Life — December 8, 1904 — page 10: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

-LIFE- ARE CHRISTMAS PRESENTS A BLESSING OR A NUISANCE? FOR the best answer to this question, contained in five hundred ords or less, Li will give fifty dollars. Correspondents may treat the subject in any way they As our guestion applies only to adults, it meets with the full approval of Santa Claus. sd RE Christmas presents a nui- ing?" They are a blessing because they are such a nuisance, According to all religions and most philosophers, we are placed in this, world to develop and improve our char- acters, But how could we do that if there were no resistance, so to speak ? If our environment were perfectly agreeable, we should still be happy little amect s, as it were, on the placid se; ernity. But nui- sances forced us to struggle and grow, until now we have passed through all the forms of animal life and combined them in the superior animal, man. This, by the way, is why children, still dimly recalling the steps of their Darwinian ascent, frequently remark : “T feel like everythin: Nuisances of one kind and another are to be credited with man and his For sance or a ble rapid progress toward perfection, mple, we all admit that it is a nui- sance to have to wor , if we did not have to work, there would be no big hotels, no stock market, no feather im- porters, no chorus girls, no yachts, no automobiles—Great Scott, think of it !— no LIFE atall! So with Christmas presents. They are a blessing because it costs money to buy them, and is a bore to receive them. They never are the things you want, and you know you will get no gratitude from the recipi And yet you have to sit down and write notes full of fervent thanks to people you dis- nd read notes of fervent thanks you e sent with hearty hatred. But all this strengthens your control of your temper and cultivat: ness, sometimes called hypocrisy, one of the most necessary factors in the survival of the fittest. sof your gift On the other hand, all blessings are nuisances. Look at children—the lit- tle blessings! Every parent knows what nuisances they are. And wifie, she —but gallantry forbids. Besides, hubby needs no argument on that proposition, Christmas presents are, therefore, a nuisance because they are such a bless- ing. They cultivate generosity, which a nuisance to anybody who wants to live rich; philanthropy, which is a fatal handicap ; religious feeling, which s incompatible with success, and vari- ous other virtues, all of them undeniable nuisances in our day and generation. Verdict: Guilty on both counts. Barrett Eastman. “TOMMY, AR! “THINK ¥ You Go! TO BE A GOOD BOY, OR SHALL 1 GET MY swiTcit 2” "D BETTER GET YOUR SWITCH, HRISTMAS presents area nuisance When you get a few like this: Books of science, when you're only Just a simple little miss ; When you get a dozen napkins Just because you are mamma ; Ora picture for the parlor, If, mayhap, you are papa! Christmas presents are a blessing When to men come gifts like these : Sofa cushions for your divan, Scarfs that really truly please ; Diamonds (if you are a beauty), Money (if you're stranded quite); In such cases Christmas presents Seem to me to be all right! Charles Hanson Towne. YOUR HAIR 18 GETTING VERY ‘THIN.” comicbooks.com