The New York herald., 1922-11-30
Thanksgiving.

The Thanksgiving idea is con-
trolled by relativity. The men and
women who established this strictly
American festival three centuries ago
were thankful because the famine
threatened by the summer drought
selves possessed of plenty--that Is,
enough to eat. Indeed, to those who
had endured the perils of the sea in
the Mayfiower and the. hardships of
the first winter in the Plymouth Col
ony their Thanksgiving dinner was
a rare feast.
Now, OF course, everybody in this
country has enough to eat. And if
we had been through the things that
the Pilgrims experienced pleni-
tude Of beef stew would seem Won
derful. Providence has helped to
preserve Thanksgiving relativity. 1t
prevents turkeys from being too
numerous, keeps the price OF them so
high that they are a holiday luxury
and thus reminds the ultimate con-
sumer of his benefits.
The Pilgrims had plenty OF wild
turkey, venison, ducks. Goldfish and
bass, all obtained at -profiteering
rates. They may have had little
beer or wine left over from the me-
dicinal stock in the Mayflower. But
they had no butter sugar or coffee,
and their bread was made of Indian
corn. The general dinner, however.
was such contrast TO the pitiful
meals OF the hungry months that they
INDUCED, Governor BRADFORD tells US,
in feasting and mirth.
A citizen of 1922 would not be
happy IL he were transported this
afternoon TO the Pilgrim Thanksgiv-
ing dinner of 1922 He would remem-
Der what his doctor told him about
eating too much meat. lie would find
that the duck had not hung long
enough. He would be suspicious Of
MAssAsoTT, dropping in TO dinner and
bringing with him large company.
And although he could watch the
Pilgrim youth playing at feats of
arms there would be no radio to tell
him the football scores. He would
not understand why the people were
so genuinely grateful to the Almighty,
for he had not been with them in the
days when an ear of corn was the
only dinner.
Nor would one of the good old
Colonists he happy in New York
to-day. What were Indian arrows
as compared with flying taxicabs?
What were the stocks beside a full
dress collar? What is this pale,
rather neutral turkey meat as COM
pared with the breast of a wild COB
bier? What Is the surreptitious cock
tail compared with the zest OF an
cient toll? What can you be thank
full for?" the Puritan would ask; "he
who has everything knows not the
goodness of anything" And his
neighbor at dinner could only tell
him of the horrifying item in yes
terdays papers saying that straw
berries were $3.50 a quart!
u is hard. with the granaries of
the country stuffed to bursting ever
since the war. TO base this Thanks
giving on the old reasons. But there
are things to be grateful for. There
are no epidemics and there is practi-
cally no unemployment: so men have
health and the chance to work. Men
are coming out OF the sloth of the Era
OF Imitation and working harder. The
country ignores the howls of the boil
shevist and the batteries of foreign
politicians. It gets along. With all
SIS faults it is still the best part OF
this wicked world Nor do we eat
our turkey alone on this our own
particular holiday. No hungry ma
tion has asked us for help and seen
US turn away.