davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
How the MiStleOe
Came to Mean KtSsin

We decorate our homes with spravI
mistletoe at Christmas time, but few \
know the history of it as a YuIetide synI
Pretty girls are kissed under it and q j
deal Of fun and nonsense is carried nm aI
pos of it, but none stops to think how anc
a decoration it is or how sacred it was
thought to be. The ancient Celts in 4
Druidical religion had two great fesa1
one in June and the other in December
latter being equivalent to our Christmas
both of these great festivals the gathd
of the mistletoe was a sacred rite.
The Druids believed that potion
pared from mistletoe would increase h
f1ocks, and that the plant was a rem
against all poison. 1t was believed to
curative for many ills, and this belief isl
to be found in many remote places in
rope. In Holstein, for example, the
tletoe is regarded as a healing remedy|
wounds, and in Lacaune, France, it ID
ways administered by the native dwellei
an antidote for poison, says the Baul
American.
In the northeast of Scotland people
to cut withes of mistletoe at the March
for year to cure hectic fevers and d
troubles.
Many German peasants also consider
mistleoe a powerful charm against evil 1
it's. A similar belief seems to have linga
among the Romans. When Aeneas deStd
ed into Hades he gathered, to protect
self from the Internal powers brand
mistletoe, which Vergil calls the col
bough.
The custom of kissing under the mistA
goes back to the days when Thor and
and all the other gods of the North
son of Odin and Frigga, the Apollo Of 81
dinavian mythology, the faxen-haired
of sunshine and it's attendant blessings,
loved by all earthly and heavenly beings
one-Loki, the god of earthly fire and
attendant evils.
How all of the things animate and il
mate in the world, except the surely mis-
toe, swore never to harm the sun god
how Loki slew Baldur with a branch Of
has been told with beautiful poetic po
by Matthew Arnold.
In Cancellation, hoping to soothe the
sionate sorrow of the mother, Frigga,
dedicated the mistIetoe to her. And
sin and sorrow had hallowed it; for ha
forth it was to grow, not as a symbol Of
terness and hatred, but as a sign OF
derness and love.
But the gods decreed that it was to St
for these things only so long as it touc
not Lokis kingdom, the soil; for this re'
it is never seen growing on the ground
we ourselves hang it high on the rafter
chandeliers. And now that it was the
of love the custom arose for enemies to
come friends under the mistletoe; for
ers to pledge their troth beneath it; ana
those who meet there to kiss as a sig
affectionate fellowship.
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
A Feeble "First Chief"

While We are mildly begging Carranza to
protect American lives and property the fact
of the matter is, according to reliable re-
ports, Carranza is exercising no authority
whatever in Mexico. On the contrary, he is
completely in the hands of his generals, who
are administering the only government ex-
listing in the distracted republic. Indeed,
no state in Mexico can be said to be under
the actual control of Carranza in the sense
that an order he may issue respecting it
will necessarily be obeyed.
The so-called Carranza government was
recognized by the American government Oc-
tober 21st 1915. About a month before
then Carranza had left Vera Cruz, and he
had spent the intervening time travelling in
state through Tampico, Victoria, Saltillo and
many other towns where it was thought the
presence of a conquering hero would be well
come. Since his recognition by the United
States his generals have kept him travelling
and feasting continually, while they and
their subordinates have attended as they
pleased to the business of the country.
Zapata, he enemy of CarranZa, and Pablo
Gonzales al evidently dividing their control
of Mexico City, which Carranza does not en-
ter. Tampico is held by the Carranzistas
and Tuxpam, in the oil fields, by the Willis
tas Guerro is in the hands of de la Tore,
a relative of Porfirio Diaz, and Oaxaca is and
has been throughout the revolution indie
pendent 1t is Diaz territory, and has been
spared much of the burdens Of the revolu-
ton, but it is innately hostile to Carranza.
In the sense of being able to offer any
kind of a guarantee of the safety of foreign
lives and property Carranza is as helpless
in almost every state as President Wilson
himself
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
The Nations Finance.

1t is a cheering tale the comptroller of the
currency has told in his annual report to
congress, described tersely as a develop
ment and growth never paralleled in the
financial history of any country"
The comparative statement showing the
condition of the national banks reveals a
banking power of more than $25, 900, 0OO,-
600. The figure is stupendous, and almost
inconceivable to those of us who are unused
to calculating except in our small way The
same is true of the other aggregates which
the comptroller considers in his report. The
net resources of the reporting banks increas-
ed $1,743,87S, GAS; deposits went up ST.
O81, $50, 1874; available cash gained $685.
100000.
The reserves held by the national banks
on Nov 10, 1915, exceeded by $5S7, 900, 900
the greatest reserves ever held at any time
prior to the passage of the federal reserve
legislation.
Some figures are wearisome. These are
not In them is written an almost astound-
ing chapter Of national progress and pros
perity-an overworked phrase, perhaps, but
one pregnant with meaning.
1t means that we have gone into the front
rank, and beyond it-that the United States
leads proudly the march of nations and 9TH
ers follow; that London is no longer the
financial center of the universe.
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
EIGHT MILLION WOMEN WORKERS

In the Womans Home Companion Secre-
tary of Labor Wilson in describing the new
federal employment bureau says:
To-day there are, in round numbers,
about 100000 900 persons engaged in gain
full occupations in the United States. Of
these about S,000,O 900 are women.
Upon the constant employment of these
millions there depends the well-being of the
average family in this country. The wage
Garner is in four case out Of five man,
because statistics show that about every
fifth salaried individual is woman. AS the
average man has one or more women de-
pending upon him for a more Or less long
time it is obvious that the question of per-
manence of his employment is as vital to
the fair sex as that of the average working
woman.
when a woman loses her job the eco
nomic loss may affect her alone; when man
loses his job the loss will be apt to reach
others beside himself because the average
American family, according to the latest cen
sus, consists of five persons"
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
What a Boast Is This !

If, as a spectator, you witnessed two or
three bulldogs putting a feist out of COM
mission would it strike you that the bull
dogs had any great cause for boasting?
If you were present and saw Messrs. Jesse
Willard and Frank Moran chastse a Grip
pied street urchin would it appear to you
that the two foremost disciples of Fistiana
had adequate cause for Dragging as to their
proves? No.
Then, how does it affect you-the knowl-
edge that the press of Berlin is 'in riot OF
joy because of the fact that Germany and
Austria-Hungary, with whatever assistance
Bulgaria may have rendered, have whipped
Montenegro?
Just how?
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
How to LiUe to Be $50
From the Detroit Free Press.

1t is quite possible to live to be $50 to
100 years, according to George Harter.
All you have to do is to throw away your
salt cellars, drink only distilled water, avoid
all kinds of meats and confne yourself to a
diet of raw vegetables and eggs, he says.
when your body calls for beefsteak go
out and eat two turnips and drink a glass
of water and you will be satisfied" said Mr..
Harter, eff you will train it properly. Even
fruits are to be eaten carefully. The juices
are good, but the pulp should not be eaten.
wise people will breakfast on the juice
of two oranges diluted with enough distilled
water to make two glasses full Eggs should
be eaten raw. I eat two dozen day. Why,
my system has been so we'll trained to a
sane diet that a piece of veal two inches
square would make me deathly sick.
"When people have learned to eat right
there will be no sickness, and that time is
coming. I have absolutely no sympathy for
a big, strong man who says he is sick. And
there is no need to be fatigued. On Sun
days when I am at home l always take a
26-mile walk before my afternoon lecture"
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
Those Washington Jobs

''The executive departments at VAS
ton are the mausoleums of countless
ambitions, observes former Represent
Robert P. Hill, of Marion, Ill. MY al
to any young man of ambition is to
away from Washington D. c., unless b.
Hnquishes all hope. One might almost
above the doors of every departmen
Washington this sign: All young men
enter here leave hope behind
There is just one advantage that TIT
ecutive departments hold for young DIX
that is to give the struggling youth VII
funds enough money and leisure to gan
education. Unfortunately, however
great majority of young fellows VINO
out with the intention of getting an e.
ton and then quitting get married, en-
their minds, lose courage and stay
few isolated instances the departments
opportunities to enter a broader nelu'
these instances are rare. l have known
in one or two branches of the govern
who have won regulations in speclal
and now draw big salaries as counSei
large corporations.
"But for the most part the youns
who gets into the government service
ever strong may DE his intention to se'
at the end of a certain period, STAYS
stays, until at last his ambition dies u
rot, and then he himself dies
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
WHAT WE OWE THE JEWS FOR.

From the Dalton Citizen.
The Macon Telegraph, in the course of a
vigorous editorial relative to the great dis
tress of some nine million Jews in Russian
Poland, pays this deserved tribute to a race
which has suffered more persecution than
that of any other race recorded in the an
nails of either sacred or profane history:
The Jews have given us the Deca-
logue, that tablet the criterion for all
formal law and government; they have
given us the Psalms of David and the
Proverbs of Solomon; they have given
us Jesus of Nazareth and the Apostle
Paul. Our art, literature, crafts and
commerce have, more than we realize,
been developed, enriched and stabilized
by the Jew.
Which is very true and when we hear a
protested Christian berating the Jewish
race, as we frequently have, we don't know
whether to charge it up to ignorance, pref
udice or envy. Possibly we should be char
liable and say it is all of them.
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
MILK FROM THE DESERT.

"El Paso. Texas. has one of the most in
teresting milk supplies of any city" says
the current issue of Farm and Fireside. "a
considerable amount of the milk is goats
milk produced by a number of goat diaries,
one of which has a thousand goats. These
goats get their living from the surrounding
hot dry territory, deficient in grass ond only
moderately covered with sagebrush and cac-
tus. A COW would starve to death, but the
goats. though fed neither hay nor grain,
give on an average of about a quart each.
The milk brings the same price as cows
milk. and is sold both in bottles and in
bulk
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
Georgia Paying the Debt
From the Savannah Press.

Some of the northern newspapers are act
ually suggesting federal intervention in
Georgia to suppress the lynching evil. And
it is really not surprising that this is So
Our record within the past sixty days as a
1ynching center has been one to inspire such
thoughts as this on the part of outsiders.
The New York Globe, discussing the Lee
county lynchings, says
The spread of mob law in the South
is of deep concern to every American
citizen. Lynching does not alone rob
its victims of their constitutional rights
and their lives. AS Infamous wrong
as is this it is little compared to the
injury it does to the community and to
society at large. Is there no remedy
for this contagious social disease? Yes,
there are two-the appeal to reason
and the appeal to force. AS Georgia
apparently will not heed the former the
time has come to apply the latter with
memorable resolve.
Isn't that a terrible presentation of con-
ditions in the Empire State CT the South?
We rather think it is. Georgia is paying the
debt she must pay because of the lawless-
ness of her citizens. 1t is distressing to
to this section through the lynchings of hui
man beings because of their suspected con-
nection with crimes.
The stilled conscience of the men of Geor-
gia must be aroused. We cannot long go
backwards, as we seem to haze started. The
thinking men of the state must be called
into action. A campaign of this kind would
do the state more good than all the speeches
that can be made upon prohibition, local
option, the tariff, the state debt or the state
railroad for the next ten years. Let us
speak out in favor of abiding by the law
Suppress lynchings, put down this tendency
bloodthirsty and barbaric, that seems to de-
mand human life and human blood for ev-
erything from stealing to being a suspected
murderer Georgia must be reclaimed and
ouick1V
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
A Genuine Aversion.

On the stage and in comic periodicals the
decided antipathy which the knight Of the
open highway, colloquially known as the
hobo" feels for anything resembling physi-
cal labor has been stressed since time i'm
memorial; and there have been those who
believed that perhaps the picture is over
drawn-that the peripatetic wanderer has
suffered an injustice at the hands of those
who want to create a laugh
And the hobo has had many opportunities
to meet and vanquish the slurs aimed at his
characteristic personality.
But when the crucial tests have come
he has invariably played into the hands of
his accusers, and himself placed upon the
accusations the stamp of truthfulness. Chi
cago is tn elatest municipality to try him
out, and find him wanting. Figures made
public show that during December, 1914
the municipal lodging house of the Illinois
metropolis provided 103,441 men free beds
In December, 1915. after q rule requiring
some small manual labor in return for these
accommodations had been adopted and was
being enforced. only Sis men took ad
vantage of the municipal beds.
The labor referred to is not great. I
consists of saving wood for a reasonably
length Of time. Evidently the tramps VIII
infest Chicago believe in only part of tn
old injunction to SAY nothing and say
wood
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
Why Not Smile?

Is your lip cracked? Are you afraid of
wrinkles? Are you suffering from an in
growing crouch? None of them? Then
why don't you smile? A hard and stern ex-
preston does not indicate a good heart nor
a clear conscience. A thief seldom smiles.
The woman of the streets smiles with her
lips but her eyes are hard and cold. The
poverty-stricken man in the street who begs
for dime sends his plea direct to the heart
if his appeal is accompanied by smile.
smile is the cry of the soul, "All's we'll"
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
Hat That Can't Be Seen
From the Philadelphia Ledger.

Among the American fashions of latest
annunciation is the invisible hat, which
seems to be no more than few rose petals
and a gauzy flament between.
Mere man is rarely able to describe a
woman's hat, though it be a part of the
subtle enginnery that achieves his captiva-
ton.
The new hat is a symbol of the invisible
halo which-as every woman knows"-is
a part of the dim and nebulous aura of fem
ininity that envelopes her being, and fire.
quently bespeaks "the sweet presence OF
good diffused." Fashions wax and Wane'
serene1y Obvious of light raiIlery or caus-
tic censorship and what one decade extols
as beautiful is laughed out of court by the
next And still "the eternal feminine rests
it's eternal puissance largely upon those mys-
terous devices of the adornment OF the
person that provide at once the delight and
the distraction of mankind. Have sages,
statesmen and Napoleons of finance ever
noted that the price of the hat is always
inversely proportioned to its superficial
area? The only objection to the wholly
invisible hat is likely to be its prohibitive
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
Home at Night

The day with all its fret is done,
The noise and hurry now are past;
And close behind the sinking sun
The quiet darkness falls at last
From care there comes a brief release,
A truce before tomorrOw's fight,
And weary hearts find welcome peace
Within the walls of home at night.
Of eager feet there sounds the tread
AS homeward now the workers throng,
The weight of toll on every head,
In every heart a wordless song
A song to ease the hardest day
And make the heaviest burden light;
A song to cheer the ache away
The simple song Of home at night.
Their paths have led them far apart,
But, young and old, they gather now
From shop and school and busy mart,
With grateful eyes and tranquil brow
And joy it means for great and small
To meet beneath the evening light,
Where praise and pity wait for all
And make a heaven of home at night.
From shop and school and work and play
They bring their tales of task and tire,
And one has gained a prize today,
And one has lost his fond desire.
Enough reward for well-played parts
To see loved ones eyes alight,
Comfort enough for saddened hearts
To harbor in the home at night.
Back yonder in the stately road,
Where mansions loom against the sky,
The lamps of evening warmly glowed
And told of peace to passersby;
And as from palaces they shone
In lowly homes they burn as bright,
For not one neighborhOOd alone
Can boast the bliss of home at night.
This is the flower of all our toll,
This is the fruit of all our tears
A home where tender love may foil
The outer cares, through all the years.
o, pity him, Of high or low.
For whom there CLEANS no evening
light,
And pray for those who may not know
That best of blessings. home at night.
L II. ROBBINS.
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
Just how?

Senator Stone is of the opinion that the
close of "the war will bring greater likeli-
hood of lasting peace with European ma
tions than has existed at any time in the
last half century" An the senator is cor
rect. At the conclusion of the present gil
gantic conflict it will be very many years,
if ever, before there will be another war of
any consequence, and it will be nothing
short of folly for this country to now spend
millions upon millions of dollars for pre-
paredness." No one but the ship building
trust would be benefited.
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
This Taxing Business
is a Great Gan
From the Triton Gazette

Along now the corporations reaI,.
than at any other season of the vaor .
great privilege it is to do business :,
gia.
The majority of them have lust mai,
state, county and municipal taxes :
individuals and firms not incornora,+o5ss
In addition now they must register ' ny
ordinary and pay a fee and must W
also with the secretary of state and !,
fee. Then they must pay the tau cor
fee of s. or more for the priyiIago ~.
ing business in the state.
And between now and the first j
March they must pay to Uncle Sam
lector of internal revenue a tax Of ons
on each dollar they may have been al
to earn during the year past. And IL
did not earn anything they must spbr
a microscopic inspection of their liyers
yards, lights and other internal organ
Yet these corporations have to 90 nm,
the business world in competition with
and individuals and pay all these foo,
incidentals out of their profits-if thew,
any.
It's a great game, this taxing busr
and the corporations are the goat-Der
because it is supposed they do not vote
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
BIENNIAL SESSIONS OF LEGISLATURE

From the Hawkinsville News and Dispatch.
The sentiment in favor of biennial SEES
sions of the state legislature is growing very
rapidly among the people of Georgia, and
quite a number of the newspapers favor this
much needed reform, Judging from express
sions or clippings from other papers on the
subject seen in their editorial columns.
Among these, if we mistake not, are the
following: Savannah News, Triton Gazette,
Darien Gazette, Albany Herald, South Geor-
gia Progress Dawson News, Oclla Star,
Dublin Courier Herald, Rome Tribune, Co
lumbus Enquirer-Sun, Nashville Herald,
Waycross Herald, Macon County Citizen and
possibly others that we do not now recall.
Let the agitation be kept up until the poll
ticians find out that the people are in earn
est about biennial sessions, and then we
will get them.
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
Change of Publication Day.

Beginning next week the publication day
of The News will be changed from Tuesday
to Wednesday.
This will enable US to handle the local
news especially from the different towns
and communities of the county, to better
advantage and we believe our readers will
be pleased with the change.
Our correspondents are requested to send
in their items promptly on Monday as here
tofore, as the paper will be printed on Tues
day night and sent out in the early mails
Wednesday morning.
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01
At Old StarkSVilIe
From the Triton Gazette.

Old Starksville, the Lee county "
long since practically abandoned wnicn
the scene of the recent lynching, was
brated one time as the home of Kit wa
the Lee county bard and bachelor WV
there for many years, and who had the
tation. more or less deserved, OF pens
''ugliest man in Georgia" --,-
In his ups and Downs of WIFE II IN
a side-splitting pamphlet as full OF WI
e.g of meat, published in the earn
Mr.. Warren referred to StarksvllI e. a.
future capital of the world, . but tha =
far as it ever got. Like Mr.. Warren o
Vile has been almost forgotten Io'
time
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01

Speaker Champ Clark has given a state
ment in which he says he is opposed to the
special excise taxes suggested by President
Wilson, and will seek to relieve the onus of
stamp taxes by revision of the war reve-
nue. law. He proposes to take this burden
off the people by increasing the income tax
and taxing war munitions products which
have piled up millions upon millions of
wealth for the manufacturers in the past
two years. Speaker Clark is decidedly cor
rect in his views.
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01

Prohibition is not having smooth sailing
everywhere in the South. The upper house
of the Kentucky legislature has just refus-
ed to submit a statewide prohibition consti-
tutional amendment to the people, and in a
state election the people of Louisiana have
given a heavy majority to a local option can
didate for governor, defeating a candidate
whose platform favored the submission of a
prohibition amendment to the people.
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01

President Wilson has started on tour of
the country to deliver a series of speeches
in the interest of his programme for military
and naval preparedness. Georgia is not in
cluded in his itinerary but the people of the
state would nevertheless be glad for him
to change his mind and visit them. While
they are by no means unanimous for great
army they would extend the president glad
hand and give him royal welcome.
The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-02-01

The United States is a spendthrift. Give
hundred and ffty-four thousand inhabitants
of Switzerland, or fifty-ive per cent" says
Merle Crowen in the American Magazine,
''have savings bank accounts, according to
the latest available figures. Here in our
own country ninety-nine out of every thous-
and. or less than ten per cent, have made
similar provisions for the future. The aver
age savings per capita in Switzerland are
s47.03; in America S4.S4."