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EDITDORIAL. There appears in this number the text of an address delivered at the opening . of ths Public Librarv on the 30th viti: mo, furnished by the chairman, Dr. L. C. Caneg-ta, with request for publi- cation. ; I.CCAL. Readers will note the specially aitrac- tive parts of the serial '‘The Pearl of the Army’’ to be presented at the thea- tre this evening. We are able to re- commend this film as a capital scereen production. The *Creole’” ..ith 70 bags of United States mail broughi to St. Thomas by the s. s. ‘‘Mariha Washington’’, arrived at Frederiksted on Saturday morning. The mail for this town was received Saturday afiernoon. The postmaster says i' was very heavy letter mail which occ unts for the post offire being opened until 7.45 p. m. The Pocahontus replaced the Virgiria this irip and arrived at Frederiksted Satur- day bet v2en 6 and 7 p. m. She brought no States mail. The jetter mail from St. Thomas and Purto Rico was received and delivered here at noon yesterday. The Navy Band entertained the public with a concert last night. Light was previded by a lamp Kkindly loaned by Mr. Boje which illumined the bandstand with exceptional brilliancy. ' The s. s: “Korona’’ left New York on Wednesday, sth inst., for tnese islands, omitting Dominica, St. Lucia and Demi- erara. The s. s. ‘‘Parima’” will leave New York on Wednesday the 12th inst. FATHER DAILY’S ADDRESS AT OPENING OF LIBRARY AT CHRIS- TIANSTED, ST. CROIX, DECEM- BER 30TH 1920. Mr. Chairman, Ladies and.Gentiemen: The ‘ Twentieth Century’”’ has been characterized as a ‘‘Reading Age.”” The appella ion is so much of a truism that | it demands no proof. I go further and state that a veritable epidemic o: read- ; iny is raging. Go to any large city and | make your observations. Take New | York City for instance. In the subway, | on the surface cars and on the elevated | trains everyone 1s occupied with his daily papei or favorite author. ' We are astounded at the constant fout- put of the press. And yet ail thatis regulated by the common laws of de- | ‘mand and supply. It is the persistent demand for-literature that Kkeeps the printing press going day and night. In New York City alone there are 58 dis- e CROLA ¥ L ferent morning papers with a daily cir- culation of over 3 millions. There are 40 different afternoon papers, and svme of those papers rup three or four edi- tions. In the ilnifed States there are 1379 weekly voriodicais with an average issue of 284 millions. Then add ‘he bi-monthly, moathly and quarteriy ma- gazines which run the wvnole gamset of inteilectual subjects. In New York City alone there are 189 well stocked libravies with many vaiua- ble private libraries not listed In these libraries one -~an secure accurate infor- mation on eveiy conceivable subject. In the United "S ates every city has its iibravies, and eve:y .town of importance has its library which serves as the peob- ples’ bureau of information. Thesefacts prove the American people are a read- ing people. And from books and tour- ists 1 know for a fact that those condi- tions are duplicated in Europe. And so it should be. A naticn that is not a eading nation is not a thioking nation. And the pation that i. not a tnicking nation will fall by the wayside in the foreed march of the world’s inteilectual Prograss. “‘Man must read.”’ ‘{hat is equivalent (o saving: ‘‘Man must eat’’ for reading is as necessary ‘or ithe mind as food is for the body. When a man partakes of nutriti~us food he extracts the substance from the food. That subatance passes over and bacomes flesh and blood, bone and Sinew. it makes hin stronger and healthier.- When a man assimulates mental food through good reading he developsi iteilec naliv and baeomes men- tally strong and vigorous. Tlne analogy between physical ands intellectual food is most striking. In the physical or- der our health does not depend so much upoa bow mueh we eat as upon how mucn we digest and assimulate. In the intelleciuai order t e benefit we derive from reading is determa- ed nol by the amount of reading we do. bur by the »mount of intellectual food we assi nuiate and make our own. Years ago I met a brother and sister 16 and 18 years old respectively. Botn were omnivorous readers. However, their methods of reading differed vas‘ly. The girl would skiv through a book of 300 pages in a single day. It would take ihe boy a weex to read the =same buok, ‘The girl was constantly nagging at her brother and caliing him slow and poky. he girl ran through the book to get the story or piot. The boy read, weighed and compared. Then, he would review the book with his sister questioning the accuracy of the author’s quetatons, and pointing out the author’s rash and un- supporied statements. i'he girl invari- ably had to acknowledge that she had not noticed the inaccuracies or unwise siatements. - There is a difference be- tween reading and reading. The selection of our books is not a matter of slight importance. There is "ap old adage: ‘'Tell me your compani- ons and I will tell who you are’’. I ecan say with truth: "‘Tell me what you read and .I will tell you. what you are’’. Through reading we imbibe principles, and create ideals. A good book 18 a source oi noble inspirations and generous impulses. Good reading has taught many a man to jhok upward, to think upward and o live upward. On acer- . tain oeccasion a Man of steriing worth - was approached by an admirer who said: ‘““There are some characters that are . strong, but not beautiful. There are other chara.ters which are beautiful, .~ but not strong; your character is both strong and beautiful. Whatis the secret . of your strength and beauty of- charac- { ter?”’” The mam of worth simply an- | swered: ''l have a friend’’. The sho:t | - answer spoke volumes. [t meant 4™ { friend had come into his iife and had | been to hum a source ol luity inspiration . and generous impulse. Many a man can | * say the same thing and when pressed to . make known the friend’s name with an . indeseribale gesture cau point to his ' favorite author. A good book isz true, reliable friend. . We may have recourse to it day or night. | Itis aiways in goed humor. 1t is always . ready lo insiriet, entertain or amuse,. . A book to be good must be good in : every detail. In the physical order l you cannot say a man has consump- tion, otherwise he is ail right. if a man has eonsumption there is no othey- wise. A single chapter suggestive of immoraiity mars 4 beok and gives ihe death blow to many an innocent heart. A good book it the best of ‘friends - A bad book is the deadliest of epemies. { characterize as good books those pubii- ! cations which give us solid instrucuion, - useful information or innoceni amnuse- | ment. ? By good reading we come in contact - with the best thocghts of the best minds. . Many a voung mind has been earried to - lofty heignts ithrough close friendship with bcoks. We ail know what books meant to Abranam Liicoin. His mother - was iefrta widow when young Abe was . a mere child. They were exiremely . poor. And the country school —ungraded and with short sessions—offered not tile | opportunity for an ordinary elementary . educaticn. But Abe loved books and . saved nis pennies to buy them. His dis- | creet, solicitois mother directed his i reading. Th~ reading of history and | biozravhy mouided bis characier and ' chiselled his career. In faet, history | ranks among those sources of knowledge ' best calculated to imparc breadth of . mind and ripepess of judgement. His- tory deals with the past. It is a reeord . of events. And through the medium { of history we see the rise and fall . of individuals, statesand pations. Bt ! to produce ihe <desired effecis more than a cursory glance is required. It is © npecessary to study the circumstances