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THE COVINGTON NEWS
BELMONT DENNIS
Editor and Publisher
LEO S, MALLARD
Assistant to Publisher
OFFICAL ORGAN OF
NEWTON COUNTY
AND THE
CITY OF COVINGTON
CHRISTMAS IS CHRIST
Throughout today, just outside
a little town, about the size of
Covington, in Palestine, Chris~
tians of all Faiths are holding
services in the Field of the Shep
herds, where the angel appeared
some 2,000 years ago to those,
‘“‘Keeping watch over their flock
by night,”’ bringing the Good
tidings of Great Joy - ‘“‘For unto
you is born this day, in the city
of David, a Saviour, which is
Christ the Lord’’,
In the afternoon, a long pro
cession of pilgrims from all over
the world, led by church digni
taries, will wind its way through
the narrow streets of Bethlehem,
They will carry a small gilded
wicker cradle, holding a wax
figure of the Baby Jesus to the
Church of the Nativity; a magni
ficent structure built by Constan
tine in 327 A.D,, on the spot
where the Saviour was born in a
cave-stable,
Only a portion of the stone
entrance remains of the original
stable door, Significantly, no
worshipper can walk through
the Door of Humility with un
bowed head; for it is only four
feet high.
From all faiths and nations,
Christians will worshipinacere~
mony which includes praises,
gratitude, and reverent, joyous
singing, in celebration of our
Lord’s birth, The ceremony
comes to an end at midnight,
when the Patriarch of Jerusalem
gently lays the image of the Christ
Child in the manger of the Grotto
of the Nativity, under the church.
But, Christmas will not end
tonight, any more than it ended
with the birthday of Christ, the
Personification of Ged’s love for
us, in giving us His Only Begotten
Son that we might have Eternal
Life. For the Spiritof Love, with
which He embues those who follow
Him, is as real and effective in
the hearts of men today, as it
was 2,000 years ago. And, the
Joy which He brought into the
world, still echoes in the souls
of Christians.
Time cannot dim the Joy of
Christmas, for it is Eternal,
It cannot be killed by physical
or mental suffering and hard
ships, for it is a joy of the soul,
and the soul cannot die, Poverty
cannot obscure its joy, for it is
not bought with material wealth,
The world itself cannot over
shadow the Joy of Christmas,
for it is the soul’s one-ness with
its Creator, Who overcame the
world,
When the Christmas Spirit
truly reigns in the hearts of all
mankind, and supplants greed,
pride, deceit, and those evils
which separate us from God;
then we shall know the ‘‘Peace
that passeth understanding’.
Then only will the world be
able to walk in the Light, which
first illumined the humble stable,
in the little town of Bethlehem,
For Christmas is Christ,
Food —
Instrument of Peace
Our stubborn farm problems
are minor, compared with those
of the Communists, Whereas
crop failures have shaken the
Communist hierarchy and lead
to the downfall of Khrushchev,
US productivity could be one of
our most important defense wea
pons.
The grim reality is that more
than 1.5 billion people suffer from
malnutrition. Population is in
creasing at the rate of 115 mil
lion a year, while deaths (even
those from hunger) remove but
58 million, Fastest growthrates
are foundin ‘‘deficit’’ food areas
in Asia, Africa, Latin America,
Nowhere in the world, butin North
merica, is the rise in food
fioductlon keeping ahead of the
opulation explosion. And here,
(Best Coverage; News, Pictures, and Features)
NATIONAL L Q'lll.
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Single COPIeS e 10¢
Four Months ———————r $2.20
Eight Months e $3.40
One Year $4.00
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Plus 3% Sales Tax
MABEL SESSIONS DENNIS
Assoclate Editor
MARY SESSIONS MALLARD
Assoclate Editor
Entered at the Post Office
at Covington, Georgla, as
mail matter of the Second
Class.
we are embarrassed over whatto
do with too much food and fiber!
Robert C, Liebenow, president
of the Chicago Board of Trade,
says that American food exports
should be used as ‘‘effective
instruments of foreign policy”
in fighting Communism, He be
lieves that such shipments should
be paid for out of foreign aid
and national defense appropria
tions rather than farm aid funds,
To be effective, Mr, Liebenow
says such a farm policy should
(1) place increasing emphasis on
agricultural exports as a major
instrument of foreign policy; (2)
assist countries outside the Iron
Curtain to develop modern and
efficient agricultural production
systems; (3) allocate Federal
costs of farm programs more
equitably, with food shipped a
broad as foreign aid appropri
ated and paid for as foreign aid;
and (4) conduct a study to con
gider establishment of food
reserves which would be adequate
to meet drought or other natural
calamity needs, or war require
ments, here or in other coun
tries outside the Communist bloc.
This, he asserts, is the way
to peace,
No Political Pills
The warning of inflationahead,
to be followed by a slow-down
in business (to employ a re
latively pleasant term for it)
is no news. But what is note
worthy at this writing is the fact
that two of our best-known econo
mists - one who won his spurs
‘4n the market place, and the
other at the feet of savants and
subsequently at the left hand of
Administration leaders - agree
on this forecast of boom=-and
bust for 1965 if the economy is
allowed to drift,
Wwilliam McChesney Martin,
the former ¢‘boy-wonderof Wall
Street’’ who is now chairman of
the Federal Reserve Board, and
Dr. Walter W, Heller, who has
just retired as the top Presi
dential economic advisor, both
see inflationary pressures in the
liberality of the three-year con
tracts just signed by the auto
mobile industry., And Dr. Heller
is fearful also that uniondemands
on the steel industry may be
tougher than anticipated and set
off a spiralling price rise -
first in steel and subsequently
in all the products requiring
.
But the similarity in the Mar
tin-Heller economic forecast
ends at consideration of what
to do preventively, Characteris=-
tically, Dr. Heller would depend
on the Administration’s ‘‘wage
guideposts’’ intended to keep
labor contract gains in harmony
with the national increase in
productivity - pegged at 3.2 per
cent annually, and overridden in
the automobile settlement - and
on Administration manipulation
of tax-cutting.
Mr, Martin would employ the
power of the Federal Reserve
System (which, incidentally is
not a Government institution) to
control credit and the supply
of money. That is, he would
check inflation before it got
started by tightening the reins
on both - then easing these re
strictions if and when there are
indications of the expected down
ward reaction,
Fortunately, there is reason
to hope that the judgment of the
seasoned pros may prevail, since
Dr. Heller (at least) will no
longer be tugging at the Presi
dential sleeve,
LAKE WALES, FLA, NEWS:
‘“‘Freedom of the press, if it is
to live, will serve the interests
of the people.”’
(Christmas Greetings
: OUR WEEKLY LESSON FOR i
' SUNDAY SCHOOL
THE VISIT OF THE
WISE MEN
Devotional Reading: Isalah
60:1-6,
Memory Selection; Arise,
shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has
risen upon you.
And natfons shall come to your
light, and kings to the bright
ness of your rising. Isalah
60:1' 30
Intermediate « Senlor Topic;
Wise Men Come to Jesus.
Young People - Adult Topic:
Wise Men Come to Jesus,
Christmas would indeed lack
much of the appeal it now has
were it not for the beautiful story
of the coming of the wise men.
These men were astrologers,
probably from Persia. There
was no scientific astronomy until
Galileo at the beginning of the
seventeenth century invented the
telescope. Before that most
great minds interested in the
stars were what we would call
astrologers. The Greeks rea
soned about the heavenly bodies,
but they were able to come to
only a few conclusions because of
their lack of equipment. The
astrologers, on the other hand,
busied themselves chiefly in spe
culating on the effect which the
positions of the stars had on
planets, nations, and individuals.
There were good and bad among
the astrologers. Acts 8:9-24;
13:6 tell of two characters,
“sorcerers,” probably including
in their bag of tricks many
speculations about the relation of
people to the stars.
It is a wonderful acknowledg
ment of the significance of Jesus
that these wise men journeyed
hundreds of miles in search of
what they believed to be a hea
venly king.
«“Now when Jesus was born in
Bethlehem of Judaea in the days
of Herod the king, behold, there
came wise men from the east
to Jerusalem, saying, Where is
he that is born King of the Jews?
for we have seen his star in the
east, and are come to worship
him.”’
The word Bethlehem means
«thouse of bread.” We are re
minded that when Jesus came to
years of maturity he spoke of
himself as the bread of life
(John 6:35).
In the town associated with
the word ¢‘‘bread’’ Jesus, the
bread of life, was born.
These wise men were not Jews,
which impresses us with the
realization that Jesus Christ is
Saviour of the world. He came
to save Jew and Gentile from
their sins. Most of the Jews
‘rejected him, but his church has
swept across the non=-Jewish
world, until today millions of
people now claim allegiance to
him and his teachings.
Note that these men who came
to pay Jesus homage were called
«wise men.” Christian truth
does not originate in wisdom but
in revelation. However, if Chris
tian truth had not been able
through the ages to stand the test
of reason, it would have dis
appeared. There are many things
about the Christian gospel so
simple that a child can under
stand them, but there are others
so deep that the most erudite
thologians have never been able
to interpret them.
Jesus Christ was a man like
ourselves, but Jesus Christ was
also the Son of God. Our natures
are intricate and beyond our un
derstanding. The nature of Christ
far transcends our reasoning and
our philosophy. We accept him
and his teachings on faith, but
when we subject them to criti
cal analysis they grow more
wonderful with the passing years.
These wise men came out of
the East. In other words, a
new era was dawning. There is
very little in the historical ma=-
terial of that era which gives us
any idea of Jesus and his mi
nistry. He was merely ateacher
and a wonder-worker among a
despised people. When he was
cricified, he was only another
condemned man. Suchwouldhave
been the assumption of the non=-
Jewish world if they had known
anything about Jesus. But there
were wise men from the East
who saw in his coming some=-
thing of more significance.
¢When Herod the king had
heard these things, he was trou
bled, and all Jerusalem with
him.”
It would be hard to find on
the pages of history a more
terrible monster than Herod. He
was a member of a monster
family. In fact, Herod was not
a Jew at all but an Edomite,
decendant not of Jacob but of his
brother Esau. The Romans,
doubtless unable to distinguish
between Oriental peoples, lumped
them all together and considered
Herod Antipater (who some years
before Christ’s birth had per
suaded the Roman authorities into
making him king) just as good
a king for these miserable Jews
as anyone else.
The Herod under whom Jesus
was born is known in history as
Herod the Great. His life was
an unthinkable mass of corrup
tion and crime. He had ten
wives from first to last. One
of his great crimes was the kil
ling of his wife Marianne. He
slew several of his sons be
cause he suspected them of plot=-
ting against his life. He it was
who ordered the slaughter of the
infants who had been born in
Bethlehem about the same time
as Jesus. With his last breath.
he ordered the principal Jews
to be shut up in the circus at
Jericho and put to death. The
THE COVINGTON NEWS
death of this Herod was every=-
where celebrated as relief from
insane cruelty.
We can see, therefore, why
Herod was troubled whenhe heard
that another personhadbeenborn
{n Bethlehem under the prophecy
that he would become King of
the Jews. His counselors in
formed him that the Messiah
(or Christ) would be bornin Beth
lehem of Judaea. Then with
fawning hypocisy Herod called
the wise men to him and urged
them to go to Bethlehem “and
search diligently for the young
child; and when ye have found
him,” sald the murderous king,
«bring me word again, that I
may come and worship him also.”
A king was indeed to be born.
A king indeed was born. The
multitude recognized Jesus as
king, and just before his arrest
they had welcomedhim into Jeru
salem and they had ‘‘spread their
garments in the way: others
cut downbranches from the trees,
and strawed them in the way”’
(Matthew 21:8-11; Mark 11:7-10;
John 12:12-16).
This was only a weak human
gesture acknowledging Jesus,
royal state. He who ascended
into .heaven and was seated at
the right hand of God became in
truth the Heavenly King.
Observe the contrast between
the two kings—Herod and Jesus.
Os all the world’s evil kings,
few have been as bad as Herod.
He was a man in whom there
appeared to have been no virtue
whatsoever and whose life was
characterized by a bloodthirsty
recklessness which led him to
slay without mercy the members
of his own family. Jesus, on the
other hand, came to establish an
invisible kingdom. It existed then
and it exists today in the hearts
of men. We believe that it will
come to its full fruition whenour
Lord again returns to the world.
Herod and Christ represented
the ultimate extremes in mora
lity. Herod was as bad as the
evilest of evil could make a
man. Jesus was perfect. Herod’s
kingdom was soon to be swept
off the earth. Christ’s kingdom
is an everlasting kingdom.
Let us never forget that our
Lord’s first objective appears
to have been the establishing of
the kingdom of God on earth.
He taught, healed, and in a mul
titude of ways went about doing
good. But the main objective of
his coming appears to have been
to establish the kingdom of God
upon the earth, a kingdom made
up of those whose sins are for
given and whose lives are brought
into conformity with the purposes
of Almighty God.
What was the star of ‘q‘emle
hem? e e
The philosopher Kepler, who
lived about A.D, 1600, believed
that the star of Bethlehem was
the result of a conjunction of
the planets Jupiter and Saturn.
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To our many friends, both old and new, we wish the joys of the season in
fullest measure. May your holidays sparkle with the merriment of good times
and good cheer, and glow with the radiance of warm friendships, family and
home,
(We will be closed Friday, Dec. 25th, and open Saturday, Dec. 26th at regular hours)
(Our Advertisers Are Assured of Best Results)
Kepler also held that this cone
junction was followed by the
appearance of ‘‘a remarkable
colored evanescent star” (one
which tended to vanish or pass
away like vapor). And this he
considered the true star of Beth
lehem.
Most Christian believers hold
that the star of Bethlehem was a
supernatural sign marking the
birth of Jesus and therefore is
beyond natural exvlanation.
The star of Bethlehem will
undoubtedly continue to bring a
joytul message to a world often
sad and despairing. It Is in
teresting that the sign of our
Lord’s coming appeared in the
sky. Men raise their eyes to
heaven whence comes their help.
Furthermore, this star was not
a natural phenomenon but some
thing sent by God to catch the
eye of non-Jewish wise men and
to send them in search of him
who was born King of the Jews.
The star went before the wise
men ‘#ill it came and stood
over where the young child was.
When they saw the star, they
rejoiced with exceeding great
joy.”
Let our minds be filled with
the realization that Christian
faith and commitment bring joy
to the world and to believing
individuals. We sometimes lose
hope as we look upon the dis
ordered affairs of men. Crime
is rampant. There has never
been a sinless human being ex=
cepting Jesus Christ himself.
The nations of the world eye one
another suspiciously and some of
them are apparently ready to
plunge humanity into a holocaust
of destruction. When we look
into our own hearts we see con=
ditions which can only fillus with
sadness. We have so often done
those things which we ought not
to have done and left undone things
which were our manifest duty.
We are filled with a shocking
sense of disappointment as we
view the moral conditions of our
own lives. This does not ne
cessarily mean that we are
thieves, murderers, adulterers,
or betrayers. It simply means
that there is a weakness in the
fabric of our being of which we
and countless others are con
scious. Our only hope is in that
salvation which God of his own
free grace will give us.
The star of Bethlehem at the
beginning of our Lord’s life lif
ted men’s eyes toward heaven.
If the star of Bethlehem ful
fills its divine mission, it should
hover over our heads through
out the whole of the year and
throughout our lives. It is the
sign and seal of that divine help
without which our lives are with
out meaning and our souls are
lost.
i
According to the Southern Pine
Association, many decqrative
uses of lumberereate comifort -
as well as a cheery appearance.
Wood floors, for example, pro=
vide resiliency and easy walking.
The insulation value of exterior
wood siding makes a home war=
mer in winter, cooler in summer.
Tn Reading
By J. Shelby Cook, Pastor
Loganville and Walnut Grove
Methodist Churches,
CANDLE, STAR AND CHRIST
MAS TREE by Charles Allen
and Charles L, Wallis, Flem=
;r;c H. Revell Company, ‘49.(».
(One of the authors, Dr, Char~
les Allen, is remembered as a
former pastor of Grace Metho~-
dist Church in Atlanta.)
Tenderly, this Christmas, we
will decorate our Christmas
trees, hang wreaths onour doors,
light the candles in our homes,
and of course, we will take our
children to see Santa Claus, Al
so, we will attend the services
at our churches,
How long has it been since
you asked yourself, ‘“Why do
I do these things at Christmas?’’
How did it all start? Do these
things have any real meaning for
me today? What spiritual signi
ficance, for example, does Santa
Claus have?
For the person who is ser=
fously seeking an insight into
the real meaning of Christmas,
this volume will assist in the
quest, Carefully, the authors
have selected those things which
are symbolic of Christmas: the
wreath, the candles, the tree, the
star, gifts, mistletoe, cards, the
holly, Santa Claus, and the crib,
“The Advent Wreath , .. is
a contributionfrom the Lutherans
of Germany.” This comes to
us from the sixteenth century,
¢ , .The circular shape of the
wreath has long symbolized both
the love of God, which is with
out beginning or ending, and the
eternal joys of heaven,” ¢‘The
wreaths on our doors at Christ=
mas should remind us that the
crown of life was won for us by
Christ in His victory over sin
and death,”’
Touchingly, the story of the
poinsettia is related, It is this
plant of immense beauty which
symbolizes the shining star that
directed the steps of the Wise
Men, We are told that ‘‘poin
settias are named for the Hon,
Joel Roberts Poinsett, one time
congressman and a member of
President Van Buren’s Cabinet.
He served, for a time, as our
Minister in Mexico,”” Mr, Poin
sett returned to his home in South
Carolina, and brought with him
the poinsettias, a plant to which
he was attracted in Mexico, Be=-
cause of his interest in this
plant, and his patience in culti=
vating it, our/ country has been
blessed. Through this plant, w&
are reminded of the star of
Bethlehem, ¢‘Stars speak of other
worlds . . . they are constant
and dependable . . .”
Legend tells us that it was
Martin Luther, who more than
Thursday, December 24, 1064
four hundred years ago, took a
small tree Into his home on
Christmas Eve, ‘On its bran.
ches he placed lighted candles so
that both young and old might
know something of the beauty of
stars shining through the bran.
ches of trees.” In the seven
teenth century, German immig.
rants brought the custom to their
new American homes in western
Pennsylvania, So, the custom
spread, Evergreen represented,
to our European ancestors,”, ,
the resurrection and immorta
lity.”
Naturally, a basic part of
Christmas is gifts. Any child
can tell us that gifts just auto.
matically go with the beautiful
tree. Even now, children are
writing their letters to Santa
Claus, telling him exactly what
they want this year. ‘‘ln some
lands it is the Christ Child who
is believed to distribute giftsand
blessings, although the name Kris
Kringle, a popular variation of
the German word ‘‘Christ Kin
del’’ =~ which means ‘Christ
Child’ =~ is now commonly asso=
clated with Santa Claus.” The
story of St. Nicholas, the fourth
century bishop of Myra in Asia
Minor lis told with meaningful
reverence,
This Christmas, as we parti
cipate in the customs and tra
ditions, let us seek the spiritual
insight so that we might exper
ience the rich and true meaning
of Christmas.
Top Grade Yellow
Poplar Lumber
Is Disappearing
MACON—Yellow poplar, one
of Georgia’s higher quality and
most valuable hardwoods, lis fast
becoming culled from our land
scape.
Georgia Forestry Commission:
Director Ray Shirley states that
utilization and mortality are con
suming more than 154 million
board feet annually. The growth:
rate is only 68 percent of this
amount based on the U,S, Forest.
Service forest survey of several
years ago. :
The survey indicates that there
are 1.6 billion board feet of
yellow poplar growing in the
state. However, only some 162"
million board feet are in the top
grade.
Shirley pointed that yellow:
poplar is one of the most sought
after and widely used hardwoods
in the manfuacture of veneer,
boxes, crates, plywood and fur
niture stock. ;