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About Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1903-1919 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 1913)
?Aoa mxzxzm t Gacf Tidings in Poetry it DAILY CAPITAL 70UB2TAL, SALEM, OIZOOH, SATURDAY, DECEMBEB 20, IMS. m , II be S, ,.t'; '?'V ? , ' ;'.i 'v'',i''-'' ' - '!"'' '. . '. W CHRISTMAS AND THE DARKEST DAY 4 4 4 4 4 Hy JOHJ E. VOLSEJ Copyright, 1913. by American Preu AiiocUtioa 4 4 4 4 4- EVERy day the sun grotoj colder. Riding tobuer through if j arc. Will it, as the year grotas older, Lea-Ve uj altvays in the darKJ Hut toe Kjicbo that science teaches 'IStvill begin its uptvard climb When its lowest point it reaches. At the solstice Christmas time. Earth to all her utmost regions Shuddered ' neat h the march of Rome, Whose triumphant, pagan legions Dragged their loot and captives home. Must her rule go on, unceasing? Would her armaments be hurled. With an insolence increasing, 'Gainst a ser-Vile, helpless iaortd? Were Home's gods alone undying? And must other nations crooK. Uo her Caesar, deifying Him tvith suppliant tvord and looK? When it seemed her ruthless potver JVothmg on the earth could stem. In that saddest, darKe- hour Christ toas born at 'Bethlehem. CfinslmasDOT nor- rflrcn 3W By EDWIN U SABIN. Copyright, 1913, by American Press Asso ciation. HOW sweetly rests this winter night Upon a waiting earth! Until the lift of Christmas light Shall spread the Christmas birth. The curtain of the dusk be drawn, And sleepftig hosts afar Shall wake to read In radiant dawm The message of the start The dawn goes marching from the east Across a Joyous world To usher In the Christmas feast 'Neath Christmas fronds unfurled. Now swiftly on the glory spreads, The miracle fullilled. To bless a myriad bended heads And souls by Christmas thrilled. Behold it sweep a mighty land, Long leagues of llst'nlng snow; From whitened firs to where midst sand The polnsettlas glow. On English thatch and tile It lies, Chateau and hut forlorn, And frozen steppes and tropic skies Acclaim the Christmas morn. No region too remote for this, Too difficult no tongue. The Christmas wreath, the Christmas kiss. The Christmas music sung. No heart with grace so incomplete, No head with age so gray, No hearth so poor it does not greet The dawn of Christmas day. ! ! Again we're nearing Xmas time and the subject "what to give?" arises. For men this is a simple problem here in Salem, where we have brough t together a superb collection of men's gifts at moderate prices. Direct from the most exclusive shops on Broadway comes our neckwear, the new velvet caps, our gloves and the great variety of other "fixings" for the men. I SMOKING JACKETS This is probably the largest, and without doubt, the most handsome collection of house and smoking jackets that were ever shown in Salem. Any man will be "tickled to death " to get one of them. $5.00 up to $25.00 SwiniiiflM; p)o v of? THE CHRIST CHILD'S MANGER. Pretty but Obsolescent Feature of the Latin Christmas. All through the Italian and Hunga rian quarters In New York city may be found truces of the manger ut Ohrlut inns time. The Italians call it the "preseplo," which means manger; the Hunguriuns the "Bethlehem." The manger Is an exceedingly old and Interesting devotion In the Catholic countries of south Europe. St Francis of Assist, who was born In 1 1S2, in troduced It into Italy, and it is still the sign of Christmas in south Italy, as much as holly In the windows is the sign of it in New York. It is not many yeurs since a carpenter could not be had for weeks before Christmas In Na ples or Rome. They were all busy put ting up mangers In the houses of tho quality, while the poorer folk were busy fabricating their own. This quaint old devotion Is fading out of the cities of the mainland, but In conservative Sicily It remains In full force. Every family there still erects Its preseplo some time from the 1st to the 15th of December. It Is not a muugiT alone, but a whole mountain side, made of the rough, flexible bark of the cork tree. Teaks and crags and precipices abound, with winding trails, houses and castles of colored cardboards, for ests of evergreen twigs and sometimes tiny pipes to furnish brooks and lakes. In the center Is the grotto, with the holy family within, surrounded by the cattle. A sky of blue paper Is stretch ed above, with the star of Itethlehem upon It. Over the hills come shepherds bearing gifts to the Infant, and. though they are In Sicilian costume and carry good Sicilian cheese and wine upon their donkeys, they are all the more Interesting for that. Sometimes the preseplo fills only a comer, sometimes the whole side of a room, according to the means of the family. It Is kept year after year tin til worn out but it needs to be fresh ened up each yenr. always a welcome task to the mother uud daughters of the house. ; Incorporated 1 1 1 I I I 1 IJ i- Ai AA AA.1.J11. 'tTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTtTTTTTT I FIRST CHRISTMAS FEAST. TTtTTTTTII uttttttttttittt The first feast to be celebrated on Dec. 25 was established by Conunodus, emperor of Home, who reigned about 183 years after the birth of Christ After that there are many references in history to meetings of the new sect called Christians, who gathered on this day to celebrate the birth of the Uod man. tt Is not until a century 'after the time of Comniodtig that we find a particular reference to the persecutions that the Christians underwent at the hnnds of the pagnn emperors, culmlnat Ing in a Christmas day massacre. When Home was no longer a pagan state the feast begun to be celebrated In Christian style, and those who ob served the birth of Christ In those days did so In widely separated countries and frequently at widely different pe riods of time und according to no set program. The oni'lents agreed on our thing, however that the fintlvnl com memorising the birth of Christ should be the most mngiilllcent of the year In some cuses it wus kept up for days Origin of the YuU Log. The Yule l.ig In Kngliirr, ts a relic of drulillsm. Its name Is bet'ered to be a corruption of the wheel I.., a wheel In druidli'fll symbolism typifying the march of the sun The lighting of the Yule fire Is reminiscent of the sacred fires kindled by the drulds at mldwln ter In the rouud towers which yet re main In many pnrta of Oreat Britain, Ireland. Prance and ftpnln. NECKWEAR Here you will find the individual and distinctive styles created by Keiser. Salem's best dressed men rely upon the "TOGGERY" to keep them up to the minute in neckwear, and you'll find here just what "HE" would want. 50 cents and up to $1.50 In Attractive Holiday Boxes MERCHANDISE ORDERS I For the one in doubt as to what to give, TOGGERY MERCHANDISE ORDERS, neatly done up in little individual leather ette cases, are attractive and appropriate gifts. Then you make sure in advance that the recipent will get exacly what he wants. TOGGERY i That Christmas Shopping is made easy by calling on us let us show you our line of 167 North Commercial Street MM Universal Percolators They begin to pump water over the coffee at toon as the base is hot, and do not have to be started with hot water. When started from cold water the coffee is ready in from 10 to 15 minutes, or as soon as the water reaches the boiling point. The result is the clearest coffee of unsurpassing ex cellence. Four sizes, all aluminum; selling as follows: 4-cup $3.50 6-cup $4.00 9-cup$4.50 14-cup$5.00 Columbia Chafing Dishes Are made to cook with, not merely to act as a warming pan for serving food cooked before, as most others are. Several patterns priced as follows: Nickle Plated $5.50, $7.50 and $10.00 Copper $10.00 Zenith Carving Sets Are hammered from bars of highest grade tool steel. The forging, grinding, tempering and finishing are done by ex pert cutlers. Handle materials are selected stock, attached securely; caps, tips and ferules are carefully fitted. Each piece is unconditionally guaranteed. Priced from $2.50 to $10.00. Bird carvers from $3.00 to $5.00. Community Silver Sterling's only rival Guaranteed for 50 years in family use. Georgian, Fleuer de Lis and Windsor patterns. Popular prices, such as $1.15 for set of six teaspoons. i Salem Hardware Company j (Incorporated) 120 North Commercial Street Phone M-172