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Show "GOOD FELLOW" EXTENDING , HAND OF CHEER IN CITY Royal Ruler of Merry and Liberal-hearted Order Auspiciously Opens His Campaign in Salt Lake; Every Citizen Can Help. THOUGH only a weok has passod Asinco Good Follow, royal mlor of the Order of Good Fallows, Fal-lows, oponod his campaign for tho Christmas season of 1013, hun-drods hun-drods of applications for membership member-ship in tho order havo boon' received. re-ceived. All these applications aro for active membership and each letter expressed ex-pressed a willingnosa to holp make Santa Glaus a reality for the poor children chil-dren of the oity. Ab rapidly as possible, Good Follow is filing tho various communications com-munications and getting the now members mem-bers in touch with deserving families. The main difficulty encountered so far has been tho inablity to secure tho names and addresses of ns many children chil-dren as there aro applicants. In this work the Order of Good Fellows is being be-ing aided b3' tho "Volunteers' of America, Ameri-ca, Salvation Army, Elks' club, Y. M. C. A., Y. W. C. A.,"w! C. T. U., Eagles' olub and other organizations composed of persons having tho spirit, of good fellowship. Lists of poor families are being compiled and letters will bo sent to the pnronts asking whether they would like to havo tho Good Fellows be Santa Claus to their children on Christmas Christ-mas day. Last Thursday a lotter was also sent to each family in which children chil-dren were given toys last yoar by the Good Follows. Replies Coming in. , So far several replies hare been received re-ceived from these communications, giving the data asked for. One family of seven children, will be provided for by one of the local clubs. Heretofore, the attaches of this onran- ization have celebrated' Christ man by giving presents to each other. Aa there are at least eight or ten members, this sum has grown to be heavy. This year it was decided that they should put the ban on the usual interchange of gifts and combine to play Santa Claus for a largo family of poor children. chil-dren. Good Follow had just such a family la mind one having noven children, the oldest 15 and the young-ost young-ost it years old so he hurried the address and names of the children back to the generous club omployees. Those childron will bo well cared for on Christmas evo and will awake Christmas morning to And that tho good saint really visited the house. Bereaved Mother Writes. One of the most touching letters received re-ceived during the wcok was from a bo-reavod bo-reavod mother, whoso only child a little lit-tle girl of three years was takon from her last August. Bcmcmboring hor own babyhood and the gladness which came to her upon seoing the many things in. hor stocking, this mother was looking forward to this Christmas as a time of gladness. Only a short time before her baby diod she explained to her about Santa Claus and nis sleigh and. reindeers and tho littlo one opened wide her blue eyes and ashed childish questions about the bearer of gifts. When tho littlo one died the mother was almost frantic with grief, but the passing monthe have partly healed the wound and now she is looking forward to Christmas with tho expectation of bringing gladness into the hearts of other mothers' babies that she was planning for her own. She had this plan in mind whon Good Fellow opened op-ened his campnign and hers was one of tho first communications received. She says that she will provide appropriate appro-priate toys for throe children as a memorial me-morial to' her owa baby. Good Follow has three children in mind, exactly three years old, the same age bb the girl who died, and tho namos of these will be sent to the mother. Tho royal ruler has been one of tho busiest men in Salt Lake during tho last few days and he expects to bo oven busier after Decombor .15, when the real campaign will be on. But ho has read every lotter which camo to his desk and Has stopped long enough sovoral timcB to wipe his eyes. Now, Good Follow Is not tho sort of a person per-son who would shed tears at a sentimental senti-mental drama, but he romembors his youth so welL that tho sadness of somo of the pleas of mothers for toys for their childron touchos his heart, In talking to a Tribuno reporter yestorday ho said: Isn't It about tho saddest thine: In tho world for a child Arm In hlfl belief that there Is a real Snnta Claus to awake ClirlHtmas morning ami find that the slocking placed over a clialr back tho night beforo le empty bocauso the parents had no money with which to buy toys? With some parents oven a nlokel or dlmo counts twhcn they muBt havo clothes to cover their babes from tho cold or fuel to prevent pneumonia from stalking Into tho littlo cottage and taking away their loved ones. Tho children do not know or rcallzo this; they cannot know that pcrhnp3 tholr father and mother both wept whon they saw their truntlng little onoa hanging up their stockings for Santa Claus. All they know Is that ?anta Claus forgot them and tholr grief Is pitiable. Sorrow to a child Is quite a different dif-ferent thing than to a grown person. per-son. Things that seom trivial to tho nvcrago grown-up are real tragedies In the life of tho littlo ones. Tho reason for this Is that their faith Is so strong that a. disappointment comes sib a shock. Child Tests Faith. I can remember whon I was a boy of about C years. I still bollovcd In Santa ClauH and so. Instead of giving giv-ing my letter for him to my parents, par-ents, as I had done In provlous years, I stamped and mailed it to him at a postofflco. In that letter I asked for a big olod, but with childish shrewdness shrewd-ness I did not tell my parents what I asked for, I think I really was trying to tost whether thcro waa such a person. Tho boys at school had told mo thoro wan not and although mv faith was unshaken I wanted to make sure. Well, Christmas morning, morn-ing, although I had plenty of gifts, thnr. TT-n a nn clm-l n rtA T u'n a fhA most unhnppy boy In town. My bo-llef bo-llef In Santa Claus had been so strong that hla failure to bring that eled hurt me. Although father and mother oxplalnod that the lotlor had probably gone wrong, they wore nevor ablo to fool mo after that. When I was a Bmall boy there were always plenty of toy In my stockings on Christmas morning. But I romombor playmates of mine whoso stockings wero empty, or nearly bo, and I nevor can forgot the way they envied mo. In fact, I used to give some of those unfortunate littlo fel-Iowb fel-Iowb my old toys, and when I did this I always folt happy. But It la not tho old toys that tbo klddloo want. A small boy or girl the child of poor parents may bo satisfied with an old, half-worn coat or a pair of shoes that somoone else has worn. But when Clirlatmaa comes, with Its fabled saint who can give anything ho wishes and who manufactures his toys In tho frozen north, they want new things. A 10-ccnt 10-ccnt tin soldier with bright red aud blue paint and a Hhlny musket means moro to the baby mind than would a dozen second-hand drums or other moro costly toys. Confident of Success. Good Follow Is of the opinion tliat few homen In Salt Lake will contain sorrowful children this Christmas. From tho spirit oxpressod in tho letters ro-cclved ro-cclved so far, ho thinks that Bait Lakers to a man or woman will respond to tho appeal of tho order and mako little hea'rtB glad with the truo Chrlst-llko spirit of tho holidays. Tho recipe for becoming a Good Follow Fol-low Is a simple one. All one has to do Is to first realize that ttye odd chango ho spends dally or will spend during the holidays In being a "good follow" whore "good follows get togethor" would make soveral lttlo children happy. Whon this realization comes, tho next move In to write a letter to tho Ordor of Oood Fellows, Salt Lake, and Btnto how many children one wishes to bo Santa Claue to. There la no publicity connected with tho plan. Tho. names and addressos of the specified number of children chil-dren will bo Bent to tho Good Fellow and he will do the rest. Tho ordor will get nothing out of tho tranaactloh except tho knowledge that good fellowship Is a big thing In Stilt Lake; tho Good Fellow will have nothing but tho feeling that ho has performed a holiday act In tho true Christian spirit; but the children who receive tho presents will got much real happiness, such aa only a baby boy or girl can know whon they see the bright glftB of BL Nicholas In the Christmas Christ-mas stockings. |