The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-12-24
SANTA'S SLEIGH
HAS STARTED,
-. GOODFELL0WS
Greatest Of All Years Draws
Near CIose-Thousands Of
Riddles Are on Calling List.
Lend Your Auto.
BY A. eoopEEILom

Eaneas etyiioouIelloWs OF Memphis. Ar
N7 V6' mississippi and Tennessee:
iour christmas presents are on the
way our work is nearly done Save
now for the delivery-and Dasher and
naHuet ana Prancer and Vixen are i'm
Patleht To be off with Santa Claus
SSuign-our work for 1919 is through,
Dur Iund is complete, thanks TO your
SS elioi,osy' This Christmas eve we
leleltate you. Goodfellows; we wish
you grand and glorious and merry
T>-nrlStInas and a happy and prosperous
Thursday l win tell you about our
VISITS to the homes of the children of
mdnt IN Memphis; of the numbers Wis
lted and what the silent Santa Clans
carried in his pack Meanwhile | wish
10 stress on You that the Goodfellows-
santa Ciaus club needs no more money
OuF quartermaster has completed his
purchasng, and though there will be
some odds and ends to wind up, the
Cne3 activities will cease officially
is sufficient
There is one request, however,
ana II is an urgent one. we need
Trucks and autos. Spare the use of
your machine Wednesday. Send II
to the Y. Nj. C. A. Herein fall not,
lcst some kldde awake Christmas
morn to find that the GoodfelIows
and Santa Claus somehow missed
his house. II you can't spare an
auto all day, lend it to us for few
hours
o. An night Tuesday packers of the
'Eoodtellows were hard at it at club
headquarters at the Y. M. c. A. Tues.
day was the real opening of distribu-
ton. From early in the morning until
wei into the small hours of Wednesday
trucks came and went, all laden with
me good things which your eontribu-
ions have enabled US to provide Check
ers were busily engaged in supervising
, ne packing Of bags that will fill the
aAts OF each and every applicant.
= lere has been no general system of
J ling packages. When a request was
received the number of people in the
Family, their ages and what they need
"a most were noted and baskets and
Fags filled accordingly. The tot of
i ears received something suitable while
HE child Of was awarded that which
Rlil fulfill to the best the expectancy
created by the knowledge that Santa
Eiaus was surely coming,
i There. Is just another word | want
~ say in connection with your contri-
stutions this year, now assured as the
! reatest Of all Goodfellow wears. Never
efore have subscriptions poured in in
Euch fashion. They ranged from a
i cent piece, brought to my desk by
low headed punk of about 10, to
hundred or more dollars forwarded by
eheck from the fur-coated capitalist.
klhere has been evidenced throughout
b spirit that is wonderful In this, the
greatest of all ages of humanitarianism,
lthe appeal of the Goodfellows- Santa
( laus club went far and wide Into
The highlands of Tennessee, into the
hills and delta of Mississippi, into the
forests and bottoms of Arkansas, and
into the highways and byways of Mem
phis went the call The response speaks
for itself. The answer, coming in such
olume, bespeaks the fact that these
people in our home section are truly the
salt Of the EARTH Gods own people.
This Christmas eve when you hang up
your stocking. Goodfellows, and retire
to await the coming of Kris Kringle,
+ am sure that 1t will be with an in
describable feeling zone of satisfaction,
filled with the joy Of giving and carry
ing out the true Yuletide spirit, that
OF deed well done,
Again | wish you one and all sincere
greetings of the holiday season.
-
The child spelled out the words of
his name carefully and correctly though
he was only half-past four. ITS my
name and want you to take it to
the Goodfellows and tell them | want
To be one, too.
Tell EN- | can count hundred and
soon I'm going to be grown and then
I'll make money and I'll give EN- some.
! want it all to go to the poor chill
dren like me so their mammas Won
have to worry. Mine cried cause she
couldn't give me any things. It's cause
NV that I'm ever so much obliged.
Course, though | also appreciate the
things. Don't forget I'm going to be
a Goodfellow.
He is very unusual child. His eyes
are gray and his hair is semiblond, He
can read first and second readers and
spell almost any simple words.
Wee Tom sat over handful of fire
and thought about nothing at ALL 1t
was all beyond him, the cold and sick
ness and lack of food, Somehow it
seems terrible, but natural.
oh" moaned the woman upon the
bed oh"
Tom was used to that also Pneu-
inonia. his mother had said, and now
that grandmother was sick who was
to feed him and keep up the fire? No
body, nobody at all,
d. He tried to- think it all over, but it
hurt his head and anyway his throat
ached and he was tired. Slowly his
little head dropped nearer and rearer
the floor and close to the handful of
fire. 1T was good after all that there
was little or no blaze or else Tom might
have ceased thinking at all. As It was
Gondtellows came.
Quickly from out OF somewhere they
hurried doctor and hired neighbor
TO come In and help. Food, coal, cloth
ing and toys began TO arrive and as
the daylight faded on the Parkway
Wednesday Tom lay exhausted but
happy in, little child's bed, He
couldn't think but It all seemed pleas
snt and he was grateful. GRANDMOTHER
was being cared for. He listened care
fully, but there wasn't moan and
who was that bending over him? His
mother, yes It was she.
lis 1t night he questioned half fear
fully and she replied queerly as grown
up folks often do. Yes, son, but it's
also day The Goodfelows have made
it light when it's yet dark, for you
and grandmother andcne,"
She was a ragged little kid of prob
ably five and her great blue eyes stared
out OF her chalk-like face solemnly
while her grandmother received her |
package from the Goodfellows. yester-
day
child ever had" the old woman said.
begged Please granny, amt ever
seen q dolly outside OF a store and |
he only candy ] ever gifts Is that my |
mamma gifts me from the grocery |
kometimes. It's allus two pennies worth |
ilnd awfully good.
Her father died two weeks before |
khe came the grandmother explained, |
+ and her mother works now in fac |
i Nay Makes 50 week and we all live /
Upon It, 1t doesn't matter much for |
! is grown folk. we have our memories. |
but Elsie, she has nothing but US. |
Please thank the Goodfellows and tell |
en- Just how 1t Is We don't often |
SIX anybody for nothing, but Elsie |
begged so for me to writes the paper
nd<tell EN-. She wanted 4 dolly ter