The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-08-15
Thanksgiving Day Change Causes Plenty Of Trouble
(Bv United Press)

Merchants were generally happy today over President Roosevelt's announcement that he was advanc- ing Thanksgiving day week, be- cause that will enlarge the Christ mas shopping period, but there was consternation among college foot ball managers and calendar makers.
 At Campobello, N. S., where he ar- rived yesterday on vacation cruise, MT. Roosevelt said he had had many requests to move the holiday ahead, because 1t came too near Christmas. and that since there was nothing sacred about the customary date the last Thursday of November = and no federal law governing 1t, he would proclaim 1t for November 23 this year, instead of November 30. He said that henceforth, beginning in 1e40, Thanksiving would be the second Thursday of November.
 It is a tradition among business men that advertising and display of Christmas goods Is withheld until after Thanksgiving, and since that holiday would have fallen this year on the latest possible date, there would have been only 20 Christmas shopping days.
 Football Up In Air
 However, there had been 35 foot ball games scheduled for Turkey Day." some of them annual sectional classics, and now that the schedules of most Universities are completed, and November 30 is to be just an- other school day, some serious prob- lems arose.
 And at Seattle, Wash, Frederick E. Baker, president of H. G. Brace Calendar Company, said the date changing would raise hell" with his business and cost calendar makers from 5000, ,000 to $10.000,000.
 Tt will be terrible" he said. Bet ter than 70 per cent of 194O calen- dars have already been sold and about 50 per cent, or $50,00000 worth, are already in production throughout the country. Most calen- dar makers begin production in Jan- uary on the following years calen- dar."
 Since Time of Lincoln
 Every president since Abraham Lincoln has proclaimed the last Thursday of November Thanksgiv- ing Day, although prior to that, the dates varied and some presidents did not designate the day at all.
 George Washington, in setting @ day for Thanksgiving 150 years ago, designated November 26. That hap pened to be the last Thursday of the month. There had been bitter protests against such an observance. Thomas Jefferson protested that 1t would imply 8 connection between church and state; Representative Aedanus Burke of South Carolina said 1t "mimicked European cus- toms Representative Thomas T. Tucker of Virginia said, "it might be well to wait for some experience of the efficiency of the constitution before returning thanks for it."
 Then, when the day did come, Alexander Hamilton decided to throw a party for the occasion at Fraunces Tavern in New York and when he got there, he found most of the guests under tables and bottles flying across the room. Such a pub- lie scandal followed that Washing ton proclaimed no more Thanks giving days and neither did Andrew Jackson or Zachary Taylor.
 Football Games In Doubt
 Some of the football games, dates of which were left in doubt, were: New York University -Fordham; Cornell Pennsylvania; Missouri . Kansas; Maryland Washington and Lee; Alabama-Vanderbilt; Auburn Florida; Arkansas Tulsa; Texas Texas A. and M.: Washington-U. c. l.. A.; V. P. I.-V. MI
 Al Nixon, graduate manager of athletics at N Y. U., said he would discuss the situation with Fordham officials but, naturally, if November 90 Is no longer a holiday, N. Y. U. can't play football" Coach Dana x. Bible of University of Texas said the date change was a serious prob- lem in the southwest conference.
 The situation was complicated in some schools that have precedents against playing football after Thanksgiving. Another factor was that some schools scheduled to play November 30 Thanksgiving" games also had games scheduled for Sat- urday, November 25, and could not arrange to move the holiday game ahead a week and play two games in three days.
 Requests For Six Years
 MT. Roosevelt said that he had been getting requests for the change for six years and that whereas a few states had the Thanksgiving date fixed by statute, it was the only na- tional holiday not set by federal law.
 The first Thanksgiving observance In the United States was by the Pop ham Colonists, at sagadahac, Me, in August. 1907.
 Turkey Raisers Fear
 Providence, R. T.. Aug. l5 - (U. p - Rhode Island turkey raisers today feared that President Roose- velt's plan to advance the date of Thanksgiving day one week might adversely affect the sale of thou