The Ozark spectator., 1916-12-30


 country, to improve the civic life of the people in every way possible, and to provide the means of better and higher living. All kinds of national, state and municipal associations send delegates to this meeting. The associ- ation maintains an office in Washing ton and from this city carries on 6 campaign throughout the year in be- half of the subjects in which it is in- terested.
 Four Preparedness Congresses. There will be at least four prepared ness congresses in Washington this winter. There are a great many differ- ent organizations whose object is to, cause this country properly to prepare for defensive warfare in case unhap- oily warfare should come. The men who think that the navy should be maintained at high point of pro ficiency and should be increased large ly in the number of its ships will have congress of their own. The propo- nents of what they call properly prepared army will have congresses of their own. There will be meeting of Americans who believe in indus trial preparedness, and an effort is to be made to make the two kinds of pre- paredness run along hand ill hand. A congress has just closed which might be called an anti-preparedness congress. It was meeting of the 's. nf n most noted men and women speakers of the country addressed the gather ing. These people are against any kind of preparedness except what l might be called q spiritual prepared ness. So it is that Washington gets both sides of pretty nearly every ques- ton and gets each side presented as fully as it's advocates can compass presentation.
 The Suffragists and the anti-sulfra- gists hold their congresses in Wash ington every winter. In fact it might be said that there are congresses of both the sutfragists and the antis in session all through the year in Wash ington, because for q long time now this city has been hotbed of pro and anti campaigning. The anti-suftra- gists have just ended one of their big meetings. They have two forces of the enemy to fight at the same time, although the two forces are trying to carry the same point. The suffrage and the anti-suffrage meetings are pep pery and picturesque.
 Holidays in Washington.
 It is not the way of Washington folk to feel any anxiety over the answer to the question, "ls it to be Il green or n white Christmas?" The capital city seldom sees Il white Christmas, and never an entirely green one.
 In this part of the Potomac valley the December season presents mix ture of colors with the brown shades in the majority. The holiday week is rather a part of the late autumn than a part of the early winter The Dis trict of Columbia is, so far as North and South goes. betwiXt and between country. The holiday season here, however partakes of the nature of the Southern merrymakings rather than of those of the North.
 There are in the city of Washington about one hundred thousand colored people, and their christmas gift" spirit of the old Southern kind. In a way it is entirely probably that the cOlored people have helped to give the Washington Christmas the aspect of the South on the same holiday. of course. however. the main reason is that the old residents of Washington and their descendants were years ago influenced more by the Southern spirit of entertaining than by the Northern, no matter what their political aftilia- tiOns may have been, nor what their sympathieS were as between the North and the South in the time of war. Christmas in Washington Is much like Christmas in Virginia.
 The holiday season in Washington is not altogether American in its mani feStations. There are many represen- tativeS here of Central and South American countries and of the coun- tIltS bI NouilltIl I4uI bl'N. pp u is tndt the ambassadors. the ministers, the at tacheS and their families make an effort to think themselves at home when the Christmas season comes on and they try to make their surround ings such as they would be in their native lands.
 White House Celebration.
 The White House will celebrate the holiday season after the manner of Virginia. President Wilson and his wife are both Virginia born. The fam flies of both will gather with them to do honor to the season. If the White House had big open flreplaces, as some people think it should have. and as it did have originally, the chimneys would roar with the cheer of the leap ing flames. But the White House has been "dreadfully modernized" so far as its heating apparatus is concerned. and