The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-01-07
The Holiday Gift Business.

On this day and year of our Lord, Dec.
p, 1874, we crafty thousands of readers,
and make firm and everlasting friends OF
numberless people, by denouncing the
custom of making presents on Christmas,
as a contemplate bore and fraud. Let no
one hold up his or her hands and profess
to be shocked. We know all about the
beauties Of the practice. We have written
innumerable pretty things ourselves on
the grace and seemlineSs of the custom. a
large share of this we do not take back,
for it referred TO those simple gifts which
pass between very near and dear friends.
where not the intrinsic worth OF the favor
but the source from which It comes lends
it value. But we blame ourselves for neg
lecting an important duty at such times.
and not holding up by the scalp to long
suffering and prosecuted community thl-
practice of extravagant and miscellaneous
gift-making. which is growing more III
sufferable with every year, and which 0ul
people do not seem to have the lndepend-
ence to abandon or protest against. II
wants three davs vet to Christmas, aud we
venture to say that for the past week al
least one hundred thousand people in Chi
cago have been in state bordering on III
sanity over the question, What they shall
dayI Young men on meager SALARIES
have worked late at night, burning their
disheartened landlady's gas, figuring up
the cost of the gi Is which they feel bound
to make. and trying TO bring the sum to-
tai inside the insignificant figures which
mark their months pay. Augustus, a
clerk at GOldmau's, boards with MRS
Amanda Schreecher, who lives III ldueC
cottage on the West Side. There are three
Young lady Screechers, and as many more
SCreechers of a tcnderer age, including tht
baby, WHO'S pa, ticularly fond Of Angus
tus. Now, the latter feels morally ana
religiOuSly bound to make each OF these
Schreechers 4 present on Christmas, eSpe-
cially as he is favOrite bOarder and the
elder Miss Screecher is understood by the
other bOarderS to carry heart that beats
alone for Augustus. He must purchase
| Gifts for each of these angels and for the
| mother, and for the maiden aunt living IN
the family and beside, he must buy pre-
/ sents for his other friends in various parts
| of the city, whom he does not want 10
| lose, and whom he fears he may lose IL
this idiOtic custom is not observed. Ihen
| his relations in the country must De re-
membered and as the desperate young
man sits in his lonely garret and tries to
/ make his income CONCI lHCSC CApSAcSS' III
grows gloomy and desperate, and casts
wild giances into the darkness outside his
window, as if he had half mind to fol
low the example of Captain Cutie, and
run away from his landlady forever.
But this is only faint portraiture OF one
instance in thousands which are occurring
to-day in Chicago. What shall the lady
! in tolerable circumstances give to heI
| friend who is a millionaire? lmbued
with that false pride which is afraid to con
fess its real situation, she purchases gifts
which she cannot afford, and receives some
thing in return very gorgeous and very
useless, and has thus maintained her repu'
tation at the expense of her Judgment
and has indulged in extravaganza which
makes her husband groan, and others
we hope not the recipients of the gifts
smile derisively. The Christmas time
ought to be a season of rejoicing and hap
piness to all. 1t is fast becoming time tC
be dreaded, and, if such thing were pos,
sible. Stunned. "Peace on earth anC
good will to men," says the pleasant le
gend above the Christmas trees; but alas
the peace is purchased at holiday prices
and the COED will is largely monop0llzeC
by the shop-keepers.-ChicdgO Inter O'ea"