Evening Star Newspaper, December 14, 1930, Page 97

March. In April he scraped togegther $7 more. All that Spring and Summer the family were depressed over the ring. That next September Dr. John Norton, dis- trict superintendent, came to attend- quarterly oonference in the church where Mrs. Hess be- longed. He had grown even plumper and red- der since the days’ when Peter Reed knew him at seminary. And his eyes were more shrewd now than merry. 3 On the night of quarterly conference he was entertained at the Hess home for dinner. Mrs. Hess proceeded to tell him about the work which the Women’s Home Missionary Society had been doing. “We had a most unfortunate experience with our missionary barrel,” she said. “The family who received it w:re so undeserving. I don't like to make any accusations, but—well—a ring of mine got in the barrel by mistake and they never returned it. Of course, they say it was {ost in the mail, but I can’t help thinking——!" “Who is the pastor?” John Norton asked idly. He was not greatly interested. “A man who signs himself Peter Reed,” Mrs. Hess said grimly. . John Norton brought his hand down hard on the arm of his chair. “I used to know a fellow of thaf name in seminary,” he said. “It must be the one. I haven't thought of him in years. Splendid thap. We used to sit up till all hours of the night talking.” “Well, as I was saying, I've written and written and he says it was lost in the mail, Bt 'JOH'N NORTON turned stern. He was sud- denly interested in Mrs. Hess' ring. The memory of young Peier Reed came and struck him full in the heart. Peter had been a tall, delicate boy with a sort of bright burning in his face. “Are you by any chance accusing one of our ministers of theft?” he sald. He was very unpleasant for the rest of the dinner hour. Giorianna felt as if she had thiust. her hand inadverténtly into a clump of Al during the quarierly conference John Norton thought of Peter Reed. His mind had run back 13 years, back into that strange world called school. Why, Peter and he had been inseparable. They had told each other all their hopes. They had burned to make the world over. : But John Noiton forgot his old schoolmate again in the press of his Autumn duties. Peter was busy, too, down in Eureka. Many of his parishioners were sick with a fever which was epidemic in that part of Dakota. As Peter drove with Arab from farmhouse to lonely farmhouse he felt that he never had dreaded Winter so much as this year. Sixteen years on the circuit now . . . 16 years e+ . it seemed to him lately that Clorinda had aged. He had always thought of her as looking the same as when they were married. But this Fail he was frightened to see the lines in her face. His Clorinda growing old! When December came and Christmas neared John Norton remembered Peter again. There s something about Christmas which makes a man remember old friends, old hopss, old faith. John went to spend the holidays with his wife's family in Dayton. He discovered that Dayton was only 19 miles from Eureka, where Peter lived. A cutter with two strong Jhorses could easily go there and back in a day. - So the twenty-fourth of December, which was Sunday, John left Dayton very early in the morning bound for Eureka. He planned to slip into Peter’s church in the back seat and hear him preach. What a surprise for old Peter! - John could not help but feel complacent as ¢the handsome horses pulled the sleigh lightly along the prairie road. The snow frothed up under their hoofs. The air was bright as a beil. He was under a fine fur robe. He won- dered pleasantly if Peter were as ardent as ever. He would not blame the man if he had run to seed. How quiet it was out here on the prairie! It seemed to John as if he were sliding along farther and farther into silence. But he did not think about the silence more than a moment. He could not keep his mind on the spiritual sidz of life for long—not these days. That power had gone with his youth. All his beliefs werz rather jaded. At last he saw Peter's chureh, a speck ahead on the unending plain. As he drew near he slowed down his horses. How uninviting these Starved churches ~rere! He thought of his own church, with ils Gothic towers, stained-glass windows and carved choir screen. Why—this was only a tiny box set on the prairie. He slipped into the rear pew. Beastly hard it was. He looked about at the bare walls. There was no attempt at Christmas decoration. Well, after all, the manger was bare, too. . . . Peter came out of the little door behind the pulpit. John's hands clenched with pity. How shabby the man was'! But his face was the same as in youth. It had that old bright burn- ing in it OHN NORTON was surprised that Peter did not look unhappy. No—the man looked as if he had never yielded to bitterness as if he had himselfl in hand. John Norton counted the congregation—78. In these past years he had preached to as many as a thousand every Sunday morning. He felt a bit complacent as he thought of the thousand. Peter Reed gave out his text: “Fear not: . . . for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” It was a grand, familiar text, John Norton had often preached on it in his own church. He settled back comfortably to Hsten. But he did not settle back for long. His complacency thinned away. Great guns! How Peter could preach'! He preached as if he knew what he was talking about. He was not mouthing the old phrases. John Norton bsgan to feel humble and admiring there in the batk pew. This sermon was not hatched out on paper. This sermoe had background. John felt spurious, like a spotted imitation stone beside the gen- uine. And to think Peter had reached this power out here in the small circuits! * When the service was over John went up to the pulpit and shook hands. He no longer thought of what a surprise it was for old Peter. The reom melted before Abigail's eyes. “Isn’t there anything more?” she asked, in tone that was meant to be careless, “A ring, perhaps?” “You've done me good, Peter,” he said. “It's been fine to see you. I've often thought quiet "in the attic. They could the children downstairs. “There’s one more thing I want you tv do “I've got a church in my . It's a good church, 500 members. I've been hunting the right man for it. I ask you humbly, Peter, will you come and grace the district?” Peter would not have been human if his eyes widened. He gripped a knob on his himself from stepping off the rim The Great Statue of “Freedom.” Continyed from Fourth . we great, solemn eyes staring eastward toward the rising sun. . When the gigantic statue was finally com- pleted and securely mounted on the dome of the Capitol it had cost the United States Gov- ernment $23,797—$3,000 for the model, $9,800 for casting and $10997 for labor, bronze and other expenses. It stands on a bronze globe encircled by a band bearing the words E. Pluribus Unum. AT noon on December 2, 1863—10 years after : the model had bsen begun—the greatest event in the life of the goddess took place—her unveiling. All the sections of the figure were in place except the head, which was lifted to position upon the stroke of 12 noon. In 15 minutes it, too, was made secure and the Ameri- can flag was raised above the statue. This was the signal for the artillery placed on Capitol Hill to fire the national salute of 35 guns. The salute was answered in turn by like salutes from the 12 forts around Washington—Stanton, Davis, Mahan, Lincoln, Bunker Hill, Totten, De Russy, Reno, Cameron, Corcoran, Albany and Scott. The architect of the Capitol feit this to be a solemn and significant occasion and he forbade any noise on or near the statue. The workmen were not even permitted to wave their hats, shcut or make speeches. He specifically stated that nothing except the American flag should be allowed on or above the hcad after it had been placed in position. The architect’s orders, however, could not be extended to the people who had come to witness this great event—the unveiling of the statue which stood for freedom, the basic principle upon which the Republic was established. Their joy was unrestrained, and the shouting, frenzied mob forgot for a moment the grim tragedies of war raging throughout the land. Immediately after the statue was securely riveted to her pedestal a storm of criticism again arose over her headdress, and a bill was introduced in Congress to have the crest of feathers removed. But the “nondescript orna- ment,” as it was scathingly called, has remained to this day, probably because of the great ex- pense and difficulties involved in its removal. Perhaps, too, there was a sentimental reason for leaving it as it had been executed. The statue was a true cast from the model designed by a distinguished American artist, who has betn dead only a few years, and his brother artists refused to offer any suggestion for alter- ing the design. Time is the great peacemaker. Today the statue’s position as a work of art is unquestioned —her form and figure are accepted as truly beautiful—she is firmly intrenched in the hearts of the American pecple—her proportions are in perfect harmony and symmetry with the great dome of the Capitol—and the genius of the artist is now universally recognized. ‘That which was a bone of contention a generation ago is a treasured possession today. Times have changed, Congressmen no longer cousider goddesses in- ferior, women now sit in the halls of Congress, and the sol>mn Statue of X'reedom still stands on her lofty tholus staring tmperturbably to- ward the east. (Copyright. 1930.) New Strains May Rout Chestnut Blight. THE chestnut, almost vital to the tanning industry, and at present hard-pressed by the chestriut blight, which threatens to wipe out that type of iree in the United States, may find an understudy in the scores of varieties which were discovered in Japan during a two- and-a-half-year visit to the empire by R. Kent Beattie, plant explorer of the Department of Agriculture. Mr. Beattie was sent to Japan to discover if he could why the trees in the islands were not being wiped out by the blight just as they are in this country, for the blight is present In Japan. He found that the answer lay in the blight-resistant strains which have developed across the Pacific. During these two-and-a- half years of investigation Mr. Beattie obtained scions of 90 cultivated varieties of the chestnut and 250 bushels of nuts of native varietids. The gathering and preserving of the nuts was & task requiring much care. The nuts after they had been gathered were immersed in hot water for a time in order that any worms present might be killed. They were then dried, packed in damp moss and placed in cold storage, in which condition they remained until they were: delivered to the department’s experimental farm at Gilendale, Md. These scions and nuts produced about a quarter of a million seedlings, 73,000 of which have been turned over to foresters in nearly 20 States in New England, in the Middle At- lantic area, in the South and in the Midwest. Inasmuch as nearly 50 per cent of the vege- table tannin used in the tanning industries comes from the chestnut, the results of the growing experiments now being carried out are family. John would arrange the transfer. They might start packing next week. Clorinda was pleased, but any one could see that she theught Peter deserved it. The children leaped and shouted “Merry Christmas!” because it was all they could think to say and it sounded good. Then John had to leave for his long ride back to Daylon. It was growing dark, so Abigail lighted the candle in the window. John Nortom said he could see it from the road. All the Reeds stood on the porch and waved as his sleigh moved off behind the handsome horses. Then they went back inside the house and shut the door. It was going to be such a Christmas as they had never known. Peter looked at Abigail and Abigail looked at her father. They gave each other a slow mod. Then Peter op2ned his arms wide. “I'll get you a ring, Abigail!” he said. (Copyright, 1990.) Christmas Toys. Continued from Third Page bt | for the girl doli-mother and her child, so that they can make their toilettes In fast-moving trains and on ocean liners. UT it is the boy who appears to fare better in this year's assortment of toys. He is certain to have an extra-exciting Christmas, no matter what his-ag= or inclinations may be. If he likes to build, he will find all the things necessary to satisfy this desire; bricks, logs, der- ricks, rubber-tired wheelbarrows, heavy steel sand wagons and dump trucks. Lindbergh, Hawks, Coste and all the other air heroes of the present day and their flying achievements have, of course, greatly popular- “ized toy aircraft. Not only will parents be able to buy their offspring every imaginable type of airplane, monoplane, dirigible and glider, with all the very latest improvements, but they will find airplane material which can be assembled and built by their own inventive and air-minded small sons. ; For the boy with a fondness for watercraft, there is a large supply of every kind of boat, from a small and reasonably priced sailboat to a luxuriously fitted toy yacht. The boat-minded boy will be overjoyed on Christmas morning with a new model seaplane or battleship. Toy watercraft this year includes perfect reproduc- tions of commercial and pleasure boats, speed- boats, seaplanes and navy ships, models of all kinds to be floated either in a bathtub at home or a pool in the park. ‘Toy automobiles of the very latest model are on the market. Some of them 'are so large that they almost require garages of their own. These have real electric lights and duplicate real cars in almost every detail. Boys and girls with artistic temperaments or those who have a flair for advertising will be enthralled by the poster sets, which come in various sizes. Children who harbor the naive belief that toys should p:imarily aim to amuse will, per~ haps, be annoyed on Christmas morning when they stagger sleepily into the living. room te find a heavy assortment of those whose ‘chiaf objective is to “teach something.” Educational toys are much in evidence this year. These are the ones which aim to enlighten—to show the small boy how to build a car, a garage or & hangar, develop skill with his fingers, awaken his creative instinct or encourage an under. standing of color selection. S todpyrient, 1980 0