The Clinton chronicle. (Clinton, S.C.) 1901-current, December 22, 1949, Image 17
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THE CHRONICLE
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(Eltttfam
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THE CHRONICLE
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Volume XL1X
Clinton, S. C, Thursday, December 22, 1949
Nunfber 51
A MEDITATION FOR CHRISTMAS
By IUv. WARE W. WIMBERLY ^
Fast President KJwanis Club of Wsbash, Ind., in Kiwanls Magazine
T
A
“Glory be God in the highest,
and on earth peace.”
"Of t|»e ing-ease of his govern
ment and of^jpeace there shall be
no end.” The ages have seen a large
measure of the fulfillment of the
prophecy concerning the increases
of government. The world has been
made better. The increase of peace I ficient answer to the wars of thj
must depend upon the men of faith worj^j. When it h^s been complete-
and goodwill.
Christianity is the only and suf-
ly tried there will
world.
be a warles
The gift God predated to
Man on that first Christmas is
still the most blessed thing He
could have given. Isn’t it
strange, then, that despite all
of <Air interest in Christmas,
few people understand the sig
nificance of this one great gift?
UUMiBLE shepherds adored. Wise
men offered gifts. But the people
of the nations would have none of
the gift God gave at the first Christ
mas. They still don’t know its value.
“Give us bigger and better armies,
ships and airplanes,” say the people
of the nations. ‘Give us a super-
colossal bomb that will put us for
ever on top.”
“No! Give us our own kind of po
litical system,” say the people of the
nations. ‘Give us fascism, and all
will fl>e well. Give us communism,
and the world will be saved. Give us
democracy, and the millenium will
be drawn.”
“Wait! Just give us economic abun
dance,” say the people of the nations.
“Give us all the money we need, and
all our needs will be met. By what
ever route, by whatever political sys
tem, give us money!”
“Rather, give us an enduring
peace,” say the people of the na
tions. “War is our enemy. Peace is
our friend. Somehow, give us a world
that shall practice war no more.”
“Better than that, give us health,”
say the people of the nations. “Give
us a cure for cancer! Give us a cure
for heart disease! Give us and our
children a cure for polio and all the (
other diseases that prey upon us! |
What do we have if we do not have
health?”
“No! First give us homes,” say the
people of the nations. “Give us homes
secure from war, homes secure
from crime's increasing menace,
homes secure from the mounting toll
of broken marriages. How can our
world be whole if our homes be
broken?”
But the people do not want the J
gift God offers. They do not want,
the supreme gift, without which all*
we have been given, all we may be
given, are not gifts at all but liabili
ties.
For what good is our stockpile ofi
bombs in the hands of men without |
character? Of what value is our mon- j
ey in the possession of the immoral? j
What good our enduring peace if we j
use the days of peace to work evil?
What matters the kind of govern-;
ment if corrupt men control it? How
valuable is health if healthy men are
evil? Or how secure will our homes
remain if fathers and mothers lack
moral stature?
So the Creator gave the supreme
gift to men. He offered us Goodness
— Goodness Incarnate, some creeds
say. Others call His gift Righteous
ness. Others call it the Way of Life.
Still others call it Character.
But only a few humble shepherds,
only three wise men, were humble
enough and wise enough to receive
the gift at His hands.
Average American
Family To Spend
About $40 for Christmas
Minneapolis, Minn., Dec. 19.—The
average American family will spend
about $40 on Christmas gifts this!
year, a survey showed today. 1
Twenty per cent of the money will I
go for toys, so that the nation’s 41,- |
000,000 youngsters below the age of i
15 can wake up Christmas morning
and find about $8 worth of toys un-!
der the tree.
These figures were worked out by |
the family economic bureau of the
Northwestern National Life Insur-!
anee company. They were based on'
retail sales figu.es and U. S. De-
partmen* of Commerce statistics.
No matter how much papa com
plains about the bills, the survey
showed, the average expenditure for'
Christmas presents won’t put the 1
family in the poorhouse. Tbat $401
amounts to about one-sixth of the
average monthly income after taxes.;
Christmas buying is expected toj
total about $1,600,000,000 this year,
less than in 1946 and about the samjT
as in 1947. .
This means the nation’s 150,000,-'
000 citizens will shell out an average
of $10.67 • each, while the average!
family of 3.67 persons will spend:
$39,16.
Toy sales alone are expected to hit \
$320,000,000, some 65 per cent of the,
toy industry’s total annual business. {
This amounts to $7.80 for each of the J
country’s children.
Some will get too many toys, of ;
course, and some too few. That $7.80
figure is the average spent for play
things ranging from a cheap red
wagon to such mechanical wonders'
as a $250 toy bear that actually
blows bubbles.
The Santa Claus who buys his son
a train will find the bill can run eas- [
ily into hundreds of dollars. This!
year trains come equipped with real-j
ly miraculous gadgets—a cattle car
which stops at an unloading plat-
farm, and let toy cows march out of
the car and back in again.
Or there’s a car with a * milkman
who deposits a can of milk when the;
train stops at the platform.
Gifts for a small girl can cost a
large wad of folding money too. One,
famous Fifth Avenue toy store is ad
vertising a doll house with electric
lights. It comes completely furnished,
with miniature'furniture, a modern
kitchen and a tile bathroom with a
shower and shower curtain. The
price tag reads $300.
CHRISTMAS EVE
The snow is full of silver light
Spilled from the heavens’ tilled cup
And, on this holy, tranquil night,
The eyes of men are lifted up
To see the promise written fair,.
The hope of peace for all on earth,
And hear the singing bells declare
The marvel of the dear Christ’s
birth.
The way from year to year is long
Aad though the road b« dark so Ur,
Bright is the manger, tweet the song,
The steeple rises to the Star.
A White Christmas
Dr. Frederick Brown Harris,
Chaplain, United States Senate
How the jaded heart of *8 weary
world welcomes the birthday of the
Babe whose coming broke the ages
in two. All the ingenuities of art
are commandeered to see to it that
lovely etchings and greetings set us
dreaming of the white Christmas
we used to know. But Christmas is
not simply retrospect. It is also pros
pect. There are sinister forces in the
earth which dream not of a coming
whiteness, but whose stock in trade
is to attribute to others who plan
good -will the black motives which
the accusers themselves harbor.
They- see even the Good Samaritan
as a scheming gangster.
But such a day as this is no time
for panic and despair. There are ir
resistible tides of good will in the
world which are sure to win. The
very stars in their courses fight for
those who go on dreaming of a white
Christmas.
Dreamers have ever been pioneers
of a divine discontent ,and they own
the future. Dreamers have caught
the vision of a better day, of a just-
er order, of a cleaner, kindlier
world. Conscious of the betrayals of
democracy and the denials of hu
man brotherhood which are part and
parcel of the present social order,
including our own, moved with com
passion by the blackness of the mis
ery which has settled over so many
nations, our America is dreaming of
a White Christmas for all mankind,
and of the peace on earth which can
come only to and through men of
good will.
SIX-INCH SERMON
By Rev. Robert H. Harper
GOD’S MESSIAH
Lesson for December 25: Isaiah 9:
2-7; 11:1-5.
Memory Selection: Luke 2:14.
From antiquity light has been a
symbol of life. The sun is a life-
giver in the material world. So Jes
us, who came to reveal God to men,
is light and life in the world of spir
it. Isaiah likened his coming to tfce
kindly glow of a great light.
The lesson leads us to think of
the names the Saviour bears. Won
derful, Counsellor and Prince of
Peace belong to his humanity, Migh
ty God and Everlasting Father be
long to him as God and are approp
riate to his, reign as the King of
kings. In the name, Lord Jesus
Christ, Jesi/s, meaning Saviour, is
his given name. Christ, denoting the
Anointed One, is his title. Lord re
fers to his kingship in the hearts
of men.
He who came of the stock of Jes
us is also the Son of God and his
reign brings justice and righteous
ness, equity to the meek, and de
struction to the wicked. Well may
we join in the song of the angels:
■ ' A ' ' . • ■ \
GOOD
M/ED
to Skone
Oun CkniMmaA
Our organization is dedicated to the growth, progress
and betterment of our city and community. We ask the co
operation of our entire citizenship as we face the problems
and opportunities of the New Year. It is a pleasure to be of
service to the community in every possible way.
A
Merry Christmas ... Happy New Year!
Clinton
W. M. Walker, President
rot
Miss Iona Blakely, Secretary
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