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Show "pfepg II iincerrcB njtte p g , ' ' , If jl fJ who bring toy to ebfldrea, r-tUtf?fl tuJt. WfV ' ly Sii md lo meo ind wom.n, ill r T I 'fcf b) 'fW I over th world. uause XL-C"C' V faft 7 'JM hM PoP'e l'v their un- V V"""' ?' Kfeii, i) IT communion with Banta uryelUi. V-m V&J 4"' CUou ,hr 'e,' e&.J$v y ? "4 him aa lila aaetstanla. In X VTsiMai. -J ' 4i mesagee they bring to u. M. iwfy;? J, eom v' trom hlm I a . V. 5 I " i ,'! .:? J' J Thtr llve era a constant By ELMO SCOTT WATSON fM'Jf' J r.aaauranc. to ua thM , ,., , , 'AtK, 'Wi 'a there la a Santa Claua, anil tf NB day In 8eptmber. 1897. i&SjMi our wavering faith i J II there came to the office of I ftim )9&j f atrengthened CJ the New York 8Un the let- fUfMM llW ll ufViT nTt, V. iter which la reproduced jfef IMM I'LtXU Z'Jn. S above. It woe tnrned owr 'is.,'a JX r. I '-. v Santa ciaua we know to 2- $ to Francla P. Ctnreh. an T'WwZ'iX S i LCOFt b ""' n" 'i' on September ft there MOTff4 .."J JjIRK-'Jfe? touched eavagary; ha win appeared In the editorial VxAvlAvJ'K ,,v "" " colomn. of that paper the following: :VtffW'm(M 1. h. San.. m. i . . . W.U rtatiiai vnu love vii not who bring toy to children, and to men and women, all over the world, tfcx-aure these people live their un-aelflah un-aelflah Uvea In aurb eloee eommunlon with Baiua Claua they are eelectcd bv him aa hla aaelstanla. 1 tie meaagee the? brlna to ue come direct from him Tkelr Uvea are a rontnt reaaaurance to ua thnt there la a Banta Claua, anil our wavering faith te strengthened But theee aldea are mortal. mor-tal. They live their pur. poaeful Uvea and paaa on. Santa Claua we know to be Immortal. He has lived through all the aaea alnre the breath of civilisation touched eavagery; ha will live through all the asea yet to come No. Opal Marie, the Banta rta ua vnu love was not By ELMO SCOTT WAT80N iNB day In September. 1897. Jl I there came to tbe office of fC the New York Bun the let-J let-J ter which la reproduced 4, k above. It was tnrned over to Francis P. Cbireh. an ?4-' Jk editorial writer for the Sun, UUAtUU an(J 0D September tl there appeared In the editorial columns of that paper tbe following: e.a. i a m . tww mk pmeure in anawerine mi enoe and thus prominently the com munlcatlon below, eapreaalng at the same time our great gratification that Ita faithful author Is numbered among tbe friends of the Sum Dear Editor I am I years old. Boms of my little friends say there is no Banta Claua. Papa saya: "If yoa sea It lo the Bun It's so. Pleas tell me the truth; "Is there a Santa Clauar Virginia O'Hanlon. Virginia, your little friends ars wrong. They have been alfeuted by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which la not comprehensible by their little mlnde. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or little children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man Is a mere insect, an ant. In bia Intellect, aa compared with the boundless world about him, aa measured by the Intelligence Intelli-gence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Tea, Virginia, there is a Santa Claua posrrtASTTK jatsj r. MAKTUf AT SANTA ClAlJ.lffD. tbe letters are written aa though she IB still only eight years old. Many of them are addressed In her maiden name but they are delivered to her at the home of ber father, Dr. Philip O'Hanlon, where Christmas la ob served Just aa it was In 1897. At that home an enterprising reporter re-porter sought her out In 1027. usl thirty years after her famous lettet waa written, and In a copyright article ar-ticle leaned by the North American Newspaper Alliance, Virginia O'llnnlon Douglas reaffirmed her belief that Frank Church was right In saying there Is a Santa Claua because he Is the symbol for the faith the world lives by. She said: I wish that it could be made easier f n r all hlMrn A h.ll.u. In Qnnta killed In the wreck. There Is no dieaater so great but that he can and will aurvlve IL All through the horrora and aorrowe of tbe a rest World war Banta Claus was lo the trenches of all ths armlea on both aldea Wherever disaster, peetllerice and suffering exist, there will Banta Claua always be found bringing comfort com-fort and happlneaa and none of thae have the power to ehorten his life for aa instant, nor lo stay his band in hla ministry to the needy. Into tbe bomea of the poor aa well aa Into the mansions man-sions of the rich be pay hla aecret visits and sheds hla cheery blessing Impartially He may not alwaya bring to you all the Joys you wish, but In hla great wisdom he will bring to you thoee which he knows are best for you. And though you, as a little girl, may not see him now when he steala into your home, you will be able to ee him when you have grown older. And when you have visualized him you will have communed with Divinity. Your Banta Claue Uvea, Opal Marie, and there la no barm that can ever befall be-fall him. Is there a Santa Claus? Ask J. F. Murtin, postmaster of the town of Santa Onus, Ind I For there Is such a town (not to mention a St. Nicholas, Pa.) and the story of how It came Into being la Interesting. The town Santa Clnua was first christened Santa Fe, when It waa founded In 1846. One Thomas Smith, a surveyor, waa called upon to plot the place, originally orig-inally composed of seventeen town lots. Seventy-six years before that time. Shadrack Hall bad built a tannery tan-nery there. For several years the town went by the name of Santa Fe, the populu tlon 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 waa being considered, postal authorities au-thorities observed that there waa an cither town In Indiana named Santa Fe. Consequently the post office de partmem ruled that there could not be post offices In two towns of the same natr.e In any one state Notice to that effect was sent to the people of Santa Fe a few daya before Christ inns. 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 Claua si exieie aa certainly aa love ana generosity gen-erosity and devotion exlet, and you know that they abound and give to yout life It highest beauty and joy. Alaal how dreary would be the world If there were no Santa Claua. It would b drear aa If there wer no Virginia. Vir-ginia. There would be no child-like faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable thla existence. W should hav no enjoyment, except In ens and slsrht. Th eternal light with which childhood All th world - would be extinguished. Not believe In Banta Claus? Tou might a wall not believe In falrleal Tou might get your papa to hire men to watcb In all th chimney on Christ-Eve Christ-Eve to catch Santa Claua, but vn If they did not Banta Claus coming down, what would that prove T Nobody No-body aeea Santa Claua. but that la no sign that there 1 no Banta Claue. The most real thlntre In th world are those that neither children nor men can sas Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of courae not, but that'a no proof that they ar not there. Nobody can conceive or Imagln all th wonders won-ders there ar unseen and unaeeabl la th world. - Tou may tear apart th baby's rat-tl rat-tl and what make th nola inside, in-side, out there I a veil covering the - unseen world which not th ctrongest man, nor even th unites strength of all th strongest men that ever lived. - could tear apart Only faith, fancy, poetry, lov. omance, can puah aatd that curtain and view and picture th supernal beauty and glory beyond. 1 It all reair Ah, Virginia, In all thla world ther la nothing lee real and abiding. No Santa Claua? Tkank Oodt he live forever. A thousand year from now, Virginia, nay, ten time tea thousand year from now n will continue con-tinue to make glad th heart of childhood. child-hood. It Is doubtful If Clnrch realized, when he wrote that editorial, that be had penned a classic. Yet, such was the case, for lo tbe years that have followed It has been reprinted, both voluntarily and by request. In thousands thou-sands of newspapers thousands ot times. It baa been translated Into many foreign languages (even the Chinese I) and every year around Christmas time you will see It In print somewhere. Not only has "Yes, There Is a Santa Claus" become a part of the American Christmas tradition but tbe little eight-year-old Virgin O'Hanlon. who once wanted her faith In Santa Claus reaffirmed, has become a legend, and as such, some have doubted tbat there ever waa such a glrL For the reas so ranee of those It may be said thnt there not only was such girl but that she still Is living. The little Virginia Vir-ginia O'Hanlon of 1807 la Mrs. Virginia Vir-ginia O'Hanlon Douglas of today a school teacher in New Tork, widow and the mother of a daughter, Laura Virginia, who, It Is needless to say. 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 become a symbol of trust and of everlasting childhood, for many of Claua, In th way that Mr. Church meant. My only doubt, when I waa email, wa about th tdtntlty of Santa Claus Bom of my ptaymatea were akeptlcal Their own parente were under auspl-elon. auspl-elon. So 1 began to wonder whether any Christmas presents really cam down the chimney, and whether tbe mocking at the fireplace would be filled by a picturesque old fellow from the North pole. But I'm afraid there ar many thou-anda thou-anda of children without any confidence confi-dence that their atorklnga will be Oiled by anybody. It has alwaya been ao. but It aeema worae now. becauae the children from poor bomea are taken to th big store, by thetr teacher In th kindergartens and ach Is. and aee 1 all of the dol'e and toy that more fortunate children will receive. Half dased, the poor little thing ar led through alalea overflowing with the moat wonderful and expenatve toys, rnd then they are presented to th store Banta Claua, and he asks them what they want. Timidly they epea. of a doll or a drum, or aome trinket of no ronaequenc In the luxuriant atock of a big ator. And they mention men-tion It only to be polite. There may be a 8anta Claua, but not for them Last Chrlatmaa there wasn't any. Isn't ther aome way to keep every child from being entirely disappointed on Chrlatmaa day? Couldn't th teacher teach-er In th arhoola And out th simple, modest deaire of thee wistful children, chil-dren, end then couldn't the community provide the money to giv to every mall child th particular (mail toy that be cravee? It may be Impracticable but It I more than a aentlmental wish. I think that vr child ahould hav th confidence con-fidence and faith that ar typified by a belief In Banta Claua. I don't mean that perfect truat In th Integrity of parenta, which begin before a baby discover th moon and th a rasa, and toe cream and Chrlatmaa, and ends when he flnda certain parkasea tucked way In the closet, about the middle of December. That perfect truat 1 lovely and touching, and aomethlng to make thoughtful parenta feel meek and Inadequate, In-adequate, but It can paaa without sen-oua sen-oua consequences I mean belief In people and In the goodness of life, and In th spirit of Chrlatmaa Within recent yeurg there has been written another "Sunta Cluus edlto rial," brought about by circumstance similar to those which Inspired Church's Immortal bit of prose, which reassures childish faith In the good St. Nick and which. If one may safely predict what will or will not heoime a "Newspaper Classic." may eventual ly enjoy a wide fame. It appeared In the Greenwood (Ark.) Democrat and reads as follows: SANTA CLAUS. IMMORTAL Six-year-old Opal Marie Adam, heard eome f her elder discussing t news Item which told of the death, in a wreck, of a man who was playlns Santa Claua This new of th death of Santa Claua wa heart-breaking to th little girl. Explanation by her parenta were not wholly eatlefylna She asked her mother to see the editor of the Democrat and learn If tbe news were true Opal Marl may banish all of hei feara. for Santa Claua still lives The man who waa killed In the wreck wae bat one of those hundreds of thousands thou-sands of mortal aides to Banta Clau. Santa Claua, Ind., la In Spencer county, twelve miles from the Ohio river and about four miles from Lin coin City, near tbe boyhood home of Abrahntn Lincoln and the site of the famous Nancy Hanks Lincoln memo rial. II has about one hundred Inhub Itants. hmista a milk and cream station, sta-tion, a blacksmith shop and a comhi nation general store and post office over which Mr. Martin presides But the most Interesting thing about Santa Claua Ind.. Is the fact that every year that post office (s flooded with letters to Santa Claus from children not only from all parts of the United States but from Canndn. Mexico and other foreign countries as well. Mr. Martin has been postmaster for twenty-seven yenrs and In that time has played Santa Clntia to millions of children. For he rends all letters he receives from children and. If he hna time, answers' some of them "Mostly, they're Just gentle remind ers to Santa." he says "Sometimes I run acrosa queer requests for gifts One boy asked for a buhy elephant.' On rare occasions he receives letters after Chrlstmita. thanking Santa for past favors.. During the Christmas season parents wishing In make the Vuletide more realistic often mall boxes of addressed and stamped letters let-ters to the Santa Claus post office to Imve them Msted with the official "Santa Onus" postmark Many per sons Interested in unusuat stamp can epilations write to the postmaster ask ing him to cancel stamps on enclosed envelopes and return them by mall. i |