The Mexia Weekly Herald (Mexia, Tex.), Vol. 12, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 28, 1911 Page: 2 of 8
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7>y.
A FEDERAL HEALTH BOARD.
WM
I
M"'
THE HERALD
PuMUhed every Thursday.
N. P. HUliX. Editor and Proprietor.
MBXIA,
ENVIED POWERS OF COURTS.
Some workiuan engngad In hanging
fct Iron door on the Planters hotol re-
ctntly disturbed the attention or couit
and Jury across the way and therefore
the orderly scd equltablo process of
the law In Judgu Mueuch's court. A
deputy sheriff was ssot with a mes-
•age to them to delist Unaware that
the court In the people of -*ke state ol
Missouri, the workmeu replted to the
•mlaary In a light and gamesome man-
Mr, «ays the St. Loula Republic. Re-
sult: An arrest for contempt, the
hasty summoning of the contractor
and the releaie of hie minions upou
payment of the costs of tho arrest.
The private cltlten, on reading this,
may wen sign ror tne powers ne un-
wittingly delegated when courts wer«
constituted Noise Is the bane of civ-
ilisation. The savage trod with moo
caslned foot upon a carpet of leaves
in the forest or the grass of the prai-
rie. Civilization means crowding. It
rears walls and necessitates pave-
ments. The latter make noise aud the
former echo It In an age when en-
gineering runs to specialties, why not
the antlnolse engineerT Ho might be-
gin with the auto siren and the street
car gong and progress slowly toward
the pneumatic riveter, saving for his
matured powers the peripatetio vege-
table man and the talking machine
•with the green horn In the small flat
on the aide street.
Sometimes it happens that men who
have smoked to a good old age, ab-
jure the weed before they die, as re-
cently did D. K. Pearsons, the Chicago
philanthropist, actuated by the belief,
perhaps, that it has been bo pleasant
to them that it must ba harmful. Oth-
ers refuse to believe that only the dis-
agreeable things of the world are in-
tended for human use, and are con-
vinced that they have been Indebt-
ed to tobacco for Innocent enjoyment.
This was the case with Abraham
Isaacs, who died in San Francisco at
the age of one hundred and six, and
whose last words ^ere: "God has been
good to me and allotted me a long life.
Let me die smoking."
The health commissioner of Chicago
would like to abolish the gongs on am-
bulances, saying that they are nuis-
ances and incentives to violation of the
speed ordinance. A gong has no place
on an ambulance for the sick, he de-
clares, and there is no sense in' having
to rouse the entire community when
going after a patient. All of which in-
dicates that the commissioner has a
level head. He might have added that
not once in a thousand times is it nec-
essary to exercise frantic haste in con-
veying tho patient to the hospital, the
ailing occupant of the vehicle being
the better in 999 cases for a moderate
pace.
While the subject of conservation is
under discussion stress may well be
laid on the necessity of conservation
of cities against the risk of destruc-
tion by fire. The suggestions made
by Franklin H. Wentworth of Boston
at the recent Fire Protection con-
gress in St Paul favor non-combus-
tible window frames and wired glass
in all commercial, factory and office
buildings, and the general installation
of automatic sprinkler systems. It
would be well, too, if all city roofs
were covered with incombustible ma-
terial, eliminating the dangerous
-wooden shingles.
There will be, it Is announced, no
attempt this year to cross the Atlan-
tic ocean. In view of ail the fatalities
which have happened in the attempted
'Conquest of the air, It, is reassuring
to note an Instance in which prudence
Is by no means the pusillanimous vlr-
ture which some rash ones hold it
On thp contrary,; courage.could accom-
plish more if it took the hard common
aense plan, as has been done In this
case, of having prudence for a run-
ning iftat# The two are Hot at all In-
compatible.- +••
English sparrows in Massachusetts
are accused of being firebugs by car-
rying matches to their nests. If.the
little birds could-:speak, the'y might
r«tort on the carelessness: of bumans
in throwing matches around and then
devoting time, attention and energy
to the great question of fire preven-
tion. Being sparrows only, however,
they simply twitter and go on picking
up matches where the humans throw
ithem. • a
An amateur actor was killed at a re-
hearsal by a revolver shot A veteran
igulde of the deer woods should have
been the stage manager.
I Doubtless the satisfaction of the
man who flew from coast to coast is
equal to that of the man who swam
the English channel.
Down east the very latest 1st the
'Intuitive kiss." That, we presume,
(When you don't ask her first.
Ujw<3mstotiu5
mc a rhyme of
Christmas —
Sind me a jovial sondr—
And though it is filled with
laughter.
Let it be pure and strong
ifnd of the hearts brimmed over
with the story of the day—
Of the echo of childish voices
That will not die awaY.^-
Of the blare of the tasseled budle.
And the timeless clatter and Deat
Of the drum that throbs to muster
Squadrons of scampering feet.
But.O.let your voice fill fainter.
Till, blent with a minor tone,
"tou temper your song with the beauty
Of the pity Christ hath shown,
And sind one verse for the voiceless;
And yet, ere the songf be done,
Averse for the ears that hear not,
And a verse for the sightless one.
For though it be time for singing
A merry Christmas j^lee.
Let a low, sweetvoice of pathos
Run through the melody.
hiiifVI >Mt TV# ptMj.Mitnll C«
JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY.
Clttltlmt an!
m
QmniLvm
!K V .
r
horrid habit that our Jolly old St. Nick
would scorn. He generally leaves In
the stockings a bunch of switches in
case they should be needed before his
next call.
HE little folks of all the
world do not keep Christmas
as the children of this coun-
try do. In fact each land has its own
peculiar ways, and our people, being
drawn originally from almost every
clime, have Introduced into our cele-
bration of the day a bit of the Christ-
mas features brought from mother
countries. We have the Dutch Santa
Claus, the German Christmas tree, the
English plum pudding and cardls and
our own peculiarly lavish gift mak-
ing.
The boys and girls of far distant
countries are spending the day in such
different, ways that It may prove of in-
terest to young and old to hear some-
thing of the distinctive Christmas cus-
toms.
HE Servian children have a
strange custom. On Christ-
mas Eve the father of the
family goes to the wood and cuts a
straight young oak, which he drags
into the room where the family awaits
him, saying as he-does so: "Good even-
ing and a merry Christmas!"
Then the children shout back: "May
God grant both to thee and mayst thou
have riches and honor."
With this they shower their father
with corn and the tree is thrown on
the fire to hum until Christmas morn-
ing, when It is greeted with pistol
shots.
HE English Christmas is not
unlike ours, save that we do
not have their pretty cus-
tom of "bringing In the yule." In al-
most every family in England the boys
and girls gather about the burning
log on Christmas eve to sing carols
and tell Christmas legends. Often the
children who live in the country as-
sist at the dragging in of the huge
log.
An English child would not feel it
was Christmas if there was not a bit
of mistletoe hanging in the hall, under
which the unwary are kissed soundly.
Little and big, eat the. rich and blazing
plum pudding, and all Join in the sing-
ing of Christmas carols and church-
going. ' i
HRISTMAS in Holland is the
gala day of the year for the
children. They have a pretty
custom, of ushering it in. Just at
midnight on, Christmas eve, the men
and' boys* dressed In fancy costume,
march through the streets in long pro-
cession, holding aloft a brilliantly
lighted star, as they ch^nt the "Gloria
in E*celsis." The'llttlis girls1 clad^in
white stabd at th« windows and bow
'to the star as it passes.
ERHAPS the finest Christ,
mas-of all, if not the most
lavish, is spent by the chil-
dren of Germany. It combines th#-;
Christ child—which we Americans are
prone to forget—and Santa Claus.
The whole day is full of Cheer; fam-
ilies feast and go to church; pres-
eritB' are simple, but in every home is
a blazing tree hung with cakes, color-
ed candles and gifts. It is a pretty
sight to see the children march in to
see their Tr^e, singing as they go, "O,
Ta.nnen Baum" (O, Fir Tree), to the
air of "Maryland, My Maryland."
In many German towns Just as the
bells,Ting, to asher .in Christmas,
every window. lp every House'.is quick-
ly lighted, Tfien the ChiMreii sxe'r.p
bright'and early, .eteo .the tiny babies,
tQ4?o to six o'clock church. Often each
child bears a candle to illuminate the
"church."'
Thfe German Krlss Klngle has one
HE French children rarely
have a tree. Sometimes they
hang up slippers to be filled,
Instead of stockings, and there la
great chanting of "Noel, Noel," th«
Christmas song.
Like the Scandinavian children, lit-
tle French boys and girls never forget
the birds, but instead of placing
sheaves of grain on long poles, they
are hung along the eaves of the
houses.
HE children of Belgium or
Christmas Eve are dressed
in gay colors and form a pro
cession, which marches through th«
streets, led by an orchestra and sing-
ing carols. Each child holds aloft eith-
er a Christchild in a manger or a cru-
cifix.
GUjristuutH Utue
atti* Malmtta
Wonderful Man.
D«cem—Ginks had the most wonder-
ful control of his features of any man
I ever knew.
Burr—1 understand he was a mar-
vel.
Decern—He was. Why, I've even
seen that man look pleased when he
saw what his wife had bought him
for Christmas.
- In Advance.
Mrs. Skinflint—Oh, John! Mary,
the parlor maid, has just swallowed a
quarter! What ever shall we do?
'Old Skinflint—Do? Well, I suppose
we'd better let her keep It She'd
have expected a Christmas present,
anyhow!
Once Enough.
"Christmas comes but once a year,"
said the cheer/ citizen.
"No use in its coming twice a yea/,"
said the morose person. "Must give
a man a chance to save a little money
before h© can spend it!"
Too Late.
Highwayman—Halt! Your money or
your life!
Victim—It's no go, Btranger. My
wife's in the same line of business al-
ways at Christmas time, and she's Just
finished with me.
Two Kinds.
There are friends and Christmas
tree friends. The latter take all the
presents they can get and present
you with beautiful boughs.
A MYSTERY.
MERICAN mothers find on«
day of Christmas merrymak
V T ing distracting enough for
their children, how would they like to
live in Russia, where work is often
suspended for a fortnight, while all the
people keep holiday.
Even the poorest peasant has a tree
and it is harvest time for beggars, for
no one will refuse hhtt Anything.
In Bome of the country districts the
boys dress as anlmals^and led by oth-
er boys as keepers, march' through the
streets headed by a band of boys mak-
ing dreadful music w.ith harsh sound-
ing instruments. These prossssiqnjB go
from door to door, pound until thet'are
admitted, aiid all given ftJodaml drink,
and two small pieces of money.
All over Scandinavia a week is given
to merrymaking. Every One goeS tb six
P'jclock church on the dark Christmas
morning, and in . the evening, every
home in the land is illuminated. „They
have wonderful trees, around "VhicSh
grown people and children dance-An(K
sing. The Scandinavian child ,1s very
sood to the poor oh Chrjstmas and
takes gifts and food to'poor families.
:.«■ '■ .. -v
Bulgarian "Koleda.'?
In Bulgaria "Koleda," as Christians
is called, is marked with many quaint
ceremonies. One is called "Koledars,"
the name given to a band of boys,
mostly, who go about proclaiming that
the season of fasting Is over, and her-
alding a reign of feasting and merri-
ment. Each Koleda party numbers
seven—the Old Man, the Old Woman,
the Crumb Picker (who collects tho
presents and money, while the Old
Man and Old Woman play the fool),
and Four Singers, who carol out the
Christmas songs. The attire of the
Koledars Is indst'grotesque, and their
procession Is. joined by a huge crowd
of townspeople, who take a great de-
light In tho antics of the jester*.
At the Dinner.
Last Christmas a certain minister
was invited to a big dinner at the
house of one of the leading men in
the town. At the dinner table be was
placed opposite a goose.
The lady of the house was placed
on the minister's left Seeing the
goose he remarked:
"Shall I sit so close to the goose?"
Finding his words a bit equivyal,
he turned round to the lady, and said,
in a most Inoffensive toflf:
"Excuse me, my lady; I meant the
roast one."
A Convenient Myth.
"Why do you still keep up that ab-
surd Santa Claus myth?" asked the
cynic. "I should have thought you
would have laughed at It"
"Because," answered the man with
a large family, "It is convenient to
have some one to blame for presents
that fail to please."
OPPORTUNE.
Dudley Nobs—Pa, there's oiie thing
about: Santa Claus I never could Un-
derstand.
Mr. Nobs—WhatJfj that, my son? ;>
' Dudley Nobs—Why does Sapta.,al-
ways IsttV^valuable presents to rich
/oiks and cheap ones to poor people?
Why don't he even things up?
A- Clean Sweep.
...Caroline—I've been in tho stores all
day.
'PhuTlhe—So soon after Christmas,
and still shopping? ♦ ' <.
Qaroline—Shopping! I guess not.
I'm exchanging all my presents.
Cackling.
Mrs. Gramercy—She must have been
surprised when her husband gave her
such an expensive present for Christ-
mas. •
Mrs. Park—Not surprised, my dear,
but suspicious.
Poor Man. > .
Mrs. - Caller—Jfou surely dqo'fcgjyo
your husband a' n'ecfitle every Christ^
was? "" Hg
Mrs, Athome—Oh, yes, I do! Arid
tho poor dear never seems to know
that it Is the same one!
George—Ah, Lily, dear, this will be
the Jolliest Christmas I've ever spent.
Now that we're engaged I think only
of the future.
Lily—Do you? Well, at this time of
the y ear I think only of the present
Christmas Thanks.
When turkey's on the table laid,
And good things I may scan,
I'm thankful that I wasn't made
A vegetarian.
Trouble and a Turkey.
Brown was boasting of the fine tun
key he,, had bought for Christmas.
"Biggest bird I ever saw; cost me
seven-fifty."'
"That's nothing to the turkey I had
last Christmas," said his friend Jones
"It cost me $150."
"One hundred and .fifty dollars!"
positively shrieked Brown, Jn his in-
credulity.
"Yes," said fJoni?fe,- bitterly.
"TurfeejFs;f,rhald Brown, looking him
s^alght ln the eye, "are generally to
.he. bought, foy a quarter a pound. Say
-yo'ars Was" a quarter,-then it must
httvo>weighed*iibout 630 pounds!"
"It only -w.eighed tWPty. pgumlsj'-
said .JpneSi. sadly; "but I "bought It
niiVe and tried to 4c-lll 'it-'myself. II
flew over -IhovhouBO JLrst/ iul.\M<)
$150 wprth sf: damage." • , ...
.... TtyE -FIRST PRESENTS.
The giving of Chris,,
mas presents . ,*wai.
first introduced by
the early Romans
They exchanged gift!
freely, but in compll
ance with a sumptu
ary law they wer«
never allowed to gxvi
anything very elaborate. The ro
ceiver of a present -which was Judged
too expensive had to offer it up lot
auction, when It was knocked down
fto the;highest bidder, and the money,
appropriated by the national treasure!*.,
of the period. Consequently, although-
.thg Romans^ continued to distributed
their preffents" In great/nuniiiera, they,
lied fishes, boxes of toothpicks, can-
dles, cloaks and sweetmeats.
It 1h gratifying to note that the bill
for the < i tuition of u federal health
board will not be allowed to pass with
out a protest. Reports of organized
resistance come from all parts of tho
country, and it may be that the oppo-
sition will soon lie sufficiently solidi-
fied to defeat a project that promises
Infinite mischief for tho community,
and Buffering and injustice for tho ta-
dlvidal.
The proposal Is based upon those
specious claims that are notoriounly
hard to controvert. If a federal health
board were to confine its activities to
the promulgation of salutary advio
upon hygienic matters, to the abate-
ment of quackery, and to the purity of
drugs, It might be possible to Hay
much in its favor, although It would
still be difficult to say that such an
organization 13 needed. But wo know
that it will attempt to do far more
than this, seeing that Its adherents
have loudly proclaimed their inten-
HHHHE-there Is no Becrcey
about them, it is confidently expected
that the board will consist of advo-
cates of one school of medicine only
and that the methods of that school
will be not only recommended, but
enforced upon the nation. Indeed a
board that was in any way representa-
tive of the medical profession as a
whole would be stultified by its own,
disagreements. Outside the domaln>
of simple hygiene, for which we need'
no federal board at all, there Is no
single point of medical practice upon
which allopaths, homeopaths, eclectics
and osteopaths could be in unison.
Any board that could be devised by
the wit of man must be composed of
representatives of one Bchool only,
and this means that all other schools-
are branded as of an inferior caste,
even though nothing worse happened,
to them. And something worse would1
happen to them. If we are to establish
a school of medicine, if we are to as-
sert that the government of the Unit-
ed States favors one variety of prac-
tice more than others, why not estab-
lish also a eect of religion and be-
stow special authorities upon Bap-
tists, Methodists and Episcopalians?
An established school of religious
conjecture Beems somewhat less ob-
jectionable than an established sect
of pseudo-scientific conjecture.
Those who suppose that a federal
board of health would have no concern,
with individual rightB are likely to>
find themselves undeceived. It Is forj
,the purpose of Interfering with lndl-j
vidual rights that the proposal hasJ
been made. We need no special
knowledge of conditions to be aware
that what may be called unorthodox
methods of healing have made sad In
roads Into the orthodox. Homeopath
claims a vast number, of adherent^
who are Just as well' educated and Just
as Intelligent as those who adhere to«
the older school. Osteopathy, eclecti-
cism, and half a dozen other methods'
of practice are certainly not losing,
ground. Beyond them Is the vast and!
Increasing army of those who may be>
classed under the general, and vaguei
name of mental healers. Those who)
are addicted to any of these forms ofj
unorthodoxy need have no doubt asi
to the purposes of the federal healthl
board. Those purposes are to make1
it diflScult for them to follow thelF
particular fads and fancies, to lead!
them, and If necessary to drive them.!
from medical unorthodoxy to medical'
orthodoxy.
Now the Argonaut holds no brief
for any of the excesses and the super-!
stltlons connected with the care of the
Ibody in which this age Is so rife. But.
It does feel concerned for the preser-j
vatlon of human liberty and for thel
rights of the Individual to doctor hlm-{
self In any way he pleases so long asj
he does not Indubitably threaten thej
health of the community. He mayj
take large doses or small ones, or not
doses at all; he may be maRsaged.t
anointed with oil, or prayed over, Justl
as the whim of the moment may dtc-l
tate, and probably it makes no par-
tlcl(Tof difference which he does. Butj
he has the right to choose, just as he-
chooses the color of his necktte or the!
character of his underclothing. It is)
not a matter In which any wise gov-
ernment will seek to Interefere. This
Is precisely the liberty that the health
.board Intends to take from him.
.Orthodox, medicine, conflclous of Its
losses, Is trying to buttress itself by
federal statute, to exalt allopathy to-
the status of a privileged caste, and
to create an established school of
medicine 'just as some other countries
have allowed themselves to create an
established school of religion. It Is-
for the common sense of the commu-
Ihity 'tcT rebuke that effort and to re-
pel an unwarranted invasion upon ele-
.mentary human rights.—San Fran-
cisco Argonaut.
a
Waiting.
' "Have you named your baby yet?"
, —VNo."
"He'B getting pretty old to be with-
out a name, Isn't he?"
" "Yes; but my wife wishes to call
hjm. Perclval, and we're waiting to
find out whether he's going to have
a lisp."
Stung.
"You call this cake angel food," said
the harsh htiHband.
"Yes, dear," said the timid wife, "buti
If the diet doesn't seem exactly what-
you want, here are some devilled
crabs."—Washington Star.
Sounds Plausible.
"Why do people speak of a 'cool'
million?"
"I don't know, unless It's because a
■man with a million dollars on keep
cool,, no matter bow high tho cost of
Uvlng soars."
V
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Houx, N. P. The Mexia Weekly Herald (Mexia, Tex.), Vol. 12, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 28, 1911, newspaper, December 28, 1911; Mexia, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth302365/m1/2/: accessed May 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Gibbs Memorial Library.