HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1928-12-20, Page 3The Children's Festival
By E, Y, Lucas
Ohrietmas, host of lie remark owns -
'where about mid-December, "comes
eanee a year, and when it comes it
ebrings good cheer"; but do we ever
-ask ourselves how long it has been
making this annual and en•.'indliug
vieltation? At the first reaetion the
.answer would be, 'Ever since the.
.death of the founder of the Feast";
'but that would be wrong, for the eve
lution of Christmas as we know it
•seems to have been'vory gradual.
The actual date of Christ's birth
'wee indeed not fixed for many years.
Various dates were suggested as more
.appropriate than December 25, In the ,
.year 243, for example, a Latin tract
was issued maintaining that March 28
was . the true natal day. Spring, the
.author pointed out, had then begun;
the world was now; the equinox pre -
veiled; the !noon was full. It also
;happened to be a Wednesday, and it
was on the Wednesday of the first
week of all that the sun and the moon
were created; and was not Christ the
.Son of, Righteousness?
But in spite of all this ingenious
special pleading December 25 won.
'Some of the Early Fathers were
tgainst any commemoration of it even
lien; Origen for one, protested. But
vy the fourth century the celebration
pf Christ Mass on December 25 was
teeoomng general Yet not until the
.year 534 did the Romans make it 'a
'dies non, .or bank holiday, as we in
England would say now. In Britain
-Por centuries it was New Year's Day
,as well as Christ Mass and was a sea -
:son of joviality until in 1644 the Puri-
tans killed it. With the Merry Mon-
arch's return the old high spirits came
yin again, never to be much impaired,
Another problem is the meteorology
,of Christmas. At some period it must
have been cold, snowy, Frosty, a mid-
winter festival, or how could there be
such a persistent tradition to that'ef-
'feet? .In America, I believe, such
.bracing Christmases are habitual; but
I can assure yauthat in England
•Olu'istmas has become a very differ-
ent season. Christmas with us it now
'usually mild and moist; while winter
proper, such as it Is, does not set in
until January or later, and it often
,goes on long enough to spoil the
.spring. It has even been known, the
spoil -sport that It is, to ehcroach on
the summer.
I want just as eagerly to know
when the old enmity Christmas went
out as when the new herald Chrtetmas
came' in. All data on which par con-
ception. of the: old Christmas is found-
ed halve been provided either by paint -
ere dr writers; and It is possible to
look upon both as addicted to those
sYmmetrieal dreams wherein the wish
is father to the thought. But alto-
gether—and your own Washington
Irving is by no means the least Of
them—they have set up a wonderful
and very cordial tradition. In the
artists' pictures there 1s always snow;
in the Christmas cards there is always
snow, and before some one discovered'
that minute particles of glass were
deleterious to the operatives there
used even to be, frost that actually
sparkled. In the stories there is al-
ways snow; in Pickwick, at Dingley
Dell, there was ice for Mr. Winkle to
fall to skate on. Santa Claus has im-
memorially arrived in a sledge drawn
by reindeer;' Father Christmas's fur
coat is covered with flakes, But -1
speak only for England -I wonder
was Christmas ever. cold? Did snow
ever fall at that time? Was there
skating or sliding?
My two visite to America having
been in the eummer, I have no notion
how Christmas is considered there,
how it compares as a popular festival
with Thanksgiving Day or the Fourth
of July. But I shell always consider a
little book by John Burroughs, called
Winter Sunshine, one ,def the best
works on the open air ever written.
Long perusal of other American books
chiefly novels, has taught ine that the
sacrifice of a turkey is as necessary
to the pious celebration of Thanksgiv-
ing as of our Christmas; but what I
do not know is wliether you slay an-
other Turkey for Christmas. too. Nor
do I know whether Americans say, as
so many people in England do, that
they personally dread Christmas be-
cause it is so full of ghosts—and more
than ever now after the war,—but
that "for the sake of the children" it
must be kept up. For, "after all, we
add, "it is the children's festival, isn't
it?" Do you say that( I wonder?
It is with u0a gsniene sentiment,
but it does not express the whole
truth, for. althrtngh we may dread
Christmas and honestly wish it over,
yet we value It as the one day in the
year when families unite. The child-
ren may serve as a pretext; but their
elders, for all the heartaches, are not
sorry for the occasion. ,
Seek New Wheat
Grading Process
:Saskatchewan Growers, Want
Present Visual Test
Abandoned
Kipling, Sask.—Abandonment of the
present visual test and the institu-
tion of a new process of grading
wheat based upon protein values was
recommended by witnesses repre-
senting the agricultural interests of
southeast Saskatchewan who appear-
ed before the Saskatchewan Royal
'Grain Commission, in its initial pro-
vincial session.
The fanners' representatives, who
were selected to represent the dis-
trict at a convention held recently
also recommended' absolute abandon-
ment of mixing in every form and
the establishment of some additional
grades, viz, four frosted or five rust-
ed, to take care of grain too good for
grade No. 5 and not quite good en-
ough for No. 4.
Witnesses testified that in this
section the milling value of this
year's crop is very high, that is the
protein quality, but grades are low
Because of appearances and "off -
weight" and color. Several swore
they knew, by tests as well as fact,
that local millers are making a fine
quality of flour out of number six.
This mill product is sold to this terri-
tory.
Thomas Porter, of Kelso, testified
that the grain growers feel very
strongly over the manner in which
their grain is degraded, as he term-
ed it, by lake -head mixing houses.
"This is our wheat. It goes into
the private terminals without our con-
sent
onsent and is mixed without , our per-
mission and the mixers extort a huge
revenue fret!! that source," said Mr.
Porter. '.'Then it goes overseas and
it is not the same grain we delivered
at the lake -head. The ultimate buy-
er won't pay the price that he would
have paid had it been the same wheat
that started from our farm, then the
'price he is willing to pay Is the Liv-
erpool quotation and that quotation
on our degraded . wheat overseas
tames back to Canada and sets the.
level of prices in turn that the wheat
here Is sold for, minus the cost of de-
livery at Liverpool It is an .endless
chain and vicious circle with the
farmer getting the worst of It and
the mixing house owners alone of all
concerned reaping rich profits,"
Chinese Student is
Hanged in England
Manchester,' Eng.—Chung VI Mao,
Chinese law Student cram New York;
was executed at Strangeways jail
, for the murder of his bride, Wal
Sheung-Mino, The young woman'
was found strangled to death in a
wood near Keswick, England, last
June shortly after their arrival on -a
honeymoon- tour. '
Meet men are quick to embrace an
opportunityr--ellen it's wearing irate,
The Nativity
(The two Phoplieta come in: )
lst Prophet
Sir, now is the time come,
And the date thereof run
Of his Nativity:
2nd Prophet
Yet I beseech you heartily,
That ye would show me how
That this strange novelty
Were brought unto you?
lst Prophet
This other night so cold,
Hereby upon a wold,
Shepherds watching their fold
In the night so far,
To them appeared a star,
And ever it -drew them near,,
Which star they did; behold,
Brighter they say a thousand fold
Than the sun so clear
In his midday sphere;
And they these tidings told.
2nd Prophet
What, secretly?
1st Prophet
Na, na, hardily,
They made there of no -council,
For they sang as loud,
As ever they could,
Praising the king of Israel.
2nd Prophet
Yet do I marvel, •
In, what pile or castle,
These herdsmen did him see.
1st Prophet
Neither in halls, nor yet in bowers,
Born would he not be,
Neither 1n castles, nor yet in tow-
trs,
That seemly were to see,
But at his, Father's will,
The prophecy to fulfil,
Betwixt an ox and an ass
Jesu this king born he was;
Heaven he bring us till!;
2nd Prophet
Sir, ahl but when these shepherds
had seen him there, ,
To what place did they repair?
lst Prophet
Forth they went, and glad they,
were;
Going they did sing,
With mirth and solace, they made
good, cheer, "
For joy of that new tiding,
And after as I heard them tell,
He rewarded them full well
He granted them heaven therein to
dwell,
In are they gonewith joy and mirth,
And their song is Noel,
(There the Prophets go forth.
—From the Coventry Play, Fifteenth.
Century,
Many a woman doesn't ,now what
trouble is till she has married the.
man of her choice,
Coolness can be caused by hot
words.
SECRETARY TO PRINCE
Sir Godfrey Thomas, private secretary to the Prince of Wales, with
Lady Themes, as lie left Canada for home after a two -months' vacation.
Mennonites • back
Tell of Hardships
Refugees From Paraguay
Reach N.Y. on Way to
Canada
New '`Y'oric: Fleeing from pestile
ence, fever, and the possibilities of
starvation in the unproductive farm-
lands of the Mennonite Colonies of
Paraguay, were 18 addition:1 Mennon-
ite refugees, who arrived here recent-
ly aboard the Munson liner Western
World. They narrated more tales of
the hadships which have befallen some
2,000 members of their sect, who nil -
grated from Canada two years ago
Iwith the hope of finding and develop-
ing extensive fertile acres in Para-
guay.
Mrs. Emma .'.carder declared that
she had lost ner husband n t1 t Mert-
I ttonite colony. His death she ettiebet-
,ed to mal -nutrition and malaria. She
asserted that he had shared his money
with the starving members of his sect,
and recalled that she borrowed seven
pees from William S. Grant, purser of
the Western World, in order to defray
the expenses of herself and her seven
children, who returned with her by
.the liner. Before disembarking from
the ship she was tendered a purse of
$250, which the passengers had collect-
ed upon hearing of her plight from
the purser. This sunt will enable her
to return to her friends in' Canada.
The purser also collected $135 which
was given to Anton Schroeder, an-
other destitute Mennonite aboard the
liner, who was borne to St. Mary's
Hospital, Hoboken, suffering from a
serious attack of malaria. "Additional
sums were supplied to the nine others.
"The least worn the soonest mend-
ed," as the lady of the revue remark-
ed the other day.
Some, hue give their wives
kisses by the bushel.' Others are con-
tent with a "peck."
Sir J. Aird Heads
Radio Commission
Will Investigate Merits of
Private and National
Broadcasting
TO TOUR ABROAD
Ottawa.—The appointment of a
Royal Commission to investigate the
whole question of radio broadcasting
in Canada was announced recently. It'
consists of Sir John Aird, Toronto,
president of the Bank of Commerce
as chairman; Charles A: Bowman,
y
editor of the Ottawa Citizen, and'
A ti P •i director' of the
Ecoie Polytechn que o on tea .
The Radio Commission appointed by
the Government is to inquire particu-
larly into the relative merits of broad-
casting by privately owned stations or
by stations operated on the basis of
national ownership.
TRIP TO EUROPE.
It will consult with the provincial
governments and also visit the United
States, England and France, although
tit is not anticipated that this will take
very long. The commission will be
able to report during the session of
Parliament. In Canada GO per cent.
of the radio sets in operation are
urban, and 40 per cent, rural. There
are GS broadcasting plants licensed by
the Minister of Marine. Thirty-two
provide an intermittent service oaf low.
power of purely local operation.
The commission will inquire special-
ly into the following questions:
1—The establishment of one or more
groups of high-powered broadcasting
stations operating •as private enter-
prises with the receipt of a govern-
ment subsidy.
2—The establishment and operation
of such a system of stations to be own-
' ed and financed by the Dominion Gov-
ernment.
3—The establishment and operation
of stations by Provincial Governments.
THE HURRICANE IN ENGLAND
Wave ,breaking over the pier at Brighton in the storm that battered the
coast from Land's End to Dover and spread rule over the Southeast half of
England,
Aefa.,
ANDY FIXI"' Onta t.1 I Is
For several weeks before Christmas
everybody in Andy's; family was buey
making little gifts, His sisters, Nancy
and Nell, made pretty little saobets,
bags, cushions, handkerchiefs, slipper
headers, doll dresses and al sorts of
dainty things. Ills brother Tom made
book -ends and no end of attractive
and useful tillage with his soroll saw
and tool chest. And their mother
would hurriedly 'hide her work when
she heard them coming in frora
school, for nobody must know what
she was making; Mother's gifts were
to be a surprise for everybody.
But what was Andy going to make?
That was the question, He had a fine
chest of tools and knew how to use
them, but strange to say he had never
been interested in making things. He
was, very much interested, however, In
putting things right and in repairing
things. He was always mending some-
thing about the house or yard. So
when his mother would ask one of the
other children to fix something, they
often said: "Oh, let Andy fix it." And
his father, too, would sometimes say:
"Let Andy Rx it. lle likes to tinker!
about and I am busy." So they got in'
the habit of calling him "Andy Pix -it."
And Andy laughed for he thought it '
a great joke.
"Well, I can't mend an eggbeater
and call that somebodl's Christmas
present," said Andy to himself as he
sat trying to think of something to
make. -
"Aud why not?" a voice seemed to
ask right inside him '1t would be
different and it might make people
just as happy as having something
new given to them."
The idea was so strange and new.
that Andy had to turn several hand-
springs before he could go on with it.
The more he thought of it the better
it seemed. At last he gave a whoop
and ran to the basement, where there
was a pile of all sorts of things wait-
ing to be repaired. Andy looked them
over and put in a separate pile those
that be thought he could mend.
I for Year $237 000
Then 110 Went on a reit t,f .,xplara+ �
Mr: about•She house and Made a list
of the things he claw that needed 05- Pre -Sessional , latemxtc11t' ;1e
ing, " It was surprising bow many Made: by Provincial 1M'eRS"
things he found that wanted a tack stet- l�,ec iptg$225.000
or a screw or a bit of wire or a drop �+ r, l
of oil or a nut or a nail. The door of • in Ly,�xce3s of slid' et
Nailey's doll House was hanging on EstilDfltf,! Lilat
one hinge, ' Nelle little chair :needed
a bit a glue. Tom's skates needed a des ;on .
nut, 1 -lis mother's reading lamp Lel la.l(�i lOR E�.EVI?N iE
a eaw missing, The pcintty dont•
squeakedre. The washing marhf,.te' Tire I'llIVILIC(1 of Ontario has a sur
aeaded oiling, Well, well, 1t wa:< n plit,i ,.f 1117,000 for the fiscal year
long lista attain; October 2i, 1925, it was an -
Andy began by repairing the pile of youncedby Don : 1)r. J. D. Monteith,
tb#ngs i0 the basement, When each I'rn•rincial., 't'reav,Irer, In bis sus,
article ivas repaired and clouted and tou;str pro-9essioual t;tptentent,
poltsliecl, he tled a card on It and [jr- 1\ioi toltli" annnunaed that Ibe
placed it in an old trunk in the Earth- aurphis rntnalnre1 after full provisinrt
est corner. Then the last few days had been made for discount of bonds
besniendod ob" n,171of n)'
jectsfore aboutChriintmas the hei living roomsthe when, vaanddalpaying debt off und$3er tate,270 40-yearthe retipre
no one was looking. People were too meet plan, and in spite of the fact
busy to miss a squeak In a door and that succession duties, one of the
to notice that a eerew had boon •re- treasury's greatest 50210000 of Income,
placed, lint they would rtotloe these fell approximately 14,S.00,000 below
on Christmas morning. Andy was go -Ute refuels Por -lust yi;rtr;
ing to make sure of that: Liquor control board revenue is
Early on Christmas morning he shown as $225,000 over the budgot 05-
slipped clown stairs and put each of timate of last session. From pr0iir
the mended articles in its proper place oil the newel sale of liquor reeteue
with a card attached which read: vvae derived to tare extent. of $7.225,
'Christmas Greetings From Andy Fix- 000. This amount is $•1,426,000 great -
11." Then he put a similar card on er than that of 1927, when the act
Tom's skates where bo had repassed operated for only five months. Liq-
a nut, on the doors that had squeaked, uer permits contributed 3893,390 10
on Nancy's doll house door, on his the treaeury, With Puree imposed un -
mother's reading lamp where the der the new law, the treasury earn -
screw had been missing, on every- ed altogether approximately $8,235;.
thing in fact which he had repaired. 000 from operation of the Ontario:
And Andy's Christmas gifts were Liquor Control net -
as welcome as any received that day, Ordinary revenue for the year was
Everybody was so happy to have their $58,465,000 and ordinary oxpouditure
things in order again. But how they $58,192,000. In both cases Dr. Mon -
did laugh when they first discovered toith reports that expectations were
the droll little cards dotted all over exceeded, In 1927 ordinary revenue
the house, where Andy's clever fln- amounted to $56,296,000, and ordin-
gers had made things right. ary expenditure to $5.5,947,001.
"It was a dear, sweet thought. And The outstanding increase in revenue
nothing could have made Mother hap- was registered in the Attorney Gen -
pier," his mother told him with a big eral's Department which administers
hug. 'The world needs lots of Andy the liquor' laws, Here the increase
was $2,940,000 over the figures for
last year,
Fit -its."
Canada Asked
to Join Parley -.--i •
Liquor Issue
Washington Seeks Confer-
ence on the Suppression
of Drink Export
Ottawa—The United States has
asked Canada for a conference to
consider an extension of the border
agreement of 1924, for the purpose
of more effectually suppressing the
liquor traffic between thetwo coun-
tries. Although reports have been
ohrcnlated to the effect that Canada
is being asked to prohibit the export
of liquor, or else refuse clearances
to liquor cargoes obviously- destined
for the United States ports, these
reports are only guesses, responsible
officials here declare.
William Phillips, United States
Minister to Ottawa, has been in in-
formal communication with the
Prime Minister, who Is also Minister
of External Afairs, and his sugges-
tions are now before the Govern-
ment in Council, but nothing has been
made public as yet.
It would simplify the situation so
far as the United States is concern-
ed if all export liquor trade was stop-
ped. But such a drastic step could
only come through an act of the
Canadian Parliament, as at present
such export is entirely legal.
The liquor, it is asserted, is not
only made here, but sold, delivered
and paid for here, and the purchaser
assumes whatever risk is attached to
attempted shipment across the bor-
der. This .valued for the last 12
months at nearly $28,000,000. A
large proportion of it as whisky
destined for the United States. While
Parliament may think fit to do a
neighborly act and prohibit exports
be argued that there is no such pro-
vision In the law of Great Britain,
France or other cuntries, which are
exporters. No reply to the Bug-
' gested
ug'gested conference has been sent as
yet but Canada is expected to agree
to It.
The chief provisions of the treaty
as it now stands is for the notiflca
tion of clearances of liquor -laden ves-
sels and the refusal of clearances,
ostensibly to foreign countries, of
motorboats which: obviously could.
not weather the conditions of the
high seas.
Air Mail Service
to Pacific Coast
Experiment Will Be Tried at
End of Present Month
and Service Will be Ex-
tended if ` Test -
Proves Suc-
cessful
Montreal—An air mall service be-
tween Montreal and Vancouveris
promised by the postal authorities if
an experiment they contemplate Car-
rying out from December 19 to 29
proves successful, Victor Gaudet,
postmaster for the district of Mont-
real, told members of the Chamber
of Commerce recently. The inaugu-
ration of such a service between here
and the Pacific Coast would take 24
hours off the time now required to de-
liver mall to Vancouver.
Mr. Gaudet emphasized the inten-
tion of the Federal Government to
use this service as a factor in bring-
ing ail parts of the Dominion into
closer communication. The Govern-
ment had committed itself to a policy
of providing anair mail service to
settlements which are practically cut
off from outside communication der -I
ing the winter mouths, he said.
The speaker contrasted the differ-
ence in the manner mail is delivered
to the Island of Anticosti and Seven
Islands since the air mail service has
been introduced, Formerly, these
sections of the country had to be ser-
ved by dog teams, which took 15
days to cover the distance an airplane
completes in a few hours.
Starts December 19
Starting December 19, the authori-
ties will give temporarily an air mall
service from Winnipeg to Regina;
from Regina to Calgary, and from
Calgary to Edmonton via Saskatoon.
In this manner a letter mailed here
before 10 o'clock on Monday, leaves
for Toronto by plane at 11.15 a.m.,
and is in Winnipeg by train on Wed-
nesday me1ning. A half hour later
it leaves for Regina by air and is
there before noon. It reaches Cal-
gary at 4,15 p.m, and is 1n Edmonton
an hour later. A saving of 24
hours results,
As regards the international mail
service which commenced on Octo-
ber 1, Mr. Gaudet is unable as yet
'to produce figures, but at present it
is being more extensively used by
the inhabitants of the United States
than of Canada.
3yrd Expedition
Advance Guard
Sails S tutlr ward
Supply Ship Eleanor Bolling
Leaves Dunedin for South
Polar Regions
Wellington, N.Z. — The advance
guard of Commander Mallard ` E.
Byrd's expedition is sailing south-
ward
outhward to establish a base at the edge
of the Antarctic ice barrier.
Fifty men and Commander Byrd
were on the supply ship Eleanor Boll-
ing when it left Dunedin, towing an-
other ship to the south polar regions.
The party will establish a base in the
Bay of Whales and remains there
while the Eleanor Bolling returns to
Dunedin for the remainder of the
personnel and equipment.
Dr. Vaclov Vontech, a young Czech-
slovaklan geologist, whose original'
application to join the expedition was
refused, won a place in it by per-
sistence.
ersistence. Not content with the re-
fusal he made his way to Wellington,
arriving soon after Commander Byrd.
.1 -le renewed his plea and was prom-
ised a place ou the Eleanor Bolling
Ion her second trip.
For the first few hundred miles of
his 2000 -mile voyage to the ice -cov-
ered polar'continent, Commander' `
Byrd will have easy sailing. Later
however, the ships will have to force
their way through the polar ice pack.
In the Antarctic pcean are the
'world's largest icebergs, the biggest
on record having a length of five
miles. They move slowly through
,the ice pack, giving the navigator a
Iconstant problem.
The ships will require several
weeks for the plodding . trip. 'Dur
ing this time natural scientists plan.
to gather data on the depth and tem-
peraure of the water, the nature of
;the ocean bottom,the structure and
movement of the ice pack and the
direction of currents.
IE The party will set up a portable
- town at the ice barrier, and this will
be its base of operations for at least
a year and a half.
Tells Executives
The First Christmas
Box
While we all use the phrase Christ-
mas box a hundred times at this sea-
son of the year, few are aware of•its
origin.
It was, lu the first place, a real box,
or, rather, a jar of -earthenware 1n
which those who received tips stored
them for the Christmas holiday.
In a dictionary of the year 1585 we
find Christmas box defined as "a molly
box made of potter's clay wherein
beyee put their many to keepe, such
as they hang in shopper on toward
Christmas. •
The. famous Bishop Hail montione
these boxes in one of his merinons,-
saying that it wag "a shame for a rich
Christian to be like a Christmas box
that receives all, but nothing can bo
got out till it be. broken n Riecos,"
American Penetration
La Presse (Ind.) It is no more holi-
day nor a little visit of goodwill that
Mr. Hoover has gone to make in South
America. The new President has
gone to get Information on the spot
and at first-hand about the advantages
and economic resources of a continent,
the commercial relations of which the
United States have assumed an ever•
growing importance since the war, .
We must not lose sight of the fact
that these very precious advantages
have been obtained chiefly to the de-
triment of Latin -America itself and
also of other nations, principally Bri-
tain and Germany, during the War of
1014-1918. Our neighbors, therefore,
have not much justification to claim
that they got of the great European
,struggle. Their economic gains in
South America stand as proof to the
contrary.
About Prosperity
Sir Healy Thornton Gives
Address Before U.S.
Railway Men
Minneapolis, Minn. -The three
foundation stones of Canadian pros
parity are agriculture, mining and
hydro -electric energy, Sir Henry W.
Thornton, President of the Clanadian
National Railways, said in an ad-
dress heard by .traffic executives
from all over North Amortea.
"Agriculture is the most import-
ant," Sir Henry' said. "We have
made great: strides In agriculture
and our acreage le inereased each
year, Our farmers seem well satin
fled with conditions, If yon have
any dissatisfied farmers here tell
them to come to Canada."
Tho United States and Russia are
no longer 'competitors of Canada in
the prodaetion of wheat, Sir Henry
(Inlayed; .since, both countries use
meat of the grain crop he doausstie,-'i
1 consumption,