“We believe in Christmas,” said an editorial in the December 5, 1917, edition of The Advocate.

“We have always believed in it ever since we laid awake at night, as long as we could keep our eyes open, to see old Santa Claus fill the stocking which we had carefully hung up by the open fire place.

“We believe everyone should believe in Christmas and have the right kind of Christmas spirit — a spirit of love charity and kindness manifesting itself to those about us.

“Christmas is different from any we have had in many years in this country. A terrible war is going on, in which the United States is bound to bear a great part, if we win.

“The world is shrouded in darkness and suffering must fall on our people and country.

We are, to use a common expression, ‘Up against it.'”

The newspaper said the war should not destroy the real joy and pleasure of Christmas, but it should limit the amount of expenditures for the season.

With the money needed for the war efforts, the newspaper suggested that no money be spend on adults.

“There are millions of dollars spent this way in this country every Christmas and it certainly ought not be done this Christmas.” It suggested that the millions be spent on people who are starving to death.

“Let us have the kind of Christmas we used to have in this country before the Civil War, and all the extra money we have learned to spend on Christmas since then put it carefully away as a fund to come out of hiding to answer the first call that comes from the government, or organization working in connection to relieve suffering and distress.

“Let your Christmas partake of the Christ idea and not of either

the selfish or social customs of the present day.”

(The editorial was taken from The Elizabethtown News.)

‘Shiners’ good this holiday

“Moonshiners are being good this Christmas,” was an announcement in the The Advocate announced on December 28, 1917.

“Sure they are being good. He is one brand of lawbreaker who is always good as he attends strictly to his business and does not meddle in other people’s affairs, as the whiskey people elsewhere are prone to do.

“By the way, under the moonshiner’s cheap method of making booze and the present high prices for the stuff, it looks like some of the shiners would be soon making some money out of sale of the stuff.

“The blind tiger people, in this section, don’t seem to know how to make it, but must depend upon the city rectifying house. How mortal man can drink the damnable stuff is incomprehensible.”

Poem published Dec. 18, 1906, in Stanford, Interior Journal, and  published in Advocate.

The  Cynic’s Christmas 

Same old Christmas

 As of yore, 

Same old nuisance, Same old bore,

 Same bum Santa, 

Same exchange, 

 Christmas givin’s 

   Very strange. 

Same old holly, 

  Same old cheer. 

Same old presents

  As last year. 

 Same old slippers

   Much too small.

 Same cigars 

    No good at all. 

Same old Omar.

   Same old ties,

 Nothing novel 

   Meets my eyes, 

Same old greetings,

   Same old ills,

 Same old gameness

 Even bills.