Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1935-12-26
GETTING DOWN TO
ASSTACK
THE MARCH OF TIME"

Aao - Jo1N a1O4N
emptied. The last grains of sand are
sitting through. Soon 1895 will be but
history, days never to be recalled, and
we shall have started on a New Year.
Christmas, with all its joys and hap
Ply thoughts - sublime and beautiful
stories of Bethlehem and the Christ
child-the never-dying reality of "a
Santa Claus to bring to little children
their happiest day in all the year,
nevertheless brings us close to the end
of another milestone in the ever
changing journey of life.
1t is a good time for a little reflec-
ton too. What has the year brought
to you? Perhaps some new expert
ences that have made your life richer
and nobler; or it may be that you
have reason to rejoice owe a greater
abundance of material things which
are yours because Of better fortune in
1895, either in business, profession. or
farming. But, be sure of this: while
you are rejoicing, there are others
for whom the star of hope may be
greatly dimmed. Misfortune has visit.
ed many homes, sorrows have come to
blight the joys of many whose Christ
mas only a year ago might have been
a most happy one. So, with what
ever group we may be numbered, GER
tainly the sacredness of Christmas
should ever be cherished. Cherished
that we might, in Joy and thanksgiv-
ing for blessings that have come to us,
take on a Christlike spirit and remem-
bre especially those who may have
shared less fortunately.
Speaking of the sacredness Of
Christmas, just reminds me of an ad-
v~ertisement for a certain brand OF
cigarets which was called to my at
tention recently. 1t depicted Santa
Claus smoking that particular brand
of cigarets. While / hold not the
slightest animosity towards users of
tobacco in whatever form they may
choose, somehow this ad just sort of
went against the grain" Seemed like
might as well have preachers sit in
the pulpit and have clouds of smoke
rolling through their lips. Somehow it
robbed Christmas of the sacredness we
always like to feel belongs to the day.
Remember, Santa Claus has always
been saint" Nicholas. And, from re-
ports that have come to us, plenty of
other people thought of the same
thing, for we understand that thou
sands of letters of bitter protest went
in to the tobacco company which
sponsored the ad. Yes, l thoroughly
believe Christmas is one day the
American people will not permit to
lose its sacredness.
Now, back to 1885. 1t Just seems that
every year is Just another succession
of epoch-making events that will
mark it as one of the outstanding
years of history. Each year seems
more modern than the last, and we
marvel at the age in which we live.
Take a look at some of the events of
the fading year: we find a federal
government spending huge sums to
set a peace-time record of national
debt to relieve the poor and unem-
ployed and bring the nation out of
one of its major depressions; Bruno
Hauptman is found guilty of kidnap-
ing and numbering the famous Lind
bergh baby, sentenced to die in the
electric chair early in the year, and
in its closing days We find him with
only a slight chance of failing to pay
the penalty with his life. Lindbergh
believes he is the man who killed his
baby, and most people still believe in
the testimony of "Jafsie" Condor who
was largely responsible for Haupt-
mans apprehension and conviction.
Streamline trains before the year
was far on its way were racing across
the continent on regular schedules a
hundred miles an hour, and were OPP
Grated at such satisfying profits to
railway companies that many more
were destined to follow in 1896. The
largest liner ever placed %afloat, the
"Normandie," made its initial trip
from France to New York with a ca
pacity load of passengers aboard.
OF no less significance were re-
peated dust storms of 1884 sweeping
over the plains of Oklahoma and Kan
sas to devastate crops and bury ma
chimes and buildings underneath their
huge drifts; a tornado swept across
the southern states of Louisiana and
Mississippi in early spring, claiming
some forty lives and millions of dol
lars in property damage. In the same
month the first white man eve to be
hanged in Kentucky was sent to the
gallows to pay the penalty for Grim
inal assault, but not until he had de-
livered an hours speech from the
gallows attacking his accusers and de-
nying the crime for which he had
been convicted. More than three hun
dred farmers with their families were
sent from Minnesota farms at govern
ment expense to colonize the hereto
for unsettled Matanuska valley in far
away Alaska. Early in the fall war
clouds over Ethiopia became more
threatening, and broke into grim re-
atty when Mussolini's armed Italian