This girl Ruth

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Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

Title: This girl Ruth
Creator: Robb, Walter
Language: English
Source: The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume XVIII (Issue No.12) December 1938
Year: 1938
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Fulltext: 12 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL December. 19 >8 This Girl Ruth By Walter Robb The King James translation of the Bible is such interesting reading, why don’t you read your copy? Perhaps it is because you recurrently hear it made a mystery of, yet why not assume that it is not called the book for ecclesiastical reasons, but because no other book contains so much of what has come to be our common culture. Think of it as just your best book and you will get into it oftener. One church takes the Bible as a sculptor chooses a slab of Etruscan mar ble, and shapes a dogma out of it; and other churches take it as something not so hard, say a bit of softgrained wood, and whittle it pretty much to pieces before ar riving at just the ideals they prefer .... and they sometimes leave themselves free to reshape these ideals. All this is all right, since churches choose to do it. But it still leaves you your Bible—a good serviceable copy with glos sary and maps for no more than a dollar. It is crammed with masterpieces of literature; and it is full, not so much of ecclesiastical law as of everyday morals, sanitation and hygiene, and sound property and business law. You remember, of course, that the Levites who were the Jews’ temple keepers in charge of the Ark of the Covenant, could not own land, but through them you gave God a tenth of your year’s gains. No one indeed could own the land forever, Jubilee every fiftieth year redistributed it, and it was bought and sold according to the number of years pending Jubilee. Land speculations such as have impoverished multitudes in great nations—Poland, Hungary, the United Kingdom are thought of at once—could not get very far under such law as that. Again, modern hygiene and sanitation are now merely catching up with Leviticus. Those old Levites may have been crusty at times, but they had figured out a lot of things that modern science is but now confirming—after the travail of the Dark and the Middle ages. For the family, the rhythm theory? The Levites had it down pat. It strikes you all through the Bible, how it dovetails with your recreation from current literature. Robin Hood, perennial rather than imme diately current, you come upon in detail in the first book of Samuel. And lo, David is your hero: you could not wish for better. Of course, tales about David are true, and tales about the rowdy layman Robin Hood are not true. But there the two tales are, cut to the same pattern, and for the same purpose: to exalt the humble who are in every way worthy, and to confuse the mighty who are iniquitous. David brings us close to that girl Ruth, with whom we are to catch step in a moment, after hearing from a few of your favorites on the compensations of reading the Bible. Henry Van Dyke says, "No other book re flects so many sides and aspects of human experience.” Whitelaw Reid says, “ . . . the basis and mainspring of Anglo-Saxon development.” William Lyons Phelps says, “It has swayed a greater amount of mind than any other volume the world has known.” Stanley Bald win looks to the Bible to redeem the world from the fog and despair wherein it now blindly gropes. James Dwight Dana (a geologist!) says, “The Grand old Book of God still stands,” and no one must have read it with a more pro nounced secular viewpoint; unless it might be Jean Jacques Rousseau (The Social Con tract), who says, “How meager, how con temptible are the books of philosophers, with all their pomp and diction, when com pared with the Scriptures.” And crying Hear, hear! you discover, among all men of letters, William E. Borah, William Allen White, Lord Bryce, Daniel Webster, Abra ham Lincoln, Joseph H. Choate, John Rusk n, Napoleon Bonaparte, and more expect edly, Thomas Carlyle, Christopher Morley, and Woodrow Wilson. Few regular pew holders, but all devoted to the Book. Paul is a curious figure to follow through his re markable epistles to the early Christian congregations, some Jew, some mixed, some gentile. In Corinthians you find sectarianism blasted out of council, but in Gal atians you find it readmitted. Like the apostle who wrote, sometimes with regrettable personal feeling if not downright pique, the Bible is all things to all men. But now sweet Ruth is perhaps waiting for us. Ever very careful of her appearance in the presence of men, she must be looking charming. You will search long for a short story that tops this one about Ruth. It is the mold, in fact, in which thousands of short rom ances have since been cast; but they are all imitations and few are as engaging as their prototype. The first surprise about Ruth is that she is on good terms with her mother-inlaw, Naomi, though Naomi is an immi grant and speaks the national language only with difficulty. When times were bad in Naomi’s country, she and her hus band with their two sons had gone to Ruth’s country on the farther side of Gali lee and there, of course, worked hard and got hold of some land. The boys had also grown up and married. But first the fa ther died, and then these boys, before chil dren were expected. This left Naomi old and somewhat lonely and homesick, she de cided to go back to the old country. Beth lehem-Judah. Both her daughters-in-law wished to go with her, but the one, Orpha. finally turned back to look after the farm and try her luck for a new husband right there at home, but Ruth would not. On second thought, Naomi let Ruth have her way. The old matriarch concluded that it might not be so bad after all to get back to Bethlehem-Judah with as eligible a daughter-in-law as Ruth was, to recommend her long (Continued on page 25) December, 1938 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL her, the mill produced 1,318 tons of con centrates. Mill heads averaged 2.95 per cent copper, Pl.61 gold, and 0.67 ounces of silver per ton. Copper extraction averaged 87.11 percent, while gold and silver aver aged 83.4 and 79.6 percent, respectively. The average grade of concentrate assayed 24.9 percent copper, 0.186 ounces of gold, and 5.167 ounces of silver. It was stated that the increase in pro duction was due to uncovering higher-grade ore, plus increased milling efficiency. Lepanto had pretty rough going until this year. At one time, at least, it was thought that it would be necessary to aban don the property, since it was known that the gold on the claims was low-grade, and th«» copper was no better. Benguet Consoli dated abandoned all effort to develop the property, Mr. A. F. Duggleby having a poor opinion of any copper property. How ever, after the Nielson contract was made, new discoveries of higher-grade ore, and the signing of a contract with Japanese buyers for the copper out-put apparently solved Lepanto’s troubles. Hixbar: This latest Nielson acquisition produced P98,060 from 2,810 tons of cop per ore mined during the months of Sep tember, October and November, it was an nounced. Work has been progressing on the property for the past three months, but no publicity was released until a con tract was signed for the sale of the ore. It was stated by officials of Nielson and Company that a road is being built on the property, which will make it possible to mine and transport approximately 3000 tons a month “at a conservative estimate”. Ore at Hixbar is said to average around 10'/? copper, and is shipped direct to the smelter without milling or other treatment. Paracale Guniaus: Treated 3,029 tons of ore during November, for a gross oper ating revenue of P54,047.22 in gold bullion and concentrates. Although average re covery was somewhat above that of October, total production fell off some P3000, due, it was said, to the fact that a larger amount of hard rock was sent to the mill, and the grinding capacity thereby reduced. Hongkong Mines, Ltd.: Has produced P470,495.98 worth of lead and silver con centrates, for the first eleven months of this year. Production for November was about P4000 less than that for the previous month, due to lower mill heads, but it was anticipated that December should register an increase, since the mill capacity is be ing raised to 175 tons daily from 125 tons. Selinsing: The second Nielson and Com pany property outside of the Philippines, Selinsing will go into production in Jan uary of next year, it was announced re cently. Construction work began in July, and has progressed steadily, under very difficult conditions of transportation and labor. Supplies, for example, have to be brought in over twelve miles of river, in which there are a number of rapids, mak ing it impossible to haul more than three tons in the shallow-draft boats which must be used. All large pieces of equipment must be sectionalized. Trucks carry equip ment and supplies four miles from the un loading station to the mine. The ore, how ever, is said to be very nearly free mill ing, and the mill will, therefore, be quite simple. The milling process will consist of a grinding unit, jigs, and flotation cells. The mill building was completed last month. Tinago Consolidated: No details were available as to progress of operations on this property as we went to press. This Girl . . . (Continued from page 12) absence. Ruth was a Moabitess, no Jewess, but a girl from out of town, who had been Choose INTERNATIONALS for HEAVY-DUTY PERFORMANCE Heavy-duty performance. . . digging and smashing their way through tough terrain with bullgrader or giant ripper. . . International TracTracTors get the tough jobs because they are built for them. From radiator to drawbar they are de signed for industrial needs. International Harvester builds ten industrial tractors— five wheel types and five crawler types—for operation on kerosene and Diesel fuel. The wide range of types and sizes in this famous line meet every tractor requirement. A long list of equipment built around these tractors further increases their usefulness. Write for catalogues and complete information. INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY OF PHILIPPINES CEBU MANILA DAVAO ILOILO BAGUIO BACOLOD CAGAYAN, OR. MIS. LEGASPI around. Ruth had no hay in her ears. Naomi was prudent, the hardest circum stances upset her only momentarily. Ruth liked this competence, and tended to rely on it. And Naomi chose as the season for arriving back in Bethlehem-Judah, the harvest season when the men would be cutting the barley. Her relatives would be among these men, especially Boaz. It was a long trek, around the sea, and Naomi no doubt told Ruth a good deal about her cousin german Boaz as they whiled away the miles together and rested at the vil lages. The two women would have little enough on which to live when they reached journey’s-end, but Ruth might glean with the harvesters and perhaps some luck would turn up. /.V RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 26 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL December. Ruth promised to be in every way adapt able, and Naomi never feared but that they would get on somehow. So as soon as they were back in Beth lehem-Judah and settled, Ruth went glean ing, as well as to find favor in some man’s eyes, and as was but the most casual for tune, unless we think that women some times think twice, she happened to glean in that portion of the field that belonged to Boaz. She had brought cosmetics with her from home, and did not despise their use merely because she was a widow—quite the contrary. So now, she did not just put the breakfast vessels to soak, grab a ker chief, kilt her skirts, and go among the other gleaners a slattern and a stranger. She kilted her skirts, as the nature of the work suggested, but otherwise, on this first occasion that Naomi’s people would see her, and Boaz most of all, she looked her pret tiest; and her manner as a gleaner was de mure, shy, wholly disarming. Boaz came along, when the harvesters stopped for lunch, and fell for Ruth right away, giving his foreman the wink and asking who she was. This gave Ruth a break. She curtsied becomingly to Boaz, dubbing herself his handmaiden, as it was but good manners to do, and letting it escape her that there might be kinship in law between them by reason of her being the widow of one of Naomi’s sons. From her knees, as she chattered away in her charming Moabittish accent, she lifted a gaze to the old man’s that was more than admiring, and they spent the noon together without Ruth’s no ticing any of the younger men at all. He told her she could call him uncle, and blushingly she lisped the unfamiliar title, ==Tel. 2-32-51=--------------Carmelo & Bauermann, Inc. I--------------------------- Lith ogra phers Printers Bookbi nders Box Makers 2057 Azcarraga, Manila. w:th a roguish glance that seemed to imply it should be no barrier to their cordiality. With such a whimsical damsel at his feet, Boaz was bewitched. The harvesters had bread and sour wine for their lunch, but Boaz had parched corn in addition. This corn he shared with Ruth, and told her just to help herself, during the afternoon, to the wine and loaves whenever she should be hungry or thirsty; they were for the harvesters but could be for her too. Ruth thanked Boaz tenderly, and made out to him that she thought him the finest man she had ever met—as was possibly true—and at least we can surmise that Ruth was grateful for the way her day was turning out, the friendly welcome to her by Boaz and his farmers. When she gleaned in the after noon, Boaz told the men to let her go even among the sheaves, and to let handfuls of barley fall as they cut it, so when Ruth went back to Naomi with the tale of her wonderful day to relate, and to talk over, she had a full ephah of barley—2 pecks and quarts—besides Boaz’s invitation that she do all her gleaning in his field only. Naomi liked this, things were indeed coming along as she- might wish. But let us stop to say here that gleaning laws were clear among the Jews, in benefit of widows and orphans and the poor, and that also, corners of fields could not be cut clean but had to be left to the gleaners, together with any sheaves that might be forgotten or overlooked as the harvesters quit for the night. Wisdom told Naomi that Boaz was stricken of love for Ruth, and would sure ly marry the girl if all cards were care fully played. £ The threshing was next to be done, a rite that the men performed alone at the threshing floors in the barns. Boaz had such a barn, and Boaz would surely be there late with the threshers, and probably sleep there with them and supervise the weighing and dividing of the grain. Here Ruth could go to Boaz, though women were not expected to do such things. So Ruth went, at Naomi’s suggestion as well as by her own willingness to marry again, and as Boaz slept, she raised the skirt of his robe and slept at his feet; and there was incense on her hair, that flowed about her as a garment, and all but in the in nocent arms of Boaz, she dreamed the dreams of virtuous motherhood. But by midnight, as the old man turned about in his sleep, she had wakened him and he had learned who she was. Then they whis pered the rest of the night away, making sentimental plans, and with more barley for Naomi, Ruth got away in the morning before the hands woke up. Boaz went immediately to town, for he could not be sure that none had seen the girl in the barn and that he was not some what compromised. He had a name in the community. More law at this point is this: Naomi was a tribal widow beyond re marrying and bearing children. She had land from her late husband Elimelech. Her widowed daughter-in-law, Ruth the Moabitess, was living with her and was marriagable. Men who were blood kin to Eli melech were lawfully bound to buy the land, that it should remain in the family, and the nearest of kin had the refusal of this obligation. With the land went mar riage of Ruth, that the seed of Elimelech should not die; no land, no Ruth; no Ruth, no land. Now there was a fellow who was nearer in blood kinship to Elimelech than Boaz was, but apparently he had never seen Ruth; either that or he was cloddish and knew not a thoroughbred when he saw one. Boaz went at once to the city gate, hailed this fellow as he passed and hailed elders enough to make up a council of legal wit nesses in a suit at law. Then Boaz put it to the fellow straight, was he going to buy Elimelech’s land or not? (Law suits were thus informal and inexpensive then, with witnesses but no lawyers and jurors). The fellow answered Boaz that he might buy the land, he supposed he would buy it; he hadn’t hurried about it, he knew of course that Naomi was back home, and that Elimelech had died among the Moa bites, but he’d been busy with his harvest and hadn’t been around to see her—he took it there was plentv of time. But no, there was not plenty of time, that was just the point at issue—he couldn’t suit his own pleasure in any such manner, and keep de serving widows disappointed. So Boaz said, the elders listening and nodding as sent because Boaz was rich and commanded respect. (Please tarn to page 32) IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 32 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER Of- COMMERCE JOURNAL December I Q 33 doldrums until the end of the month, only two brief periods of activity being recorded. The announcement by the A.A.A. on No vember 18th that deliveries for the twelve months ended October 31st, the period on which consumption requirements for 1939 are to be estimated, amounted to 6,392,609 tons was regarded as an encouraging feature; this figure is some 470,000 tons less than that for the corresponding period in the preceding year, while October del iveries, which were announced simulta neously, showed an increase of almost 200,000 tons over those for October 1937. The advance in both futures quotations and actual sugar’ prices which followed this announcement was short-lived and the market relapsed into a dull uncertainty re garding the Cuban tariff and 1939 quotas. Speculation regarding the former culmin ated in the news published on November 30th that the State Department had ap pointed January 3rd for public hearings in connection with revision of the Cuban Trade Treaty, while Cuban sources them selves claimed that a reduction to 754 per 100 pounds had already been promised. Heavy buying by Cuban interests resulted in a smart advance in futures and the ac tuals market recovered again to the 34 basis. Quotations on the Exchange have fluc tuated as follows during the month:— High Low Latest January .............. 2.094 2.034 2.084 March ................. 2.134 2.044 2.134 May ..................... 2.164 2.074 2.164 July ..................... 2.194 2.114 2.19c September .......... 2.234 2.134 2.23c Latest figures of world stocks are 3,837,000 tons, against 3,690,000 tons a year ago and 3,670,000 tons in 1936. Sales of Philippine sugar during the month amounted to 32,500 long tons at prices ranging from 3.004 to 3.054- No second hand sales were reported. The local market for export sugar has been comparatively quiet throughout the month. Exporters reduced their price to P6.80 in sympathy with the easier tendency in New York and, although in the second week P7.00 per picul was again quoted, the majority of holders preferred to wait in hopes of higher prices and little business was reported. Later, quotations declined again to P6.80, closing the month at P6.90 per picul in an inactive market. The domestic sugar market declined steadily during the first half of Novem ber to a low point of P4.50 per picul. A rather firmer tone developed subsequently with buyers quoting prices fluctuating be tween P4.60 to P4.80 but the volume of business remained limited. Exports to the United States during the month amounted to 27,859 tons centrifugals and 546 tons refined. Total shipments from November 1st, 1938 to November 30th, 1938 were as follows:— Centrifugals ........................... 27,859 tons Refined ..................................... 546 ” Total ......................... 28,405 tons This Girl . . . (Continued from page 26) Besides, said Boaz, the widow of one of old Elimelech’s boys had come back with Naomi; he who bought the land would have to wed this foreign creature—was the fellow prepared to do so? In that glaring light, flashed on suddenly, the fellow quick ly backed out of the whole business; before the elders he said openly that Boaz might himself buy the land and marry Ruth in the bargain. Charging the elders to bear him witness, Boaz accepted the deal. Thus culminated Naomi’s ambition, if not Ruth’s, and there was a very pretty wed ding as soon as the harvest was out of the way. All the gossip ran to the effect that Ruth the lovely Moabitess widow would be like Leah and like Rachel, and a great mother in Israel, and even neighbors pass ing by corroborated all that the solemn elders swore. Ruth was utterly happy. She soon bore Boaz a son, whom Naomi took charge of from infancy. Ruth being a belle not too well suited to the task, and this son was named Obed, whose own son was named Jesse, whose son in his turn became David the king. Far later, Joseph appears, of the seed of David and BathSheba, and Bath-Sheba’s son to David was Solomon the Wise. The heavens declare the glory of god, and the firmament showeth His handiwork. And so does man, as Boaz did, and more so woman, as did Ruth. But there is earth in it too, and is it not meet, since the earth is His footstool? IN ’RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL
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