The Alaska citizen., 1916-12-04
A CALL TO GRATITUDE.

Did you ever think of the reasol. hy the Psalms of David have cOlh, ..ne w.nged angels, down aC. oss tA, ualm- and ages,-why they b.Ine
 ne true spirit f heaven to men o4. -arth,- they make the key-nJtl Jf grateful piety in every Christian :, Jul, wherever he lives. or wh4teN t.
 lay be his circumstances? Why . Jecau5e they are so full of gratitude
 oh that men would pIa.se the LorG,
 Jr His goodness, and for His won .erful works to the children U.
 Ien." Gratitude is the mem ry C.. ne heart, and thankfulne is tn, lIsic of the lie. We can set ou. .ueds to the mus.c of d g.ateiui | art, and seek to round out O..
 yes into a hymn the melody 0.
 hiCh will be reCCgn Zed by eVCI, he children whom we meet, and tn lower of which will be evan
 scent, like the voice of the Singe-, Ut pc. enn al, like tie music of the
 Jhefes We qLJte from the c.
 lriences of mighty authJr.ty M h Il e speak the WoIds of AlC-allu,
 .acleren, Do not let the enpt
 ID be your first teacl.ei ot th, blessing y-u had when it WaS full. )o not let a hard place here anC here in the bed destloy your res,
 eek, a. a plain duty, to cultivate :, JIoyant, joy ols sense f the crowd
 | kindness of God in your dal. lfe."
 Gratitude is not q very widely dis
 ibuted human virtue. There aro Iaces in the world where it h." lever lived ng, nor flour. shed II, $ .OJOuII. llc pollSC4-ISH W H. ,uard certain important G.&Cl
 tossing in Central State have q
 erfect record Thousands Of peoplo :.
 any ignorant, many careless, pas
 hat way every day. yet not onl
 .ngle life has been lest. Many of he tn usands whom these public
 ervants pull back from in front O. langer abu the policemen rOundll or interfering with their progress lmost never does one thank then or preserving his life.
 Our ancestors recognized that, d.
 people, we are not given t grati lude They set aside a definite siH ,le day of the year as Thanbsgi| ng Day. The purpose of the day is 0 count the bles ings that God an your friends have showered up )n ,ou. Be grateful on that day, the. lrge, even though it requires an et ,ort Gather in the h use of Coo to worship Him for the manifol, of another year, and let here radiate from your life, in eVerN pleasant way, innumerable kindness
 S to your fellow men, which kind nesses are an expression of you heart. If gratitude is n t a part of your natural endowment. instil 1t into your soul by force of will Compel yourself to sit in the warmtl # divine love until you are warmed into spirit cf gratitude. Taste and see that the Lord is good" Thus came the origin of Thanksgiving Day.
 We are needing the day more than we ever did We see that need in ,hese complex times when the na- ..ons are destroying themselves by he very civilization they have creat ed No nation can long survive un le it can cultivate in it's soul certain n ble simplicity. There is no surer destiny to simplicity than . .raveling the road of gratitude. The ,oolish nation pompously boasts See the great things I have done and so saying stands upon the brtn )f pride that goes Def re fall. The wise nation say: we have been blesa ed in the past. We are grateful We must bear ourselves very simpl! md cautiously in the future, thal -hese blessings may not depart frolr us" A proper national gratitude is a sure national defen e. No nation
 h hat recognizes in full devotion lh blessings f Almighty God can fea for the future. And gratitude ough not to be a one-day virtue. It ough not to be a day that we might fol get. It ought not to be day when a proclamation fir III the PresidCn of the Republic is necessary to brine us to the real privileges of the oc casion. Generously employed, grati tude becomes the lubricant that eas es and soften the machinery Of daily life.