Heimskringla - 14.02.1940, Síða 5

WINNIPEG, 14. FEBR. 1940
HEIMSKRINGLA
5. SÍÐA
dead, you are buried, and that’s
all there is—therefore the im-
portant thing is to prevent evil
and suffering in this life as there
is no compensation to come,”
then he must also agree that the
great prophets and philosophers
and most of ordinary mankind
throughout written history are
wrong. And even those on each
side of this fence, who might
help by keeping the dividing line
of opinions clear, make matters
more confusing by internal dis-
agreement. Theologians will ar-
gue that the Bible contains more
symbolism than fact, and scien*
tists—as Alexis Carrell in Man
the UnlknoWn—will gi,ve pre-
dence to Biblical miracles occur-
ing in our own day. It seems
that not only the scientists can't
agree with the philosophers, but
the scientists can’t agree with
the scientists, nor the philosoph-
er,s with the philosophers. In
other words, Youth today gets
into a fine kettle of fish when it
goes to these trained, educated,
and exercised minds for infor-
mation as to which is right,
science or religion, or which is
wnong, either, neither, or both.
To become orientated in other
fields than these is no more sim-
ple. By comparison with these
times, it was an easy thing to
be a Roman citizen. The rest
of the world was Barbarian, and
therefore bound to be wrong.
There could be no doubt that
you, the Roman, were superior,
and therefore more likely to be
right. Nor did an American
pioneer have much difficulty
establishing in himself a con-
viction of superiority and the
rightness of his claims in life
over those of the wild Indian.
Nowadays it is different. Now-
adays everyone is civilized. We
don’t dare feel superior to the
Japanese—not only are their
guns as good as ours, but they
are ours. We can’t very well feel
superior to the Germans—they
are so much our equals, such
stiff competitors, that we are
forced at regular intervals to try
and kill them off out of self-de-
fence.We have lately managed to
attain some conviction of su-
periority over Russians. We
know the Russians are wrong.
But even then, some of us be-
come confused again because the
Russians maintain such whole-
hearted wrongness, insist on ac-
complishnig such hundred-per-
cent failure with such hundred-
percent viciousness and hundred
percent stupidity. We wonder
if such thoroughness isn’t a sign
of genius'. Life about us doesn’t
appear to be so extreme. The
people we know, the most whole-
hearted of them, don’t seem so
extreme. We read where the
great criminal lawyer tells us:
“A criminal is someone some-
body else knows—if you know
him, you know he’s not a crim-
inal.” This doesn’t make us
much clearer on the siubject, ex-
cept to suggest to us that our
knowledge of Russians and Ger-
mans and Japanese is not what
we know, but what somebody
else knows.
In other words, it is a skepti-
cal old world, or at least it has
been so in recent years. We
grew up into a world become so
broad-minded that no one would
helieve evil of anyone, including
themselves. Then we watched
it grow even more broad-minded,
to the point where no one would
believe good of anyone, includ-
ing themselves. Cynicism and
skepticism were the order of the
day which confronted the cur-
rent batch of young people. —
Theologians were debunking
scientists, and scientists were
debunking theologians — and
then they all turned round and
debunked one another. While
We, who were expected to taxe
their places some day, listened
to the undeniable logic of one
side battling the undeniable logic
of the other side, and resigned
ourselves to the cynicism about
us. Everyone could hardly be
right. Black is black, and white
is white ,and if a mathematician
proves the opposite to us, we’ve
got to assume some liar is figur-
ing, even if we can’t find the
flaw. Not knowing who is
wrong, we sometimes prefer to
believe the worst, and imagine
everyone wrong.
Of course, if we want to bel-
ieve the best, then everyone is
right. Such a thought - strikes
us as fantastic in the extreme,
until we wonder, surely ít is
more unlikely that everyone is
wrong than that everyone is
right. If we can’t prove who is
wrong, at least there are a large
number of people who seem able
to prove they are right. Be-
cause we can’t find the flaw,s in
their arguments might suggest
that they really are right, rath-
er than the reverse. If these
people appear to disagree in
spite of the fact that they are all
in the right, then the disagree-
ment may be in ourselves, in
the eye of the beholder, rather
than in the arguments of the be-
held. So, from one moment bel-
ieving everyone wrong, we sud-
denly swing about and suspect
that everyone might somehow
be right.
This provides us with an op-
portunity for evolving a much
more cheerful and enheartening
philosophy. It seems that every-
body who has any success in
life believes in something. It re-
quires faith to move mountains.
That all these people had faith in
opposite things, now ceases to
confuse us so badly, when we
wonder if they are really in dis-
agreement or not. We think of
the Tower of Babel, and sudden-
ly it seems to us that the woríd
is full of people explaining to
one another that white is white
and black is black, but doing it
in different languages, and vio-
lently tearing one another’s hair
out by the roots because White
is White in theological termin-
ology sounds like White is Black
in scientific Terminology.
Yes, ignoring all the argu-
ments, it does look as though
everyone is believing in the same
things: Physical Security, in or-
der to establish Spiritual Secur-
ity. Time to establish justice
and generosity in the world. —
Everyone uses a different meth-
od, but everyone wants the same
things, and believes in the same
things. The quarreling all arises
over the methods.
It seems to me that this is all
we young folk today need to
realize, in order to discover that
clear path in the confused world.
This is all we need to give us the
courage to go ahead and believe
in something, unhampered by the
fear of making egotistical fools
of ourselves by apparently set-
ting ourselves up as superior to
those great minds that appear
to believe something else.
A writer tells us: “Attitudes
of faith are among the greatest
of all known forces. Let a per-
son’s inner being be fortified
with a faith in God and all his
creative powers are quickened,
his marching strength is height-
ened, and his grip on everyday
things is immensely increased,”
—when he tells us this, we can
go ahead and try to work out our
problems on that basis, without
feeling ridiculous because Mr.
Darrow’s brilliant mind warns
us, “Believe in nothing that
cannot be proven in scientific
terms.” We know we are not
disagreeing with the great ag-
nostic, because, though he wrotc
a book called “Resist Not Evil”,
he spent his life resisting it and
trying to make this material hfe
finer and safer for the victims of
evil/ We know that his reason
for this—that his life is the only
bit of existence we will ever
have and therefore it is unthink-
able to inflict suffering—does
not really disagree with our own
beliefs. We also believe in re-
sisting evil, and in making life
finer and safer for its victims
If we want justice in this world
so that we can obtain it in some
other world, we are in no dis-
agreement with the agnostic who
wants it because he believes
there is no other world of oom-
pensation. We both want ju-
stice, and that is the important
thing.
By believing this, youth can
go ahead and believe in anything
it wants. If we believe in oth-
ers, then we can believe in our-
selves. If we disbelieve, we lose
all confidence. People have for
so long been trying to make
others understand them, that
they have had no time to learn
to understand others. If they
would only take the time to
learn this, they might discover
that they are merely telling each
other the same truths in differ-
ent languages, and all the strife
and bloodshed has been over a
point of syntax. If we look deep
into the soul of our neighbor,
we find only ourselves there. If
the soul is evil, the fault is our
own.
The following passage by Tuk*
aram, a famous east-Indian poet
and philosopher of the seven-
teenth century, will sum up tliis
thought in a manner very famil-
air to Christians1. It is entitled:
AS A.MAN THINKS
No saint is he
Who harboureth within con-
tempt of any man
However low or sin-besmeared:
No hope is left of spiritual peace
For him who harboureth con-
tempt of any man,
Not if he give his very life to
save his soul:
Filthy and contemptible himself
Is he who harboureth contempt
of any man:.
For, as a man shall think, deep
in his secret soul,
So shall that man become.
FRóNSMóTIÐ
Á öðrum stað í þessu blaði er
augl. hin virðulega árshátíð
“Fróns”. Hefir til þessaraf há-
tíðar verið vandað sem best má
vera. Auk þess sem augl. var í
síðustu blöðum er nú og augl,
að hin velþekti fiðluleikari Pearl
Pálmason muni leika nokkur lög
á fiðlu. Hún mun leika íslenzk lög
meðal annars og koma fram í
íslenzka þjóðbúningnum. Auk
þess mun Karlakór fslendinga í
Winnipeg syngja lög sem aldrei
hafa áður verið sungin á ísl.
samkomum, þar á meðal lag
frumsamið fyrir þessa hátíð auk
annara vel þektra laga.
Veitingar verða hinar vönd-
uðustu. Borðin í veitingasalnum
verða prýdd ísl. fánum og blóm*
um. Þar verður sem undanfarin
ár hangikjöt og rúllupylsa, auk
þess kæfa og mysuostur, vínar-
tertur, pönnukökur, kleinur og
allskonar kökur og góðgæti og
með þessu verður veitt kaffi.
Prúðbúnar konur og ungar stúlk-
ur ganga um beina. Hefir Mrs.
Loftur Mathews umsjón með
veitingunum. Henni til aðstoð-
ar verða þessar konur: Mrs. K.
W. Jóhannsson, Mrs. H. Jónas-
son, Mrs. R. Gíslason, Mrs. Ása
Jónasson, Mrs. Bína Johnson og
Miss S. Blöndal. Verða þær all-
ar klæddar í ísl. búninga ef þess
verður kostur og taka þær á móti
gestum í veizlusalnum. Klædd-
ar hvítum kjólum bera þessar
ungu stúlkur gestúnum mat og
drykk: Miss Lillian Blöndal,
Miss Thelma Hallsson, Miss
Rúna Hallsson, Miss Lily Berg-
son, Miss M. Magnússon, Miss
Rose Halldórsson, Miss Kay Mc-
Fee, Miss Iris Nordman, Mrs. H.
Melsted og Mrs. H. Bjarnason.
Fyrir dansinum leikur sama
hljómsveitin er hreif fólkið svo
mjög á Karlakórsdansinum s. 1.
haust.
Stjórnarnefnd “Fróns” hefir
vandað svo mj ög til þessarar há-
tíðar því það er einlæg ósk fé-
lagsins að sem flestir íslending-
ar sæki hátíðina og hefir því
ekkert verið sparað er mætti
stuðla að því að þessi kvöldstund
verði hin ánægjulegasta.
R.
FJÆR OG NÆR
The Young Icelanders News
As in previous years the
Young Icelanders, by arrange-
ment with the Icelandic National
League, are having a concert on
the first night of their confer-
ence, Monday Feb. 19th, 1940.
A very intersting program, ad-
vertised elsewhere in this paper,
has been arranged. All Iceland-
ic members of the Canadian Ac-
tive Service Force are cordially
invited to attend as guests of
the Young Icelanders.
The play-offs for the Icelandic
Millennial Hockey Trophy were
held in the Alexandra Rink, Sel-
kirk, last Friday night, before a
large and enthusiastic crowd.
Three teams competed, the Win-
nipeg Pirates, the First Luther-
an of Winnipeg, and the Sel-
kirks. The first game between
the Lutherans and the Pirates
resulted in a win for the former.
The Lutherans won against the
Selkirks which gave them cust-
ody of the Trophy for this sea-
son. Gordon Skinner of Selkirk
refereed the games. The Trophy
will be formally presented to
the First Lutherans at the
Young Icelanders Concert next
Monday night in th I. O. G. T.
Hall, by the president of the
Trophy Committee, Bjorn Pet-
ursson.
* * *
Embættismenn fulltrúanefnd-
ir Icel. Good Templars of Win-
íipeg fyrir árið 1940:
I'orseti: J. T. Beck, 975 Inger-
soll St. Ph. 80 528.
titari, S. Eydal, 745 Alverstone
St., Ph. 29 794.
jjaldk.: G. M. Bjarnason, 448
Greenwood Pl., Ph. 71 342
ítlánsmaður: Ásbj. Eggertsson,
533 Maryland St. Ph. 71275.
Séra K. K. Ólafsson flytur ís-
lenzka guðsþjónustu sunnudag-
inn 25. febr. kl. 2 e. h. í dönsku
kirkjunni á Burns stræti og 19.
götu í Vancouver. Allir fslend-
ingar á þeim slóðum eru beðnir
að greiða fyrir þessum messu-
Iboðum. Allir velkomnir.
j K. K. ó.
* * *
Mrs. J. B. Skaptason biðui
Heimskringlu að geta þess, að
hún taki á móti áskriftagjöldum
fyrir ritið “Hlín” er fröken Hall-
dóra Bjarnadóttir gefur út. Verð
ritsins er 35c. Heimilisfang
Mrs. J. B. Skaptason er 378
Maryland St., Winnipeg.
* * *
Barnasamkoma
Laugardagsskólans
Áformað er að Barnasamkoma
Laugardagsskólans verði í ár
haldin í Fyrstu lútersku kirkj-
unni, Victor St., laugardagskv.
6. apríl n. k. Nánar auglýst síð-
ar.
* * *
Það er sagt um mann einn,
að hann hafi kvænst þrisvar, —
tvisvar í Ameríku og einu sinni
í alvöru.
* * *
íslendingar!
Þér sem eruð bókamenn og
bókavinir! Munið eftir því, að
þér aukið þægindi yðar, og
prýðið alt í kring um yður, með
því, að láta binda og gylla bækur
yðar. Þá þurfið þér ekki annað,
en að renna augunum yfir kjöl-
inn á bókunum, til þess að finna
bókina, sem þér þurfið á að
halda. Sendið því bækur yðar,
sem fyrst, í band eða viðgerð,
Þér sem notiB—
TIMBUR
KAUPIÐ AF
THE
Empire Sash & Door
CO., LTD.
Blrjfðlr: Henry Ave. Eut
Sími 95 551—95 562
Skrtfstofa:
Henry og Argyle
VERÐ - GÆÐI - ÁNÆGJA
til Davíðs Björnssonar að
“Heimskringlu”. — Stafirnir
þryktir í gull eða silfur á kjöl-
inn, eftir því sem óskað er. —
Miklu efni úr að velja í mörgum
litum. Verkið vel af hendi leyst.
FROSINN FISKUR
Nýkominn frá vötnunum
Hvítfiskur, glænýr, pundið ....8c
Pækur, slægður, pundið .....5c
Birtingur, pundið .......3Vfcc
Sugfiskur, pundið ........2V£c
Pikerel, pundið ............7c
Pickerel fillets, tilbúnar á
pönnuna, pundið ..........15c
Síld frá Superior-vanti, pd.4c
Sjávar silungur frá Churchill
veiddur í Hudson’s flóa,
lúffengur matur, segja land-
arnir. 5 til 9 pd. hver. —
Hvert pund ...............15c
Harðfiskur frá Noregi, pd..30c
Nýreyktur birtingur, pd.....8c
Pantanir utan af landi, af-
greiddar tafarlaust. Fluttur um
borgina ef pantað er dollars virði
eða meira. Pantið strax.
JÓN ÁRNASON
323 Harcourt St., St. James
Phone 63 153
f minnisvarðasjóð K. N. Július
Júlíus Davíðson $1.00
M. J. Thorarinson 1.00
Magnús Markússon 1.00
Guðmundur Jónasson — 2.00
Th. E. Thorsteinsson ... 1.00
Árni Eggertsson, K.C. .... 1.00
Oddbjörn Magnústson ... 1.00,
J. G. Jóhannsson 1.00 1
Magnús Peterson 2.00
Jón Gillis 1.00
Dr. A. Blondal 3.00
Aðalsteinn Thorsteinsson—. 1.00
Arnljótur Sigurðsson — 1.00
Gunnlaugur Josephson .... 1.00
S. Sigfússon,
Oakview, Man 1.00
J. J. Swanson 1.00
J. Magnúis' Bjarnason,
Elfros, Sask. 2.00
Mrs. W. J. Burns 1.00
Mrs. Dísa Samson,
Wynyard, Sask 50
Páll Hallson 1.00
Warrendale Skyrtur
Þessar vinsælu skyrtur eru af
mjög smekklegri gerð og úr
endingargóðu efni. Ennfrem-
ur, fyrir þá er þess æskja, af
algengri Warrendale-gerð, í
bláum, brúnum eða hvítum lit,
með kraga áföstum. Stærðir
14 til 17 og ýmissri erma-
lengd. Með Eatons vörumerki
$1.15
—Men’s Fumishings Section,
The Hargrave Shops for Men,
Main Floor.
^T. EATON C<2m
ITED
$ 24.50
Áður augl. frá Winnipeg 102.50
$127.00
—Meðtekið með þakklæti frá
nefndinni.
* * *
Messur í Gimli
lúterska prestakalli
Sunnudaginn 18. febrúar:
Betel, morgunmessa.
Gimli, ensk messa kl. 7 e. h.
Sunnudagsskóli Gimli safnað-
ar kl. 1.30 e. h.
Fermingarbörn á Gimli mæta
föstud. 16. febr. kl. 3 e. h. á
prestsheimilinu.
B. A. B.
Tuttugasta og fyrsta Ársþing
Þjóðræknisfélagsins
verður haldið í
Goodtemplarahúsinu við Sargent Ave., Winnipeg
19, 20, og 21 febrúar 1940
Samkvæmt 21, gr. félagslaganna er deildum þess
heimilt að senda einn fulltrúa til þings fyrir hverja tutt-
ugu eða færri gilda félaga deildarinnar, gefi þær fulltrú-
um skrifleg umboð til þess að fara með atkvæði sín á
þinginu og sé þau staðfest af forseta og ritara deildar-
innar.
8. Útbreiðslumál.
9. Fjármál.
10. Fræðslumál.
11. Samvinnumál.
12. útgáfumál.
13. Bókasafnið.
14. Kosning embættis-
manna.
15. Ný mál.
16. ólokin störf og þing-
slit.
ÁÆTLUÐ DAGSKRÁ:—
1. Þingsetning.
2. Ávarp forseta.
3. Kosning kjörbréfa-
nefndar.
4. Kosning dagsskrár-
nefndar.
5. Skýrslur embættis-
manna.
6. Skýrslur deilda.
7. Skýrslur milliþinga-
nefndar.
Þingseta hefst kl. 9.30 á mánudagsmorguninn 19.
febrúar, og verða fundir til kvölds. Að kvöldinu hafa
“The Young Icelanders” skemtisamkomu í efri sal húss-
ins.
Þriðjudag allan verða og þingfundir. En að kvöld-
inu hefir deildin “Frón” sitt árlega íslendingamót. Á
miðvikudaginn verða og þingfundir, sem áður, og fara
þá fram kosningar. Að kvöldinu kl. 8 verður ókeypis
skemtifundur áður þingslit fara fram, en fyrir óviðráð-
anlegar ástæður verður sú samkoma ekki á sama stað
heldur í Sambandskirkjunni á horninu á Sargent Ave
og Banning St.
Winnipeg, 5 febrúar 1940.
í umboði stjórnarnefndar Þjóðræknisfélagsins.
Richard Beck (vara-forseti) Gísli Jónsson (ritari)