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Show 4 . t By ELMO SCOTT WATSON ts N K iuy In Scptfintior, 18!)7 JJ II there ciime to the otllce of J J. (it which Is reproduced 4 W ahove. Il wji8 turned over jfi to Knim-ls I'. Church. Bn editorial writer for the Sun, 'A-A-U j fin spteiither 'Z there nppoiired In the edltorlut folumns of thul pnper the following: W cake pleasure In answering t once and thus prominently the com jmunication below, exirenninR at the j same time our great gratification that Its fnlthful author la numbered imonu the frionds of the Sun: , Dear Kdltor 1 am 8 ye an old Some of my little friends say there la no fcanta CIhum. Papa eaya: "If you e U In the Sun It's ao." Pleane tell me the truth; ! there a Santa C!:iu7" VI rKinla O'Hanlon. Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been arrerted by the skepticism of a nkeptlce) age They do not believe except thev see. They think that nothing ran be which Is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds. V irplnla, whel her they be men's or little children's, are little lo this great universe of ours man la a mere insect, an ant. In his Intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the Intelligence Intelli-gence capable of grntpliift the w hole of truth and knowledge. Tes, Virginia, there la a Santa Claui He exists aa certainly as love and generosity gen-erosity and devotion exlttt, and you know that they abound and give to you i life Its highest beauty and Joy. Alas ! how dreary would be the world If there were no Santa Claus It would be as drear as If there were no Virginias. Vir-ginias. There would be no child-like faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should huve no enjoyment, except In sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood flllc the world would be extinguished. Not betleve In Santa Claus? You miKht as well not believe In fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch In all the chimneys on Christ-Eve Christ-Eve to catch Santa Claus. but even If they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody No-body sees Santa Claus. but t ha t Is no ign that there Is no Santa Claus. The moat real things In the world arc thoee that neither children nor men can see Did you ever see fairies dancing on the ia wn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine alt the won dera there are onseeo and unseeable Id the world. You may tear apart the baby's rattle rat-tle and see what makes the noise Inside, In-side, but there la a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man. nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, orna nee, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is It all real? Ah. Virginia. In all this world there s nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus? Thank God ! h -llves forever. A thousand years froir now. Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now ne will continue con-tinue to make glad the heart of childhood. child-hood. Il is doubtful If Church realized, when he wrote that editorial, that he had penned a classic. Yet. such was the case, foi In the years that have followed tt has been reprinted, bot h voluntarily and by request. In thou sands of newspapers thousands ot times. It has been translated Into many foreign languages (even the Chinese !) and every year around Christmas time you will see it Id print somewhere. Mot only has "Yes, There Is a Santa Claus" become a part of the American Christmas tradition, but the little eijjht-year-old Virginia O'Hanlou. who once wanted her faith In Santa Claus reaffirmed, has become a legend, and as such, some have doubted that there ever was such a girl. For the reus sunmce of those it may be said that there not only was such a girl but that she still is living. The little Virginia Vir-ginia O'Hanlon of 1S97 is Mrs. Virginia Vir-ginia O'Hanlon Douglas of today a school teacher In New York, a widow : and the mother of a daughter, Laura Virginia, who. It Is needless to say. I also believes that there is a Santa Claus. Since Virginia O'Hanlon's letter was first printed letters have come to her every Christmas, from lonely people whose faith In all things Is shaken She has heenme a symbol of trust and of everlasting childhood, for many of i 7OSTrTA5T"R JAMJr. rr a OT AT ANTA rt AffS I MT) 7OSTrTA5T"R JAMJr. MAIITIM AT SflJiTA ClAVJJTP. the letters are written as though she ta still only eight years old. Many of them are addressed In her maiden name but they are delivered lo her at the home of her father, Dr. Miillp O'Hanlon. where Christmas Is ob served Just as It was in 1S07. At that home an enterprising reporter re-porter sought her out In 1927. Just thirty years after her furmnjs letter ivas written, and in a copyright ar tide issued by the North American Newspaper Alliance, Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas reaffirmed her belief that Prank Church was right In saying there is a Santa Claus because he Is the symbol for the faith the world lives by. She said : 1 wlRh that t could be made easier for all children to believe tn Santa Claus. In the way that Mr. Church meant. My only doubt, when I was small, was about the Identity of Santa Claus Some of my playmates were skeptical Their own parents were under suspicion. suspi-cion. So I began to wonder whether my ChrtBtmas presents really came down the chimney, and whet her the blocking at the fireplace would be filled by a picturesque old fellow from the North pole. But I'm afraid there are many thousands thou-sands of children without any confidence confi-dence that their stockings will be filled by any bod y It has always been so. but tt seems worse now. because the children from poor homes are taken to the big stores, by their teachers In the kindergartens and sch Is. and see all of the doPs and toys that more fortunate children will receive. Half Jazed. the poor little things are led through aisles overflowing with the most wonderful and expensive toys, rnd then they are presented to the store Santa Claus, and be asks them what they want. Timidly they speak of a doll or a drum, or some trinket of no consequence In the luxuriant stock of a big store. And they men-tlon men-tlon It only to be polite. There may be a Santa Claus, but not for them Last Christmas there wasn't any. Isn't there some way to keep every child from being entirely disappointed on Christmas day? Couldn't the teachers teach-ers in the schools find out the simple, modest desires of these wistful children, chil-dren, nnd then couldn't the community provide the money to give to every small child the particular small toy that he craves? It may be impracticable but It ts more than a sentimental wish. I think that ever child should have the confidence con-fidence and faith that are typified by a belief in Santa Claus. I don't mean that perfect trust in the Integrity of parents, which begins before a baby discovers the moon and the grass, and ice cream and Christmas, and ends when he finds certain packages tucked away in the closet, about the middle of December. That perfect trust Is lovely and touching, and something to make thoughtful parents feel meek and inadequate, in-adequate, but it can pass without serious seri-ous consequences. I mean belief In people and in the goodness of life, and in the spirit of Christmas. Within recent years there has been written another "Santa Claus edito rial. brought about by circumstances similar to those which inspired Church's immortal bit of pruse, which reassures childish faith in the good St. Nick and which, if one may safely predict what will or will not become a "Newspaper Classic," may eventually eventual-ly enjoy a wide fame. It appeared in the Greenwood (Ark.) Democrat and reads as follows: SANTA CLAUS. IMMORTAL j Six-year-old Opal Marie Adaro heard some of her elders discussing a news Item which told of the death, ip a wreck, of a man who was playing Santa Claus. This news of the death of Santa Claus was heart-breaking to the little girl. Explanation by her parents were not wholly satisfying She asked her mother to see the editor of the Democrat and learn If the news were true. Opal Marie may banish all of her tears, for Santa Claus still lives. The man who was killed in the wreck was but one of those hundreds of thousands thou-sands of mortal aides to Santa Claus who bring Joy to children, j and to men and women, all I over the world. H-r-nus i thee people live thlr un-t un-t eeltlfth live. In auch clooe ' communion with Hanta Claus they are selected by him ss his aiislstsnts. Tbe mesagea they hrlriK to us come direct from hlro. Their lives are a conetant reassurance to us that there Is a Santa Claus. and our wavering faltb ' strengthened. iiut these aides are mor tal. They live their purposeful pur-poseful lives and pass on. Santa Claus we know to be Immortal He has lived through all the ages sine, the breath of civilization touched savagery; he will live through all the ages yet to come. No, Opal Marie, the Sanla Claus you love was not killed In the wreck. Ther I. nn tinnftter RO ereat but that he can and will survive It- All through the horrors and sorrows of tbe great World war Santa Claus was In the trenches of all the armies on both sides. Wherever disaster, pestilence and sutTering exist, there will Santa Claus always be found bringing comfort com-fort and happiness and none of theaa have the power to shorten biB life for an instant, nor to stay bis band in his ministry to the needy. Into the nomea of the poor as well as Into the mansions man-sions of the rich be pays his secret visits and sheds his cheery blessings Impartially. He may not always bring, to you all the Joys you wish, but In his great wisdom he will bring to you those which he knows are best for you. And though you. as a little girl, may not see biro now when- he steals Into your home, you will be able to see him when you have grown older. And when you have visualized him you will have communed with Divinity. Your Santa Claus lives. Opal Marie, and there is no harm that can ever befall be-fall him. Is there a Santa Claus? Ask J. F. Martin, postmaster of the town of Santa Claus, Ind. 1 For there Is such a town (not to mention a St-Nicholas, St-Nicholas, Pa.) and the storj of how It cauie Into being is interesting. The town Sanla Claus was nrst christened Santa Fe. when it was founded tn 1840. One Thomas Smith, a surveyor, was called upon to pint the place, originally orig-inally composed of seventeen town lots. Seventy-six years before that time. Shadrack Hull had built a tannery tan-nery there. Fot several years the town went by the name ol Santa Fe, the population popula-tion increasing all the while- After families had settled In the village, it was decided to apply to the government govern-ment for a post office. While the request re-quest was being considered, postal authorities au-thorities observed that there was another an-other town In Indiana named Santa Fe. Consequently the post office department de-partment ruled that there could not be post' offices In two towns of the same name In any one state-Notice state-Notice to that effect was sent to the people of Santa Fe a few days before Christmas, In 1S55. Immediately calling call-ing a mass meeting to see what could be done about renaming the town, the citizens of Santa Fe decided to give their village the name of Santa Claus. Santa Claus, Ind., Is In Spencer county, twelve miles from the Ohio river and about four miles from Lincoln Lin-coln City, near the boyhood home of Abraham Lincoln and the site of the famous Nancy Hanks Lincoln memorial. memo-rial. It has about one hundred Inhabitants, Inhab-itants, boasts a milk and cream station, sta-tion, a blacksmith shop and a combination combi-nation general store and post oftice over which Mr. Martin presides. But the most interesting thing about Santa Claus, Ind.. is the fact that every year that post office is flooded with letters to Santa Claus from children, not only from all parts of the Dnlted States but from Canada, Mexico and other foreign countries as well. Mr. Martin has been postmaster for twenty-seven years and in that time has played Santa Claus to millions of children.' For he reads all letters he receives from children and, If he hfla time, answers some of them "Mostly, they're just gentle reminders remind-ers to Santa." he says. "Sometimes I run across queer requests for gifts. One boy asked for a baby elephant." On rare occasions he receives letters after Christmas, thanking Santa for past favors.. During the Christmas season parents wishing to make the Vuletide more realistic often mail boxes of addressed and stamped letters let-ters to the Santa Claus post office to have them posted with the official "Santa Claus" postmark. Many persons per-sons Interested In unusunl stamp cancellations can-cellations write to the postmaster asking ask-ing him to cancel stamps on encJ ised envelopes and return them hy mnll. |