Evening star., 1922-12-24
Santa Claus.


Santa Claus is a real man. They know
this as we'll as they know that fairies
make their home in buttercupe In
spring, that fays perch among the
blooming hyacinths and lilacs, that
elfs play among the ruby berries OF
the holly trees and that goblins haunt
the recesses Of the woods where ferns
and mosses grow. They know that
Santa Claus hands out gifts just as
we'll as they know that angels dwell
in the sky and come close to little
beds in the nursery at home. They
know these things better than do the
bigger boys and girls and the grown
ups. because they are closer to the
fairies and the angels. Perhaps there
are in Washington some big boys and
some girls who have deserted their
dolls who will say that Santa Claus is
o myth, though it is more probable that
in speaking current English they Will
saw that Santa Claus Is a pipe-dream.
Yet, il they study school history. or
any other kind of history, they cher
ish a good many myths themselves.
And srown-ups usually cling to some
kind of myth through life. the main
myth being that they know more and
are more important than other men.
Little children are experts on Santa
Claus. Years ago many of our citi-
zens, before they put on trousers or
wore their hair "done-up," knew
Santa Claus by the name Of Kris
Kringle, and some of them. because
of their imperfect knowledge OF IAN
suage, pronounced it Kiss kingle.
But that was a long time ago-long
before Washingtonians rode in auto
mobiles and went to moving pictures.
It can be shown that Santa Claus and
Kris Kringle are the same old man.
| Why he uses two names is mono OF
| our business, and at this season OF
| the year he has no time to talk to
reporters. 1t does not matter, any
how. Santa Claus by any other name
! would be Just as kind. Perhaps Kris
Krinele may be north polar English
/ for Santa Claus. There are some
| things about this Santa Claus matter
! which our gravest and most reverend
! seiRnors do not understand. and there
are many other matters concerning
| man, the earth and heavens which
| the most exalted intelligence cannot
] understand. But in the matter OF
| Santa Claus little children are ex'
perts, and their knowledge is profound
and exact and based on experience.
! observation-and gifts.
1t is a question with many men
| whether one Santa Claus can now
serve the whole world OF little chill
dren. His business has grown. I'm
believing men have thrown many OBJ
stacles in his way. Steam radiators
and hot-water plants have displaced
most Of the wide chimneys and big
open fireplaces. Traffic turns the
snow along the roads into grimy
slush. and gangs Of men clear the
snow from the streets sometimes
Then, many little children live ir
apartment houses, where the roofs are
ever 30 much higher than the roofs
OF the old Washington homes. Il
seems hard to understand how SAINTS
Claus can personally conduct his
whole delivery service. The difficulty
may be explained by reasoning tha
IS. C. has adapted himself to thu
changed conditions and that he nov
has a staff Of associate and assistan
Santa Clauses. that trucks and air
planes have supplanted the old sleigi
and reindeer team, and that messages
now pass between little children ant
the north pole by wireless instead o
} post.