Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1931-12-24

DROBABLY since governments were first
l instituted OH this old earth, people have
had to pay taxes And there has always been
complaint and objection to such payment
An age-old story that mankind has loved
to ponder for many generations is closely
connected with the imposition OF tax by
a famous emperor. Long years ago, the
mighty Caesar Augustus sent out decree
that the world should be taxed and that
word reached out to far distant corner Of
his great empire. In response to that COM
mand a young man and woman, recently
welded, went into their little village there
to be assessed and taxed. But when they
reached their little city, this young couple
could not obtain rooms in the hotel because
of the crowd and were forced to take lodg.
ing in a nearby barn And in those humble
surroundings, in the company of the cows
and horses and sheep and goats, that young
woman gave birth to son. And she tool.
him and wrapped him III sWaddling clothes,
we are told, and the first cradle Of that lit
tie boy baby, born in such humble setting.
was pile of straw III a cows manger
Strange things happened that night.
IoWly laboring men, sheepherders, watch
ing their flocks through the night, were
visited by strange apparition. An angc
appeared unto them and told them that this
night a Savior was born to the world and
that they would find him III the nearby vii
lage Of Bethlehem wrapped III swaddlings
clothes lying IN manger And then sud
denly the sky was filled with multitude Of
the heavenly host praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest and on earth
peace, goodwill to men. !"
On that long ago night in that little
village of Bethlehem. with the news of his
birth announced to humble laboring men
a little peasant child was born whose life
was to have the most profound effect OH
the world Of all the children of men, Think
what we will Of Him who was born on that
far-off Christmas day, think Of him as mere
" man or as the veritable Son Of God. We
must agree that his mark upon the life Of
the world has been stupendons beyond
measure.
After few short years Of his teaching
He was executed as a common criminal
with thief hanging on either side OF him.
His enemies thought the young upstart had
been effectually squeched but they erred
nightly in their Judgment. Rapidly the re-
suits of his teachings began to spread
through all the known world. And then per-
secution started against his strange follow
ers. Hundreds Of them were torn limb from
limb by wild beasts as an entertainment for
i al n
they died with His name on their lips. Later
armies were formed and fought desperately
to Wrest the grave of this once despised Gal
ileean from the possession of infidels Ulti-
mately mighty empires were built around
His name and foolish men fought bloody
wars III what they mistakenly thought was
the upholding Of His glory. In the mean +
time, countless other men and women, inn
PEELED by a stupendous something they had
visioned in His life, went into far distant
lands to carry His gospel and many OF them
were tortured and massacred and they toe
died with His name on their lips. Men and
women born to riches and culture and edu-
cation and refinement gave it all up and
went down into the filth and crime and cor
ruption of city slums to lift up the degraded
into lives Of cleanliness, happiness and
worth Gradually the yeast of His doctrine
permeated the whole mass and the civiliza-
ton Of the world was nightly made over
by it. And today His name is known from
pole to pole and wherever the tongue of man
is spoken. That peasant babe, born among
the cows and horses and goats, became
the most stupendous individual ever born