then the gigantic silver
barn, bigger than all the ordinary
barns in the world put together, gilt
tering there in the snowfields. II has
to be that big you know, to aold San.
ta's big steel sleigh. The reporter
could see part of the sleigh through one
of the purple barn doors and it was so
big that-why, just one of the hun
dreds Of rivets that held it together
was three times as long as four ten
year-old boys standing on top Of each
other S shoulders. And although it was
the middle of winter at the North Pole,
it wasn't so very cold. The reporter
asked Santa Claus about this Santa
laughed and called out in his great,
gruff, hearty voice;
"Boreas Oh, Boreasl Come here
and tell this boy why it ism t cold at
the North Pole today" And from
somewhere away off there was the
most terrific wnistling and shrieking
you ever heard and suddenly down
from the leaden sky dropped the big.
gest, fiercest-looking old man in flow.
ing white robes that the reporter ever
had seen.
"Ghis is my friend, Boreas, The
North Wind" said Santa Claus.
" How do you do7" shreked Boreas;
and sayl maybe his breath WASH I
eoldl Didn't you know / always
have II warm enough for Santa Claus
to do his days work up here once a
year, Didn't you know taat | do that
for him because he takes presents and
messages for me to my children, the
South Breeze, the East Wind and the
Warm Spring Zephyr. / haven t seen
them for hundreds Of years and If it
WASH t for old Santa | don I know
what I'd do. What ! do for him Is
little enough. " An without another
word tae fierce old man went roaring
and bowling back into the sky, looking
fiercer than ever.
81 certainly am glad" said Santa,
y to see so many places in the United
States having municipal Christmas
trees for the rich and poor little bows
and girls together. | have always done
my best to get around to every single
on Of the little tads, but sometimes |
haven't altogether succeeded and I
want to tell you that these municipal
Cnristmases help me mighty lot. |
wish you'd mention this in your story
and let those who haven Z done 1t know
how much / would like to have them
do it,
i" What about the little war orphans
in Europe2" Santa was asked.
81 am going to do my level best to
remember every one Of them," said
Santa very seriouslyj and the reporter
thought he saw something that wash I
a frost crystal glisten on the old man $
snowy beard. "And that reminds
me-, he went on, ''that / mustn I sit
here talking to you any longer. we
got the biggest nights work ahead Of
me that ! have ever known and ! IN
sure you II excuse me. Tell the world
hello for me and say that / will miss
no chimney top in all tae world If I
can help It, even down TO the little
sheet iron chimneys in the trenches
and those out on the gpsy trnilv