Newspaper Page Text
4
The Atlanta Georgian
AND NEWS
Second Section
VOL. VI. NO. 115.
- ATLANTA, GA., TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1907.
•p-pTpxp. In Atlanta!.TWO tents.
jrXVJ-V>J!i. On Trains..FIVE tents.
DOES SANTA CLAUS LOVE
RICH MORE THAN POOR?
CHILDHOOD’S OLD QUESTION
By BEN S. PRESTON.
"Daddy, do you believe In Santa
Claus?" asked little Claudio, a child
character In "The Prince Chap," at the
Grand last week.
“Why,- of courae," responded the hero
of the play,
"Is he a good man?”
“As good as there Is alive."
"Then why Is It that when children
nra rich and get nice things any way
ho, gives them lots of presents, but
when they nre poor he sometimes don't
glt‘e them anything at all?”
No climax In the play had been
reached; the Incident had nothing par
ticular to do with the plot, but the
child's questioning was' so surprising
and yet so true to life that the au
dience stirred; there were whisperings;
some one laughed, and then there fell
a silence while the pople watted aager-
ly for the answer.
It was a lame reply the Prince Chap
made, and, therefore, more real. Only
by agreeing to see to It that the par
ticular poor child In question got a
visit , from the Jolly old saint could he
finally banish the little girl's misgiv
ings. v
Children nil over the world, when fol
lowing In their minds the story <jf
Santa Claus, testing each plausible ex
planation to see If It will pass, and
accepting most, of them, have brought
up suddenly at the point Claudia
reached when she popped that question
about the Injustice of bid Santa's meth
od of giving. Their parents have ex
plained and explained. A dozen an
swers have "been offered, but not one
would convince more than one out of
a Jury of twelve Inquiring youngsters.
It Is a fault In Santa Claus' char
acter, a sorry spot In the beautiful fab
ric of Christmas fancy and a mystify
ing proposition, which must be passed
over without touching, If you would
have the w^iole Christmas legend vre-
maln intact.
Said a mother the other day;
“My children always had faith In
Santa Claus until they reaohed that
point. At flrst I would try to evade
and change the subject, but whan they
finally pinned me. down and asked the
real reason why Santa wasn't as good
to the poor as to the rich I had to give
It all up,”
The hpro of "The Prince Chap” hit
upon a solution to the vexing problem
that, If carried out universally, would
wipe away the possibility of the ques
tion. He hung Pucker’s tattered stock
ing up beside Claudia's, and the next
morning both were full to overflowing.
BACHELORS PLAN CLUB TO GUARD
AGAINST PERIL OF LEAP YEAR
THIS HOI PLA yED SANTA
TO ALL HIS LITTLE FRIENDS
There never was any Santa Claus for this sheer Jot. ten minutes at a time
boy, but he,'believes that bis Christmases Aceordlng jo the family code It
were Jnst aa happy a. If ha had dreamed of PerolsMbl. tn say outright what o
the Rood Mint every night and tried to stay
awake long enough Christmas Eve to hear
the sleigh Mia.
When be waa n very little fellow—before
fie can remember—his parents told him, for
reason*! of thel^.owu, *11 about It, caution
ing him not to breathe a suspicion to'any
of the other children who wrote letters to
Hants Clans. So when bis boy and girl
ood saint
and kept
Did he feel a lack of fnn and mystery
*' bit of It. To him
quiet.
Mho family something In token of tho dayJ—
With funds saved from the weekly salary I
for splitting kindling and caring for the
baby when the nurse took her evening off,|
he set out down town to buy the presents.
Not a ceht most be spent for himself, not a
minute *niust be spent looking at things he
would like to knvo. That was a point ofl
honor ’well observed. It taxed his brain to
work but the psychology of what each pen
«on wanted, but he managed to get tbroug
some way, , . ■
Then-betook his.presents home and put
them dwny: and each person of -the house
hold wag shown wbat every other person |
oroh, many
...... —- table, even
though'tach were contrary to the rules of
etiquette. Myetery! Why there wero bar-
refs of It Fun, why he would dance for
time.
e. It was not
__ Ight what one want
ed for Christmas, but bints, it they were
not too pointed, were entirely within the
law. Many times did the boy or one of his
brothers or sisters maneuver the conven
tion around to give s favorable opportunity.
It might-be n warm bunny day, but the
boy would say:
"Gee, but I wish It would snow. I’d
rather coast thanwlo anything, but then my
old
Or the conversation might have drifted to
Moses, when the boy would sny: "The chil
dren of Israel had n hard time, hut not
half as hard ns the Young Marooners. At
least, Jimmy Wilson says so, and be read
the book and says It’s fine. 1 suppose It la."
Then there wna Christinas night, when
oil the family took their gifts to the father
and mother, who put them In the proper
Even
wns an array of things which one had been
guessing about and wishing for during the
past three or four months. Once something
terrible happened. The boy was talking to
his brother'll! bed.
"I thought nbout getting you a baseball
glove," be said, nnd meant to stop there,
but somehow It Just slipped out, "but I got
you a game of parchcsl Instead." It was so
mortifying to have told that the tears
flowed freely.
And then the confusion of Christmas
morning, when the half-arrayed family
gathered about the stockings. I!ig brother
would tell how near the hoy came to seeing
one of bin prolent* One day and. there
would bo other explanations. Fun—barrels
° Well. Sants Claus may be all right, but
the boy says be got along without him
well enough.
LUM WOO AND CHEW WEY
EXPLAIN HOW CHINAMEN
CELEBRA TE CHRISTMAS DA Y
DR. A. L. CURTIS.
The only bachelor In council Is
preparing to guard against woman.
Amalgamated Order
Is Now B^ing Or
ganized.
WILLIE IS MODEL BOY NOW;
CAN YOU GUESS THE CAUSE?
"I can’t understand what’s the matter
with yrilllV remarked Mrs. Jenkins
to her husband. "He’s such a good
boy at present. I don’t believe I have
had to scold him once Ihe past week.
And he actually came to me this morn-
Ing and asked If there wasn't some
work he could do. I am really afraid
Willie Is going to be III.”
Jenkins, the wise old owl. Just winked
' ills left eye, and answered: “Sick noth
ing! Christmas Is coming.” He has
been there himself. _ .
Willie Is hot the only boy who has
been Sprouting wings, or developing
embryo halos during the paet few days,
either. Employers have been comment.
Ing on the unusual activity of their
olllce boys. "Why, my boy seems actu
ally to have fallen In love with work,
said a prominent business man. “He is
always-at my elbow, and twlce last
week he did something without being
ordered. I can't unijeretand It."
Old maid*, youug maidens, and President
ltooseveIt—-nottce r '^H^^H^HHHIHpiH
Plans have been set on foot by certain of
the enemies of nntl-race suicide to organUe
a tnost monstrous association. The name
carries the story, and the approach’of leap 1
year Is the reason.HliHHjHP^HHM
The Amalgamated Association of Confirm
ed and tfncoflfounded Bachelors!
This organisation will have for Its mem
bership only residents of Atlanta who, after
many and many yeara of ex —•-mar-
■how that they are perfectly —
(Highly armed, and protected and Immune to
ir of the charm* of womankind.' They
jflst be able to recite at leaat two expe
rience* wherein they have been tried and
tested nnd found true .to the noble prlncl
»les on which-this aplendtd association will
>e founded.
The names of the organizer* nre .omitted
>v request. Among those who are -men
tioned as charter .members nre Alderman A.
L. Curtis, City Warden Tom Evnns, May
or’s Secretary Dan Carey, Charles B. Cur-
rter, F. J. Pnxoti, J. B. Nutting, Charles
ltyan, Dan Terkerson and John Monaghan.
Of course there will be others—many,
many others—but these, It Is • understood,
have already qualified.
Tho Bachelor’s Creed.
One member presented a representative of
The Georgian with a Hat of the things
which, a nmn must bellere before«. bo
can be eligible. A few of tbese^beliefs fol ;
low:
That woman’s beauty. 1s only point and
powder deep.
That two can live ns cheap os one, but
one don’t set anything.
That walking the floor with a screaming
Infant In tho dead of the night and the
midst of winter la not conducive to good
health or, n sweet temper.
That, a coat without buttons la better
than buttons without a root.
That coming home full at night la no
worse than waking up "busted’’ fa the
morning.
That i
alone Is
morning’s breakfast __ H_ T JP
supper time with a fussing wife and a crew
of atsnrlng children.
Currier for President.
Mr. Currier, who la president of the At.
Inntn National bank, Is slated for the preab
deney. It Is said.
A reporter of• The Georgian called around
o see him Monday morning, but he wan
b "Christmas Is coming," was the cho
rus from a half dozen companion* to
whom he was relating the story.
"Yes, and you ought to see the wav
my stenographer is perking up thesfc
day*,’’ remarked another of the crowd.
"To see her now you would scarcely
recognize the domineering young thing
who has been ruling the place for the
last eleven months. I suppose ‘Christ
mas is coming’ has affected her also.”
"I can beat that," said another. "Even
our cook deigned to ask this morning done these past many years, and the com-
if we had any preference as to what bJ m ° rW
we would like to have for dinner. 8h # e fw r fu » "M naturally to be exp
J. R. NUTTING.
The insurance man Is mentioned
as a leading member of the Bach
elors.
DAN CAREY.
The secrotary-olect of. the Bach
elors will take to the farm to escape
leap-year dangers.
and stated most .positively that ho would
not bo n-member. - —
'I-am no bachelor from*choice," stated
Mr. l*nxou emphatically,
"i believe in wives umf children—not too
uo inull. "1 « otirse. rimy
moderation. There la
« huppy tnarrlagf, ul-
card of people being mighty
happily divorced.
"I would uut say aught against woman
kind. The rapidity, the regularity and the
consummate skill and artistic touch which
havo shown In handling my proposals
turning them down have indebted me
to them for life. The wmneu elected me a
member .Of the Bachelors' Clnb.
the ntroost
I Tom Evans, city warden, spoke In an en
tirely different vein.
All 1 ask Is n iCH-uiiuubc "lull, n urfli
field, nnd no interference, and I’ll,promise
to retreat in perfect order without tho nliT
ot a bugle call to tell me when to begin
"Tell me, though, honestly, why art
women?"
Carev Stands Firm,
Dan Carey, the mayor's secretary,' la slat
cd aa secretary of the Amalgamated Asso
ciation of Confirmed and Unconfounded
Bachelors, Limited.
"What precautionary steps will yon take
to retain your bold on the single life?" Dan
was usked.
"What steps)" repeated Dsn. "The lock-
step, the two-step, the steps to the tallest
building, the steps to the lowest garret—
sny step* but those to the altar—death flrst
aud damnation nfierwanf, but matrimony—
never! Aud then never again!"
Deputy Sheriff Dsn Perkerson Is n mighty
brave man and be haa never been kuown
to show the white feather, even when
•taring Into the business end of a 44-csllber
revolver.
And that la the reason there was some
conaternnticn wheu the deputy hurried Into
the sheriff's office recently with a hunted
look In his eye, s face as pale as death
and flopping himself Into a chair heaved a
sigh that made tho clock tower on the court
bouse sway like s bell buoy In s storm st
**"beln ■hot at. Dsn?" asked Deputy Sher
iff Shropshire with some concern. But Mr.
Perkerson only gazed out the window aud
vouchsafed no reply.
"Maybe a prisoner got sway,” suggested
Colonel Thomas.
•.'Or he may have seen a ’hant,’ ” volun
teered Deputy Sheriff Tye. >
Missed all around," answered Mr. Per-
nutc atari, a dear
founded Jtacbelora. "We did not take the
aggressive In this matter. We felt able to
care for the situation singly, as we have
ent to be a* condescending a* that!
Maybe you have noticed thp differ
ence In some of your friends and rela
tives, too. Even the muchly-maligned
mother-in-law Is putting on her most
blissful expresalon, and the policeman
on the beat Is a little ostentatious In the
way he speaks to you.
~es, "Chrtatmaa Is coming.
A WAR-TIME CHRISTMAS;
TOLD BY GENERAL EVANS
"D»e«mb,r «. 1MJ. w« hail (lofratfd
Bnrnllde nt Fri’d.rlck.bur*." mid (i.ntrtil
element A. Kvun., remlnl«centljr. "That
•pltmlld Midler nnd xontlerann. T. It. B.'
Cobb, h»d given hi, life for the cotyc, a,
had hundred, of other good nnd brave men.
"We were entrenched a king the Itnppa-
lmnnock In front of Frederlckeburir, while
the enemy Ur tcrow tho river—two great
nrmles watching and waiting again for the
death grapple. Christine, drew on, nnd
oven under ,uch condition, you could not
quite keep Home of tho iplrlt of the do j
from pervading the boy,. ■
"Uncon«cloully the two confronting nr-
tnlc, set up »n nrmtetlee. No order, were
lisnod, no notice given. Both armle, lay
alert, vigilant, wnlehlng the *nemy. But
by lonio telegraphic communication that
Vigilance reined a dey or «o before ; hrUt.j
me,, nnd tho men of {federal nnd Confeci
ernte nrmles moved freely nbout out of the
,r "0 C n C ’hrl,tm«, Eve the l>e»t nnd moat
experienced forager, went out to round u-
oninotblng for tE, Ch«,ten, dinner. \\
had come mighty renooreefnl fellow, to
; 0 f tiling, too, and they, enrne back
-that wort of thing, too, and tnw
Spratly well euppllcd with good thing, to
,«t. Snow lay on the ground mvcmI Inrhe,
and It wn» .tinging cold, but thrlntmn, dnv
everybody h»d n good, hot dinner, with
eometblng more than the ordinary camp
•*"ve were too far nwey from the mono.
•!„r« n?S
^ie.^&*crraK% , ! n Snl Ji
ilfe Cent CbrUtmn. day, I «P*nt while to
t | , "That* w„ Ihe only peaceful Cbtotxu,
«lny I spent during tbc four years. ]•»*
whs spent Jn the trenches before -Peter*,
burg, with both flxhUux for^^n "l« for
Impending trouble. Mr Christmas dinner
cSotfsted of * quarter of * pound of salt
pork and a few hard tack.’
' ‘ Forbes Re-elected Mayor.
Special to The Georgian.
Vienna, Go., Dec. 17.—In a three-cor
nered race for the mayor's office B. F.
HI naturally to be expected!
a good authority, however, we received
tost I (letennl^MtaliHM^M
lined effort wse on foot
ganlzstlon of tsviei
NHHVHHtet Old Molds, and*
war wns to I* declared. It waa tmperai
that we should organize and he able ‘
ul that
wratlre
to hold
onr own against such a formidable combi
as tnls wns sure to be.
Hence the association. As for myself
nation
"Hei 4 t t
personally, I hare l>een through enough leap
year* to be able to take care of myself
under nit circumstances, but I will have to
admit that certain of our local bachelors
must have protection from an organisation
with a strong hacking or else they may suc
cumb to the treachery and the more pr leas
bewitching nnd dangerous wiles of the
enemy.”
Mr. Currier waa to bare been asked wbat
precautionary steps be Intended to take to
protect him daring the trying times of Leap
year, and It Is luud be was going to reply
that the "association would look after this/’
Paxon It Willing. m
F. J. Pnxon, of the Arm of Davlson-Paxon-
Stokes, denied most vehemently that he
knew anything of the proposed association,
FRED J. PAXON.
This bachelor say* the women
elected him against his will.
Plan to Repel Attack
From Army of Fair
Amazons.
kerson, for the flrst time breaking the
J Hence that scaled bis mouth. "Uut listen,
have Just heard some appalling news;
w* that made the very cartridges In my
...jtol rattle like loose window panes on a
wintry uly’jt. Next year Is Leap Year, the
time when a bachelor's life Is made a living
torment, for the danger of the matrimonial
yoke Is more to l>e feared than earthquakes,
pestilence and sudden death. 1 bad forgot
ten it until some one told me a few minutes
and I lmve neglected the usual safe-
Is until I fear It Is too late. Woe Is
and the deputy sheriff sank back luto
bis scat with u groan of despair.
Perkerson Is Worried.
Now, Mr. Perkerson has weathered the
storms of fifty and three winters and the
charms of the fairest women havo never
yet succeeded. In enticing him from the
pleasures of a bachelor's life. Furthermore,
be dreads the thought of.."doUhle teaming"
worse thou u burnt child dreads the fire.
"Wear a mnsk, Dan," suggested Mr.
Goldsmith.
"Mask, the devil," exclaimed Mr. Perker
son. as he brought his flat down on the
table with a bang. "What does a woman
Who wonts to innrry.care nlmut n mask Jdst
so there's n innn behind It!"
. "Quite true," murmured Mr. Goldsmith,
ns he resumed his writing.
"By Jove, I know what I'll do," ex
claimed Mr* Perkerson, and as the feasi
bility of the Idea grew upon him his face
become Illumined with a glow like that coat
the northern lights. ^*1*11 get'leaVe of
jnri* for a year nnd go off to the swamps
and bunt and fish until the danger Is past,
nnd If that won't work I’ll got Captain Vain
to give me n suite of rooms for n year In
the county Jail. f# Ob, foolish women, thou
^And^tho > deputy sheriff’ whistled a bar
•roni "The Girl I Left Behind,’’and signed
jls application for membership In the osso-
elation. *
Captain Monaghan Unafraid.
What are yon going to do to avoid the
onslaught of the weaker yet more deter
mined sex during Leap yenr); •
Captain John Muuughau, usslstant to 8o-
Ictor Hill, of the superior court, turned In
his big arm chair aud with a atnlle of sat
isfaction gated complacently Into tho eyes
* *-* questioner. * ..... i ' .
„ «..t am 1 going to do?" lie repeated.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, wept sit
.teady and not rock the boat. During the
five years moro thau half n century Inst 1
havo been wondering through this vale of
tears women hive learned that 1 am Ini-
uervlou, to Cupid', d«rt. A woman who
would wunt to marry me would be aent to
the uayltim without a trial. I have uo
"Why didn't you ererr marry, captalnf'
ronturrd the raportor, a, be morrd toward
the door?" *
"I never felt like 1 wanted to Im talked
to death." responded Cat)tain Monaghan. "I
preferred n moro peaceful end. ’
Alderman A. u Curtis ha* the dl«-
tlnctlon of being the only bachelor
member of' thn general council, al
though the other twenty-three mem
bers of the council hold thl* distinction
to be one without glory.
The alderman, like Mr. Paxon, 1* not
at all proud of his bachelordom.
"There I* no happlne**," the alder
man Is said to have *a!d on one occa
sion, "like the happiness one gathers In
the confine* of a well-regulated home.
What I* Christmas without a wife and
children r
"What steps will yo|u take to retain
your hold on the bachelor life?" the al.
derman Is said to have been asked, to
which he I* said to have replied:
"My office I* bn the corner of For
syth and Mitchell streets. 1 am gen
tle a* a lamb, will stand without
Ing and any lady can drive me.
travel as well In double an In single
harness. Open to bids from all the
world." \
By HOWARD D. WEAVER.
Haute Claus, In no far hs the Chinese
contingent of Atlautn'a population Is con
cerned,-.will arrive Jtl Atlanta next Satur
day night,. IK'cemWi' '21. nnd the following
day (Sunday) will be CbrlstiunH day for the
Americanized citlseus from the Oriental
empire.
The difference 'll) the dates between the
American and the Chinese Christman la due
to the vagaries of the Chinese calendar,
which none hut n Chhuimun can explain aud
then In such a manner that the average
American la puzzled in trying to keep tne
explanation right aide up In h!s mind.
( uri«tiui(s Is looked upon by the chiuumun
aa a decidedly American iuatlUitlon, aud
although he celebratea the day, he does It
largely out of courtesy to the race upon
whone land he makes his home, and then
1 he celebrates It according to bin own cal
, etidnr nnd without reference to the date
celebrated by his American brother.
With a view to llndlug out In what man
ner the Chinese In Atluntu Intern! to cele
brate Christinas of the present yenr a re-
porter act about to secure Interviews from
two or three typical representatives of the
race. Luckily two of the best Informed nnd
more Intelligent of the Chinese population
were found nt tho same place, u laundry on
West Mitchell street. These were Mini
Woo nnd Chew Wey.
Lum’s Lingo Not Lucid.
Now Lum Is a better linguist than Chew,
but he frequently gels hi* English mixed
with the mother tongue and when talking
with n representative of n different race
cusionally forget* himself nnd rattles off
Chluene lingo by the yard until his listener
flies the distress sign..
Chew makes jm> boq*t of bis English-
speaking qualifications und frankly nuiulta
that he "uo iiuderstilfM" when one uses
words for which he knows no Chluese sym
bol.
But out of the compound of Chinese nnd
English which I.tim nnd Chew dished out
the reporter gained the following Informs-
tloii or the Chinaman'* Idea of Chrintmai
and Incidentally discovered that In the esti
mation of fhe average Chinaman Che Ameri
can's Christum* doesn’t rank very high.
"Wheu do the Chinamen celebrate Chrlst-
mu* thl* yeaf?" wns the first question put
to Lum and Chew.
Christmas December 22.
Both understood the question and there
wns u hurried rousultntion Into which the
reporter wna not allowed to participate.
Then a.- Chinese and ntf American calendar
secured, comparison* were made and
in* on .Sunday, December 22.
When naked If the day was made to come,
„.i Sunday for convenience and In order that
the Chlnatuan would not be forced to lose a
day from his laundry neither Lum nor Chew
would commit himself. . •
"What are you going to do on Christmas
eat a little more tlnm usual, might hare _
meeting of the Chluese: Tongs somewhere
and indulge In a little feast, smoke some
Chinese tobacco and talk.
. "What Is the Chinese word for Christ
mas?" the Chinamen were asked.
It sounded like Lum *nJd "Kwong Tong."
but w’ben the reporter tried to pronounce it
that way Lum shook his head. Then Chew
tried it and gave It up. When asked to
spell It Lum got his book, of synonyms, but
of thing on Christmas' day?" they were
asked.
"Chinaman he no tlnk much about Mali-
can Christmas," answered Lum. "He cele
brate ’cause Melban celebrate, but ho have
no big times. New Year’s day Chlnamau
have biggest time. He get permit from city
to shoot firecracker, one hundred, two,
three hundred. Have heap feast and eat
Chinese cake, cblck«n. turkey, duck and pig
and nil meet aud have big times."
And Lum and Chew laughed a merry-
musical Chinese laugh as they thought ot
thw great times In store for them on Febru
ary l, the date when the Chinese New Year
begins.
Gives Presents, Too.
"What do the Chinamen do when the
American Christmas day comfs?" Lum was
asked.
"O, Chinaman . he give little presents to
his Mellckn friends-like ten. tnharoo and
silk handkerchiefs. That’s all: bo no be?
umlry
me Ilk
llll-l Mlt-.k
the American Christmas, both Lum and
Chew had forgotten, and although they ran*
Mucked the place to find some scrap of In
formation. they had to give It up. They
knew, however, what the custom Is and
when questioned about it, Luin asld:
"Everybody has good time then. Nobodv
do any work—lu*t cat and talk. Itich nun
he give something to poor man nnd wheu
one Chinaman no Imre anything ’notber
Chinaman what have plenty he give hlbi
something nnd make him glad and every-
bodvfeel goodi" V * '
icn Lum rambled off Into a discussion
_ - if; rw
age Chinaman’s Idea of Christmas had
ready been, very clearly defined, the reporter
took hi* departure.
"Christmas do veil* well," called out Lurn
a* the door was about to close, "but Chinn-
man have heap bigger times New Year."
ATLANTA’S GREEK COLONY
CELEBRATES ITS CHRISTMAS,
THIR TEEN DA YS AFTER OURS
WILL DIVE, HANDCUFFED,
INTO RIVER FROM BRIDGE
GEN. CLEMENT A. EVANS.
The veterap soldier tells of a
Christmas In the trenchl*.
Forbes wa* re-elected by a large ma
jority over J. M. Kelly and BJtmuel
Carnes.
How would you like to dive Into the Cbnt
tanoogn river on a day like this? It would
bo bad enough In a bathing suit, wouldn’t
It? But how would you like to take tho
dive, your hands locked In close-fitting hand
cuff*. your feet manacled wltb steel chains?
That Is whnt Hrindatuour proposes to do.
Atlanta police officers say they will watch
him do It Wednesday morning and see that
he la taken ont of tbp wntef—BrimJamoiir
or his corpse. They are rather Indifferent,
for he has already shown them that their
handcuff* and their ateel cage* In the police
station are uot proof against hie art.
Itrludaniour I* nti adept In Ibe science of
Jnll-bresklng. lie grfve his first perform
ance at the Orpheum Monday night, and
showed local detectives that he coaid get
bit wrists out of modem handcuff* ns easily
•* the average man tdlpa out. of bis coat.
He slipped out of a locked steel cell aleo,
but the police were still skeptical.
"It’s nil a trick," they said. v *He has a
fake cell and all that sort or thing. Let
him come down on Decatur street and we’ll
show him a cell he can’t escape from."
Itrliidamour accepted the challenge.
"I’ll get out of any cell you lock me In."
he retorted. "And what’* more. I’ll show
you n stunt that will make you a It np anti
take notice. Listen.
•Take me out to the bridge over the
f’baltiiboochee. I’ll, go Wednckdny morning
" -■-* - -»■ r handcuff* r- ■**—
to the surface with my grists nnd feet out
of the shackles ami bring ’em back to you.
Does that look good, eh?"
HHtMHMHHIHMHIt-IMIHMIHtlHHiaMHHI
| A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
I (and a Postscript.)
By WEX JONES.
Old Scrooge was a hard tnau and too fond
of a dollar to throw It away or give It away
Hffv.ral metnlwrt «f th. .I.partmcot h.vo "> »«>■ »">o might not trrat It *. kind
* to accompany Hrludomour to the ly. Ill* wife knew him too well to ask him
for money, and she lived a dull Ilfe In a
agreed to nccompati.
river nnd watch his attempt. Of course a
boat will be In readiness to pick np fbe
tempt at shaking off the cuff* _____
Hurfnce. It la a Indd feat, this diving
- — . felt
mmmmmmmmmmmmmrnng
to try it.
"It s no
m wlllln^
Brlndninonr made a hit at the Orpbeura
Monday n!;;ht. where he wriggled out of
several pair* of handcuffs placed on blut by
local detective*, and e*e*r J - -
cell Into which he had
Rhabhy little bouse In town, figuring In the
Erie Joke hook. Mrs. Scrooge was really a
frivolous disposition and had a secret long
ing for Mnnbnttnn, Jewels and tine raiment,
but Scrooge was such that she had never
POPE JOACHIM. „
Head of Greek Orthodox cfiurch,
who rules from Constantinople.
gave the hoy a dollar bill.
When Scrooge entered the office he no
ticed for the flrst time that Miss Peoehldow
was really pretty. "Remarkably pretty,
ho said to himself, "and the boat stenogra
pher 1 ever hnd.”
"Mlse Penchblow.” he called, "and the
stenographer wondered what had gone
wrong.
"You’re bad a bard year's work," he
said, "and you’re the best stenographer I
ever knew. 1 wish you'd take this $50
und two weeks’ vacation.’
You should hare seen bo
Peacbblow blushed. But she
and t»eat It rapidly, almost as it sue reareu
her luck might change. Scrooge grew glow
ler than ever.
“Speckle," he cried, thrusting another
hill Into the hand of the damfoondc<1 clerk,
"take this. And if you show up la this
pfflce before New xesr’a I’ll—111 punch
four bend." S'peokle wns even more con-
,'nsed tbnn Ml** Peacbblow. Rut be took
the bill and bent (t rapidly.
"Tommy, bere’e ten dollars. Have a goo
time am! 1 wish you a merry Christmas.'
You should bare seen Tommy dlnappenr.
thnt was about a* big as
trkled like 8,000,000 combo*.
For you, my dear," said Hcrooge when
be got home.
"Ooh!" said Mra. Scrooge.
And she gave Hcrooge a kiss. And
Scrooge felt *o happy.
"And 1 think we'll get n bouse In New
York after Christmas.” he said. And you
d.,«l .ran to hint for . tlollnr upon »hl.'h I .'hould lire ^n thr look in jira. AZofr.
to frivol. I eye*.
In Ms office Scrooge was regarded by his "I *»«v*r knew what the Christmas spirit
employees with shout as much affection as j m Wf tSTRU**,<£■£ H ^ tn ° KP ‘
the Russian for the official at the other * And he Just glowed.
. 3« night. In which
fnffTlJh’* ml" wh J* wButiSh* nSd * ln lfie was a wonder. Speckle,
furnish the lmx gnd who i will stand byjigd t B |n,Q B gh j 1P j„ it adored M!m Peacbblow,
% h 1 assistance In Bating r ; V#D a look |u b *r airectlon
out of ir. i when his Imw* waa around, ft wnsn't a
{very pleasant office, but Scrooge’s work
__ Ikl _ . was done in a remarkably speedy and effi-
PILES CURED IN 6 TO 14 DAYS. caclous manner.
PAZO OINTMENT fa guaranteed to I
cure any case of Itchinr, Blind, Bleed-1 It was a couple of days before Christmas
. *—»—«— .that Scrooge underwent bis sudden aud
I marvelous change. I don’t know Just what
J alters Scrooges’ characters, but I think this
’Scrooge had had a couple of unaccustomed
or money refunded. 50c.
OPERA GLASSES.
Finest line, and best prices at Jno. L.
at 11 o'clock. Lock your handcuffs on ray Fiueat une ana oest Prices at jbo. l
wrists, your'shackles on my ankles. I'll Moore A Sons, 4 2 N. Broad St., Pru
diva off the bridge that way, and I'll come dentlal building,
T*. 8.—The Scrooges moved. And of
course Mrs. Scrooge couldn't wear anything
but the Hws.fgcrest clothes wltb such a dia
mond, and. having found her courage, she
— _,Jag
ust did work old Scrooge
irini
it
from jkmhIIc pups i
the office, it’s the )
'T.7of
I acted In town.
think
ssso-
any
home early and spurn* work. Speckle
a bit afraid of the old mun and I l
he’s robbing him. Scrooge’s; hu*tne«* i
elate doesn't call him "Old Granite"
more, but "Easy Murk',’’ and they do him
for hs much ns they can. I expect to see tl
bankruptcy note soy day.
small Im>», lagging under r " -
te of selling postals, re- . __ _ . _ .
1 ^JuiraJd a i A PLEASANT SMOKER
•lightly ringed with |EEf! Medicated Cigarette*—Cigar and
sol, soft U." A»d ha’Drug Stores 5c.
If yon bad to spend forty days In fasting
-diving on nothing but vegetables, a few
oysters, crabs, shrimp, etc.—before you felt
Justified In celebrating .tho Christinas bol).
days according to your religious belief^
wouldn't you feel like chucking the whoh*
thing overboard and discarding all kinds of
celebration?
Well, that is the kind of proposition the
Greek, far from his beloved Athens, Is up
against In Atlnntn, and, as to that matter,
any section of the world In which the
Christinas holiday* happen to find him. For
the orthodox Greek npproaehi-i the saore.l
holiday* not like the modern American
with much Joillflcntlon, shooting of fire
cracker*. loud and bibulous conversation
moat memorable event
mau.
In nddltlon to strict adherence to the rule
..mt he shall not eat any
uml which walk* upon tn
the nJr during forty i* —
mas, the Greek on I
tnke the holy communion, and .. ...
anything tn his Ilfe that should not be there
he must enufess It to the priest and bs
cl caused.
Thirteen Days Lata.
The Grecian Christinas, according to the
Gregorian calendar, comes exactly thirteen
day* after tbedayjrelehrated by the Ameri
can people, or on January 7.
At 12 o'clock nil the night of the day pre
ceding the Grecian Christman nil the people
are expected to assemble st tbs churohi-v
where religious service* are conducted hv
the priests until the hour of 6 o'clock In
the morning. After five hours of religion*
worship they return to their homes pre-
pared to celebrate the day In proper style.
The celebration of Chrlstmn* day among
the Greeks, both In America, nnd tn thdr
native land, differs little from the celebra
tion In which the American indulge*. There
Is nn exchange of presents, considerable
feasting lifter the long fast of forty days,
nnd a general abandonment to the oppor
tunity of haring a good time. The Greek
recognize* no Hanta Claus, although the lit-
tie children are given- presents in propor
tion to the ability fo the parent from a
financial standpoint.
To the Greek In Atlanta the Christmas
of the Americans means nothing at all ex
cept perhaps a possible Increase In busi
ness.
Greek Colony In Atlanta, 'l
"We have no celebration whatever on
that day," said Peter Louis, a Greek wh.»
has made his home In Atlanta for several
years. "My people celebrate Christmas
thirteen days after the Americans, and
while we may giro presents to our Atneri
cau friends on that day, It means nothing
to us as a race.
"On our Christmas day wc also give pres
ents to each other and spend the day In vis
iting our friends. In Atlantn Cbristnins
does not meau much to the Geek because
the community Is not large enough. It U
customary for us to close up our places of
business and have a good time, but here w*
can not do It because there are not enough
of us. In the old country they havo very
good times."
The Greeks In Atlanta, however, wtU
carry out their accustomed religious pro-
gram, the directions for which they receive
from Pope Joachim, head of the Grecian
orthodox church, located at Constantinople.
As Is characteristic of most foreign races,
New Year's day Is tho greatest holidav
among the Greeks, the New Year begin
ning seven days after their Christmas. In
the old country It Is characterized by much
hilarity and both old and yoang alike give
"^tneelres to pleasure.
Nobody works on that day," said Patar
Louis, "but everybody takes a day off and
* * ss— It is a superstition *
On l _ . K __
nnd each family makes a big cake In which
pieces of silver are placed. The one who
gets the piece of sliver Is considered lucky
and he will hare good fortune during the
year."
A FortunaU Texan.
Mr. E. W. Goodloe, of 107 St. Louhs
stcoaL Dallas, Tex., f>ays: "In tha pstst
ritt I hare become acquainted with
Dr.ttTa New Life Pills, and no laxa
tive t aver before tried so effectually
dispose* of malaria and biliousness."
*?hey don't grind nor gripe. He, at all
dr»’g stores.