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EVENING PUBLIC LEDGER-
PHILADELPHIA, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER' 24, 1910
i
ISO
8- ' '
Stinting public Uetigcc
PUBLIC LEDGER COMPANY
c2!.l,rl' H. I.udinBton. Vice Prf nldents John C.
JMrtln. Berirtary and TreHurrs Philip H. Colllnj.
John n. Wlllliim, John J, . Bpurrcon. Dlfnctofi.
EDITOUIAIi BOAnD:
Custm H. K. Cctth. Chairman
tA'rD a. SMILEY , Editor
JOHN C. MAHT1N.... General Dmlneaa Managor
robllslied dally at Poiuo T.moes Iiulldlnc,
Indeptndenca Square, Philadelphia. '
Atlantic Cnr Presa-Vnion BulMlne
Mwr Youk 206 Metropolitan Toner
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ST. Ult'U ..lOOR Fullerton Hullrilns
CuiCico 1302 Tribune Building
w NEWS BUHUAU3:
Vl0TON Ilt.'IMHU.
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Nkw YoitK ritrmu Tho Sim Bulldlne
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riillarfrlpllll. 1dliruJir, December 21. W
-
TAKE THE CITY HALL, TOO
rpilE eouncilinen who itrs planning to
- give thcmsi'vps tli" le-,hs ami cluiit
In the Council eHiiPibcn ate not ijj'rt; i i
enough. Tiiorc aic electi ie I g'H IixIiikm
in the chambers to which they an en
titled just as much as to the chairs and
flcsks.
And if it is due the coimcihnen that
they should be rewarded with tbfl furni
ture they have been using, it is due to tho
Mayor and to the heads of the various
departments that they should also have
their office furniture, including the rugs
and fixtures. While this thing is going
on the automobiles the department heads
and Mayor have been using should not
be forgotten. The cars arc second hand
anyway. The users of thorn and their
families have had pleasant associations
with them, and for old times' sake should
be allowed to keep them as their own
property.
They arc entitled to some recompense
for serving the city unselfishly. The
councilmen have received no salary, it is
true, but no one pretends that the salary
paid to the department heads and the
Mayor is big enough to pay for the
services of men big enough, to fill the
jobs.
Why not let the retiring officials take
tho City Hall itself and divide it among
themselves? If this were done the ob
struction at the junction of Broad and
Market streets would be remocd and the
city would be free to build a new City
Hall on the Parkway which would add to
the beauty of that dignified thoroughfare.
The councilmen are altogether too
modest, for they have not the courage of
their inclinations.
- v
j face of disaator. Many a commanding of
ficer has gone down with his ship, lor no
knew that his career on tho sea was
ended when his vessel was lost.
But Secretary Daniels is said to havo
rejected a large number of lecommenda
tlons for medals made by Admiral Sims
and indorsed by tho naval board und to
havo added to tho list tho names of a
largo number of men who under tho uni
form practice of tho past would never
have been considered as worthy of special
honors. And the situation is mado par
ticularly ugly because the secretary's own
brother-in-law is among those to receive
honor after having lost his ship.
If Distinguished Service Medals aie to
he awarded in this way Admital Sims
apparently docs not want one. Every
seaman, whether in the navy or in the
merchant service, will understand his
position.
t- "
THE MAGI AT YOUR ELBOW
STILL- FOLLOW THEIR STAR
MEN OF GOOD WILL
fpHEY say that the correct reading of
, the song the shepherds heard on the
first Christmas morning is "Peace on
earth to men of good will."
Whether this translation is nearer to
the original than the other form we shall
not pretend to say, but it is worth while
noting today that it is only to men of
good will that peace comes, and that
there is no hope for world peace till tho
number of men of good will is greater
than the number of men who bear ill will,
whether it be ill will to their political op
ponents or to the men of other nations.
Which, being put into straight English,
means only that peace is a state of mind
before it is anything else.
SAFETY FIRST
"CURE MARSHAL ELLIOTT'S Christ-
mas Eve warnings, if heeded by h use
holders, will prevent many fires tomor
row. Christmas decorations are inflammable
at best. The Christmas trees are full of
pitch and easily set on fire, as every one
knows who has disposed of them on the
rubbish pile in the back yard. Fire
should be kept away from them, not only
the fire of lighted candles, but the flame
of a gas jet or the spark from an electric
wire.
A little foresight will prevent disaster
fend enable every family to spend the
whole day in joyous content, whereas a
little carelessness with fire may make the
day an anniversary of mourning for
years to come.
BEL-, BEEL- AND BAAL
A MONG tho .feasts that never took
place that proposed by Belshazzar
Baizley will be prominent.
The handwriting appeared before the
ners sat down at the tables and it for
do the feast. The hand was the hand
the Mayor and the writing was in the
In of a veto of the appropriation. It
S ' Id the Belshazzar of the Thirty-ninth
ard and his associates that they had
ieen weighed in the balance and found
wanting in proper respect for what was
becoming in a moribund municipal body.
The Belshazzars may call upon Beelze
bub for help, but it will be in vain, for
he is either asleep or is taking a journey,
as the prophet told the priests of Baal
When they vainly called for fire to come
down from heaven to humiliate their
rival. Whether Baal is in South Philadel
phia or not we do not know, but he was
not at hand in the Council chamber yes
terday. SIMS AND HIS MEDL
IT IS difficult to blame Admiral Sims
for refusing the Distinguished Service
Medal awarded to hiin for his conduct
during the war.
JIq declines it in order to protest
against the discrimination of the Secre
tary of the Navy against men who were
successful in what they undertook and in
favor of men who behaved gallantly
Khcii they failed in accomplishing what
they set out to do.
It fs contrary to the traditions of the
'ft? to reward men who loso their ships,
tiuWCW gallantly they behave in the
Their Millions Are Everywhere Now and
Their Search Is Still for Peace
on Earth
"llrtr no rmht lo icltbiuli Christ
mas." said the Amjry Man, "brrause wc
have Jortiattcn what il mianx. The world
is hatd-hiaritd and mciviMi. It has no
vision and it has no pity!"'
THERE aic always people who talk like
that. And they aro quite uncon
sciously thf living proof of their own
on or. For, so long as there are minds
in ras-.io.iato iiHiiiieotion against wrong
I ard fo I; . miellj i.nil unwudom; so long
as thoie aii- people whu cunno' but feel
the sting of pain inflicted upon olhot.-, the
miratlo commi'iuoiated at Christmas will
continue to shine before your very eyes.
Tlie hope symbolized in these days has
mado a temple of every ono who hates In
justice. It will live and work wonders so
long as there is compassion in the hearts
of men.
Tho world just now looks like a hard
hearted sort of place on the surface.
The increasing number of people who,
like tho Angry Man, aro dissatisfied with
it, justify all the implications that began
with Bethlehem.
Once there woie only three men wise
enough to believe in things they could not
see.
Now (he magi aic everywhere. Their
voices cannot be drowned out. They arc
a command and a challenge in these un
certain days. They will continue to be
heard and felt by a distracted fiid driven
civilization that eacli year turns to
Chiislmas as you would turn to a green
isle of peace in tcrtiblu seas.
Once a year all people are able for a
day to know what life ought to bo at its
best: peace, a place to lest in, human
trust and understanding and things to
give away!
And once a year all the people are
magi. They aro crowding the streets
"ow, fleeing in railway trains lo farrs or
flats or wherever home may be, blithely
risking bankruptcy for their beliefs or
for the love of something or somebody.
"Thru buy fripperies," said the Angry
Man, "and spend their money unwisely
upon other people."
When the magi begin to spend all their
money unon themselves we shall begin to
worry about them. Then indeed the meun
ing of Christmas will have vanished. For
the present we are safe.
If, today, there is any one uncomforted
or without friends- it is because the magi
couldn't find him. They buy fripperies, it
is true. It is their way, and the only way
they know, of buying comfort or happi
ness or delight for others. The nicest
thing of all about the magi, whose armies
are marching everywhere, is that they
seldom buy anything, even fiipperies, for
themselves.
What is it, then, that they seek? You
have only to tiail a few of them arnund
to know. Mankind always flies back at
this time of the year to the truo and
ancient things.
So people will travel half way around
the world to look again upon a face in a
doorway, to feel the touch of patient
hands, to hear a remembered voice, to
live a moment in the life that their heaits
acclaim.
.So they will continue to do in an inter
val that sees hatred and selfishness
almost wiped out of the world and faith
restored. The meaning of Christmas is
as clear to them now as a lamp fixed
upon a high hill. If the magi find it ob
scured ut other times of. the year the fault
is not theirs. They fcteer for it always- as
best they can.
"Nineteen hundred years," said the
Anqry .lftin, "and look at the world today
and listen to its leaders.''
We would far rather listen lo the
peoDle the people who will keep the
lights burning in the homes of the world
tomorrow. And we would rather listen
to the maei who troop faithfully toward
these guiding signs. They have been
doing some wonderful things. They will
do more wonderful things. Upon them
must rest the hope of tho world.
There never has been a time when they
forgot tho meaning of Christmas for
long. That is why the times are daily be
coming more critical of leaders. It is
why tho sick have never been friendless
or without care. It is the reason for
wars and crusades, hospitals and Hho
organized pity that ,only lately saved
whole nations from slow death.
Pity, as some one has said, is a rebel
passion. And it is pity for the weak and
a love of right handed down over the
nineteen hundred years that have elapsed
since Bethlehem that has led the magi
of more recent years the ones that
crowd you good-naturedly in the streets
today to batter dwn empires, dethrone
kings and swing civilization nearer to the
way in which they want it to go. They
are not yet done. They still have much
to do. And they will do it. They have not
forgotten what Christmas means.
"The world has no vision!" said the
Angry Jfon.
It is because the world has a vision
that leaders of nations everywhere have
reason to feel like men approaching a
day of judgment.
There were magi in mo trendies. Their
resolute voices are in books and in news
papers. They are not unknown in tho
high places at Washington, London and
Paris. Bitter and despairing criticism
written or cried out by (those who rueaJU
for them shows only how tireless and de
termined they are. In their various ways
they are following a light that commands
thorn onward.
And they tyill search tho world and
they will shako it until they establish
peace on cai th and good will among men.
SANE RUSSIA AND HER FAITH
MUCH of what has been told concern
ing Russia induces paralysis of
thought Sensibilities aro dulled and
mental processes balked by the theme of
a nation gone mad. What cannot bo com
prehended is frequently dismissed like
the problem of squaring the circle or the
nature of infinity.
And so a good many Americans of
hcait nnd-fceling have been excluding
Russia fiom the sphere of their con
sideration. They havo not meant to bo
unkind, but they have been puzzled and
it takes some time for action to emerge
from bewilderment.
If the war hnd not fostered so much
that is fantastic, so much which common
sense in ordinary times would promptly
reject, il would have been generally
realized that entire nations do not go
mad, and that a government, born of
force and nurtured by the same agency,
is not necessarily representative of mil
lions of its people.
Speaking at the New England Society's
dinner tho other night, a granddaughter
of General Grant painted n picture of
Russia which our own citizens should
have reasoned out for themselves but for
the breakdown of analy ticul safety vahes
undispicwl of much icir us piopaganda.
As 'it is, tho Princes C'aiitacuzeiio, for
twenty years a lesident of Russia, per
formed in a few fervent words no ordi
nary service. Her authority on tho subject
is not to bo questioned, and when sho
bhows us that the heart of tho Russian
peoplo is sound, that bolshevlsm rules,
not by tho voico of tho public but by tho
voice of machine guns, that right-thinking
Russians by tho millions will never
give up tho fight until representative
government is attained, she speaks a lan
guage which is credible and fixes an in
spiration for constructive work.
This indeed i-i the burden of her plea.
Sane Russia, tragic, suffering Russia,
Russia that has been inflicted with nearly
six years of var and will nol cease to
strugglo until redemption is achieved,
must be helped. The men are there and
an indomitable spirit. Bui famine smites
the land. II lacks food and clothing and
medicines. In its piteous plight it still
looks lo America, ils traditional friend,
to find a way out of tho agr-ny.
Theie is more in this record of affec
tion than is generally emphasized. In
every crisis in our history Russia has
been pro-American, and in the Civil War
this sentiment' boro concrete fruit in the
fleet which paid that significant visit to
New York at the time when other Euro
pean nations were aspiring to recognize
the Confederacy. Moreover, these affilia
tions have not been one-sided. When
Russia cast ofF czarism no nation hailed
that act with quite the joy that was in
America. The two great nations, long
allied in diplomacy, were alt last allied
in spirit and ideals.
The disillusionment which followed the
overthrow of Kerensky was ilol justified.
That wavering mismanager enabled the
Bolshevists to secure the arms which
made them in tho objective sense masters
of Russia. But Lenine and Trotsky have
not altered the character of tho mass of
the populace. They have not made con
verts of the peasantry, they have not cor
rupted the nature of those magnificent
soldiers whoso brothers were so often
ruthlessly sacrificed by venal officers.
Russia is not a paranoiac, but a victim of
a hideous tyranny so preposterous in its
plans that its downfnll is inevitable.
There are several non-Bolshevist ports
in Russia, notably Odessa, to which food
and urgently needed supplies may be
shipped. Tho opportunity is still at hand
for Americans to think straight about
a present Niobe among nations, to assist
in drying her tears and to justify, at
least to somo extent, the pathetic trust
that is placed in us.
VARE HIS OWN SANTA CLAUS
QENATOR VARE has lived too long to
believe in the Santa Claus myth. He
evidently holds that if you want some
thing in your stocking on Christmas
morning you must put it there yourself.
What he seems to be looking for just
now is a big chunk of discord and ho is
exerting himself to the utmost to get it.
'If he can raise ructions in the new city
Council he will do it. But it remains to
be seen whether he gets more than ho is
counting on.
There Is notliins rc
Ilumpty numpty markabl? in the fact
Can Como Hack that Chicago women
were abh to drive
down the price of eggs by boycotting tiicm.
The remarkable thing would be if the price
"staved put" when the women start to buy
again. There is a moral in the incident, of
course, but it is, perhaps, not the one de
duced by the optimist.
English, French nnd
Applause From the Belgian Inw officers
Gallery havo framed an in
dictment of the px
kaiser. His plea will, of course, he that he
was the victim of a frame-up, but that need
not prevent his judges from hanging him.
Twenty-five thousand barrels of whisky
will pass through this city within the next
few days. There is nn army willing if not
able-to cry, "Thou shalt not pass!"
One spirit that can be seen nnd felt is
the Christmas spirit. And, unlike somo
other spirits, hejjyikes a dent when ho sltsi
on a pockctbook.
It is perhaps a case of mistaken identity.
Tho retiring councilmen think Father Pcnn
is Santa Claus.
There is doubtless sugar enough pro
curable to preserve the political plums which
are about ready to drop.
Tuletide Note Mr. Plum Pudding Is
going to miss his annual nip of brandy this
1 season.
t
Old King Coal may have temporarily
quit scrapping, hut he has not yet called for
hiH fiddlers three.
Winter took off his furs and mittens as
lie took possession resterdaj.
MAYOR-ELECT MOORE'S
LETTER
George S. Sproue, Toting a Lady's
Suitcase Instead of His Own, Was
Flustered When Offered City Job
!
CAPTAIN JOHN VITtDHN, of the Pcnn-Rylvnnlii-Dehiwnto
Pilots' Association, is
n close friend of George l Sproulc, the new
director of wharves, doelts nnd ferries. They
have indulged the river habit for a long time.
But Captain John, like others of the new
illrector'H friends, was. momentarily alarmed
nt possible complications nrlslng from . a
comedy of errors on the day Mr. Sproulc left
Hie rivers and harbors cotientloii nt Wash
ington when Governor Sproul was also at the
eapltnl to he called, into the Major's cnblnct
in Philadelphia. Spioule was not called
until he reached Philadelpliia, and just ns ho
was invited into conference his mind was uot
altogether clear as to what was happening.
Here is the story : The genial secretary hnd
arrived in Philadelphia, hut he suddenly dis
covered that the sultensc he brought with
him was not his. The contents disclosed that
it belonged to a lady possibly a lady phjsl
clan. Whew! What would tho lady say?
And nt the same time, where was Mr.
Sproule's grip? But wait a minute. The
long distance telephone is ringing. "Is this
Governor Hproul?" "No, this is tho secro
tifv of the commissioner of navigation."
"Well, this is the Rnlelgh Hgl-I, Washing
ton. Tho Governor left here this morning
and forgot his suitcase. Somebody took u
lady's grip in mistake and she won't lene
until she gets it." It was under these
peculiar circumstances nnd with tho dire con
serjtirnees staring him in the face that Mr.
Sproule was stidilcnlj called upon to say
jrs oi'-no lo the directorship proposition.
VTOT alloKPther like llenjiuiilit Franklin in
' iicliirwment, bill somewhat suggestite
by analogy in that he came out of Mas
sachusetts to ndd to Philadelphia's scientific
prestige, is Benjamin Smith Lyman, noted
geologist nnd mining engineer, now eighty
fivo years of age.
Mr. Lyman, who was born at Northamp
ton and educated at Harvard, followed up his
technical studies In Paris and at Freiburg,
Saxony, and then engaged in public work In
India and Japan. His subsequent geological
researches carried him over tho United
States, Htirope, China and British America,
lie won high lienors for his discoveries in
China und .Inpau, and treasures many
trophies bestowed upon him by tho authori
ties of those countries. Author of many
papers and reports of technical value, Mr.
l.Juuui, like Fianklin, pursued many special
inquiries, one of which became enough of a
hobby to be put into hook form the mat
ter of diet nnd dishes suitable to the taste and
requirements- of the 'egclnrian.
For more than fifty-live years Mr. Lyman
has subsisted upon vegetarian dishes, mado
up largely from his own recipes, and until
recent mouths has been in fairly good phy
sical condition. His Honing snow -white hair
and beard closely resemble those of the Into
Walt AVhitinan.
rpHE Civic Club, of which Mrs. Edward
W. Biddle is president, is rejoicing over
the new trend in municipal affairs. For more
than twenty-fhe jenrs this organization of
women, who like to dNcuss public questions
and who have been striving for improved
civic conditions, has been laboring to further
these aims. Street cleaning, hygiene, child
welfare and other topics which appeal to
thoughtful women sft-e frequent subjects of
discussion aud debate with the members.
NB. KIjLLY, general secretary of the
Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, is
working with the. various committees of tho
chamber to make a greater Philadelphia. It
is the purpose of the chamber to joiu with
the Major-elect in forward movements,
nnd some time during January new com
mittecs will be formed with this thought in
view. The chamber lias twenty-six working
committees, composed of able business men
who give their time freely to the discussion
and working out of municipal problems. J.
II. Hngcdorn. of the City Club, also, talks
of bringing the various civic bodies together
with a view of pushing Philadelphia inter
ests. Altogether it looks as if the new year
would be a busy one from the municipal point
of view. .
PARK COMMISSIONER THEODORE
JUSTICE, who travels a great deal and
observes ns he goes, made a speech at the
Washington convention of the National
Rivers and Harbors Congress which attracted
attention. Ho figured out that tho work on
the Delaware river channel had been largely
instrumental in bringing 100,000 men to the
banks of the Delaware during the war, and
that perhaps n million others were benefited
iu one way or another. The National Rivers
and Harbors Congress lias been running
along for many years under the direction of
Senator Ransdell, of Louisiana, but the
Washington convention elected in Senator
Ransdell's place Congressman John II.
Small, of North Carolina, vice president of
the Atlantic Deeper Waterways Association
and for many years closely associated with
Congressman Moore, of Philadelphia, in the
development of eastern projects.
J. HAMPTON MOORE.
What Do You Know?
QUIZ
1. Who was Lloyd George's predecessor as
premier of Grout Britain?
2. In what century did Hannibal live?
3. Who were the Nine Worthies?
4. Name three of the most noted of con
temporary French musical composers.
5. What is the meaning of the word
v' divagate?
0. On what docs the mango grow?
7. What is Charles's wain?
S. From what city does Victor Bergcr
come?
9. Name a characteristically American
kind of pipe?
10. When did Dewey win the battle of
Manila Bay?
Answers to Yesterday's Quiz
1. It takes from nine to eleven, hours for
a vessel to pass through the' Panama
Canal.
2. Cardinal Logue is the primate of all
Ireland.
3. There are ninety-six seats in the Senate,
exclusive of the Vice President's.
4. California has "Eureka" (I have fouud
it) as its motto.
5. The transport Byford, taking tho reds
to Europe, sailed under sealed orders.
It was hinted that the first port of call
would be iu Finland.
0. Two of the most eminent British ex
ponents of spiritualism nro Sir Oliver
Lodge nnd Sir Arthur Connn Dojle.
7. The Romans numbered their years from
the yeur corresponding Jo 7C3 B. 0.
S. Tho Tagus is an important river of the
Iberian peninsula. It rises in Spaiu
and empties into the Atlantic below
Lisbon, Portugal.
0. A loggia is nn open-sided gallery or
arcade.
10. The ocarina, familiarly known as the
"sweet potato," is named after a
goose. "Oca" is the Italian word for
that fowl nnd "inn" is a common
ytjili'iii nuITiiCi
. . y ..-' m
The Christmas Tobacco
f By Christopher Morlcy
Illustrated by Charles H. Sykcs
(According to an eastern legend, tobacco used lo lie grown in the fields outeldo Bethlehem)
ROM tho golden nlslra of riot,
From tho frantic jostling press, ,
To a side street's frosty quiet
Homo walked, with bitterness.
AH tho color, bustle, glamour, ' j
Seemed to him but empty clamor. - ,
r
In tho great stores' teeming spaces,
In tho throng of Christmas Eve,
Ho saw worried, weary faces , ? 1 ,
Told himself, "I disbelieve!
Merry Christmas, Day of Days
Hypocrite commercial phrasel"
,
Did ho havo some prlvato reason
TIiub so savagely to brood?
N ' Anyway, In cheerful season
There ho walked in cynic mood,
Roaming aimless, without plan,
Lonely, a disheartened man.
Christmas trees, banked high and fragrant,
Breathed a whiff of balsam sweet,
But the misanthropic vagrant
Strode ungladdcned down tho street.
"Holly?" cried n corner grocer
Homo drew his; surtout closer.
Dusk wits starred, the sky blue-vaultid- ,
People hurried homo from work.
Whcro ho saw cigars ho halted,
By a wooden tuibaned Turk, ' "
Ashamed, with empty hands, to sco
All carried parcels, saving ho.
Queer tho shop, It seemed (ho entered)
Stocked with candy, pipes and toys;
And tho dealer stood there, centered
In-? group of bright-cheeked boys.
Urchins loitered, slowly choosing
Clockwork apes they thought amusing.
Ancient 'bacconist, queer fellow
Oriental icind of chap
In complexion rather yellow, t
Bearded almost to his lap.
Chuckling, showed tho boys to plense
Tinseled sturs for Christmas trees.
Homo waited, rather peevish,
Wearied of the old man's jokes; N
Feeling nowiso Christmas Eve-ish,
Said, "See here, I want somo smqkcs.
None of these rubbish toys and stars
For Christ's sake, givo mo somo cigaral
"What is this a kind of toy-shop,
Or a homo,for nicotine?
Lord, is this a Yuletide joy-shop?
Bunkt tho Christmas stuff, I mean.
Who falls for fables any longer?
Too mild. You must havo something stronger?"'
The children ran. Tho old man, turning,
Showed a dark and foreign eye.
Homo, with annoyance burning,
Felt ashamed, ho knew not why.
"The way you ask, I can't refuse you;
Something special I will choose you."
i
The cigars thus recommended
Brittle seemed, and rather dry;
But, as -he had once offended,
Homo drew his purse to buy
"You can havo just one of these,
And I'll take no money, please."
On a rearward shelf he fumbled
And drew out a parcel rich,
Wrapped with eastern fabric, jumbled
O'er with patterned silken stitch.
Opened it. "Now here's a weed
That's exactly what you need."
In tho smoke-blued air, all hazy,
Homo stared upon the face,
Thinking, "Why tho old man's crazy."
Tossed a coin and left tho place.
Shut tho door. Above, afar,
In the evening, ona great star.
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Curious and most amazing
(Homo thought) to see that sky
Never had he seen such blazing,
Such a golden lamp on high.
That cigar, too, what a flavor!
What a richly pungent savor!
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Strangely, too, tho air seemed milder,
Aid, along that humble street
Christmas costume was much wilder
Than he had been wont to meet.
Fancy dress, this part of town
Curious, that eastern gown!
In a little park he tarried
Faint tho clanging of tho cars;
All, tho sky was lucent, clarid,
Pallid with a foam of stars.
Softly he heard the church chimes ring
"Hark, tho Herald Angels Sing."
What could be thoso strange shapes moving
Silhouetted in tho square?
Lo! he rubbed his eyes, reproving
' ' Sense that so betrayed him there.
, ( What' was that tall shambling beast,
And thoso turbans of tho East?
Down beforo a shabby dwelling ,
Knelt the shape; again; a third; ",',-
Strangely clad, tall figures telling K
Something in a foreign word. 1
Lights gleamed; voices came from far ( , -.,
Then ho threw down his cigar.
Crossed the park, his senses whirring,
Toward the house where they had been
There, beside tho curbstone, purring, .
Stood a shining limousine.
Asked tho chauffeur, standing near:
"Say, whai's this, a circus here?"
"Well, it might be! Can you beat it?
That's the car of Doctor Bruce
And I'm saying you don't meet it
Very often south of Spruce.
What's tho trouble? Oh" (with scorn),
"Just some baby being born." -
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'!But," said Homo, "now tho fact is
There were three" "Say, friend, you're right!
Never in the doctor's practice
Did I seo it like tonight.
Two docs to consult. It's queer,
Three wise guys like that, down hero!"
Homo looked upon the lowly
Little home, ono.pano alight
Thinking, then ho answered slowly
"Hope they all como through all right.
That's religion, in tho end
Wish you Merry Christmas, friend!"
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