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Show ations uppermost at this time of : year. Two widely contrasting thoughts were presented, one of j the true spirit of good will, kind-! kind-! ly help and cheer, and the other of keenest sorrow. I will try to ! present both. ! Years ago a young man left the Yaterland, and skipping all the immediate interval, that 'young man assayed a business I venture in Virginia, failed, and drifted into St. Louis; he bought a small baking oven, about such as from the description I should judge is now in the Dejta Bakery, Bak-ery, paid a month's rent, bought 300 lbs. of flour, and HAD FIVE DOLLARS LEFT! ' Today that same man owns a string of bakeries from the Mississippi Mis-sissippi to the Pacific coast, and for exercise clips coupons off Government bonds but then let us follow his introduction to Delta. Del-ta. When this town was Aiken, a smear on the map, even before a box car proclaimed a station, that man became interested in the possibilites here, and was the President of the Oasis Land & Irrigation Co., the predecessors predeces-sors of the Delta Land & Water Co. By now, our old time residents res-idents know that I am talking of J. B. Heydt, the millionaire baker from St. 'Louis. That five dollar surplus in business bus-iness grew, until today J. B. Heydt is the largest stockholder in one of the very largest city bakeries, an institution covering a whole city block in St, Louis, employing 200 cooks, and a trifle over 1200 hands all told, and selling bread and bakery pro- Christmas 1915 I dined with Herman Minister and the good Prau last Sunday, and of course, the conversation naturally drifted to those associ- ducts in eleven different States. Let us connect this now w ith our story: Heydt had to- work as a very poor man; struggle, climb, and incessantly labor. The foundation had to be laid broad and deep, so he adhered closely to scrupulous honesty and hewed right smart to the line of absolutely abso-lutely fair-dealing, to build up a business that should anil would last. But never once, even when after years found him in affluence, afflu-ence, did he forget his own early youth and hardships. For years past, so that by now it is looked upon as second nature and a matter of course, every Christmas "The Old Man," for so Mr. Heydt is called by all his men, sends to every man, woman or child employed in his bakery, a turkey or goose, and ten dollars. doll-ars. Whether the man be a boss getting a princely wage, riding a limosine, and his wife entrenched entrench-ed behind a lorgnette, or whether wheth-er it is some pan greaser only over night one of that family, from the dividend account goes the gift, the cheer, the intended kindness, to that person, of The Old Man's good will. Once, and once only, was there labor trouble troub-le in the plant; the baker asked for higher wages, a walk out resulted, re-sulted, and next morning the four corners disported the huge sign of an open shop.. And another thing; Knowing the keenness of hunger first hand, no employee, under penalty pen-alty of instant dismissal, must refuse to give bread to the needy! "The well to do are hard to do." And so, when it comes to business, J. B. Heydt is exacting, exact-ing, getting every last jitney that conies to him, far-seeing, a shrewd financier; but he just as scrupulously does out every cent and ounce that is due the other fellow. And ever business, business, bus-iness, and more business. The biggest, best, and f'mest bakery of the Country is the motto; nothing must stand in the way f making it that. But, hand in hand, runs charity that denotes in The Old Man a heart as big as an ox. Today, and for several months past, or since the rigors of this present terrible war have been so keenly felt in the Vaterland, J. B. Heydt has regularly each month sent a package of goods, costing him in value $11, tor which he pays in postage (!) to get it into Germany, SEVENTEEN SEVEN-TEEN DOLLARS! I asked at once, "Why not send the money?" mon-ey?" The money at the present time in Germany will not buy. So much, and so much 'only may be sold; granaries are locked and sealed with the Government's seal, and the family put on half rations, and all the live stock sold, so that food may be supplied sup-plied to the soldier. The soldier first. Hence, although one may have the money there, the articles artic-les cannot be purchased. But, the Government will not interpose inter-pose with what is brought in the mails so The Old Man wraps up a bundle by parcel post and scoots it along. . He keeps a great many poor families by a charity that does not let the left hand know what the right hand does. That is one side of this Christmas Christ-mas thought. The other side is a terrible picture, the horrors of war. J. B. Heydt is Herman Minister's Mini-ster's uncle, brother to Herman's mother. The good lady is i widow, her husband having served serv-ed in the war of lS'iil; this wid ow has a son who was at th front, now wounded by shots re ceived 'twice in the arms. J1 cripple for life, the sacrifice o their son must wring the moth ers heart. Another son, wa: lulled Aug. 7th, r.U5; I read tin imperial notice to the family and am very proud to say tha the It on Cross decorated tin official document, with "M" en graved within it.- One of Her man's nephews was killed out right; another had both arm shot off; one cousin was badly wounded ; another . cousin , is blind! Terrible, truly terrible. One instinctively turns to the letter of Abraham Lincoln to Mrs. Bixby, "And I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage as-suage the anguish of your Le-reavement, Le-reavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom." Herman Munster, a son of a soldier, is the only son of that large family who did not serve in the German army. He left ' the -old" country when sixteen. Herman gets letters from home, with clauses ami sentences stricken out by the censor, so completely blotted out of course s that the offending subject mat- ter can not be read. Only a short time ago one came saying among other things, "It is awfu. to see those trains come in" anc 2 then the hand of the censor. -(The trains spoken of were the l' railway cars containing the f wounded. Just think of this to force it; way into Christmas thoughts. 5 A chum of one of Herman's e cousins was detailed to shoot i , woman spy, an old lady of gra t hairs and venerable aspect: ht e refused Hatfootedly. The nex morning Herman's cousin wa: one of the party who executet ' the aged lady at sun up. and tin - next morning to that, he had t 3 train hi3 rifle on the breast 0 5 hi chum. Court inan i-Tl" the death awaits tho ;', V . - 11 , "isuimn - 5 mate. He wrote that 1 know how he did it. !,",' 1 This brings the v T ,lul-t ,lul-t close to home. '"vU v i ! What contrastinD' 1 , 1 J Peace on earth;' h '!'lu,: el men." M VV11 3 1 "Make ready; ainvs.0,,, f Frank E I |
