The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-12-20
DIR. FRANK CRANES
DAILY EDITORIAL
By DIR. FRANK CRANE.
1t Is /, Be Not afraid.

THOR nobody knows how many thousand or million
/ years, the Of man has inhabited the planet.
- Ever since the human animal stood up and began
to think he has suspected another Thinker in the universe.
danger-and his being the highest form of life, meant
the most complicated dangehe early got the idea that
the Other Thinker was hostile to him.
He also supposed that being mysterious unknown and
unvocal this Other Thinker superior He must be
immensely clever to hide well.
Hence his first religion was one of placaton. Altar
tires geam farther in the past than the renotest his
tory He killed the first of his focks to appease the
wrath Of this Unseen Enemy.
He invented all sorts of rites and ceremonies the OBJ
ect OF which was to avert the dspleasure OF this Other
One. This ritual persists to this day.
He lodged this Other One all his ne yet he knew that
1t was losing game always, and at last the Great Enemy
Hence life essentially tragedy. All the great lit
erature of the past has been tragic
History has been the record of the slow conquest
by one of the breads of the Unknown.
Fire was first known from volcanoes whose rumblngs
the muttered anger, whose fearful lava was the
quotations, of the Sullen One.
BY and by man learned to make Fire himself from
o have bn marked his from rmur
before the Volcano to cooking his pancakes the
kitchen stove.
Electricity doomed in the thunder and it's bolt rove his
roofree and massacred his children and he learned at
last to this strange of that Other One and
carry his voice across continents and oceans with this
power to lift his loads and light his streets and houses
to do nnumerable menialtes.
That Other One dwet in the dim seas, and frightened
all navigators, until Columbus.
It that Other One who made all forests fearsome
and caused the terror of the ''boS sacre'
Fear multiplied His minions. Under Him, and actuated
by His spite toward human happiness count
less witches demons mps sprtes fauns, dryads lepro
chawnS gnomes and elves.
The path of man, from his mothers breast to the
breast of earth zgzag way of sidestepping the
great Detective who after him. and whose relentless
pursuit no son of man had ever been able to escape
He pulled monarchs from their thrones unseated
conquerors in full cry Of victory snatched the laughing
baby from its fathers hand tore the bridegroom ruth
lessy from his beloveds side and and again let
loose His bloodhounds and slew the hated human In
by hundreds and by thousands.
No wonder it well to propltlate Him, to spend
whole life in modification and prayer to avert His
wrath, to prostitute ones mind to believe the most child
ish credues to give assent to ferocious Creedso do
anything that might turn aside vndctive and pow
erful Being.
And them one day, He appeared And He was
strange that men could not believe Him. He came unto
His own and His received Him not.
Even when He had passed, men proceeded to build
elaborate heathenss around His memory and made His
following hard and horrible.
For the simplicity of His message was beyond all
credence nsuted the traditions of ten thousand
years.
For when that Other One came, He only went about
doing good took little children in His lap and blessed
them healed the SICK spoke peaceaby to the troubled
made the blind and spoke such gentle words of wis
dom that the whole earth trembled
All He said when He showed His face, all that Other
One said Whom humanity had feared many centuries
was this shattering word:
eft is I. Be not afrad!'
Copyright. by the Mcclure Newspaper syndicateo