The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-12-20
NEW YORK GOSSIP.
The Holiday Trade - Brewers How
They Win-Italian Opera Teuton
Against Roman-Lucky Authors.
tCopvright, 1891, by the United P,essl

The Holiday Trade - Brewers - How
They Win-Italian Opera Teutou
Against Roman-Lucky Authors.
Copyright, 1891, By the United Press)
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING.
NEW YORK, Dec. 19.-The streets. al
usual at this time of the year, are crowded
with those who go from store to store seek
ing novelties In the line of Christmas gifts.
The holiday trade has been fairly good this
season, but it has been apparent that the
shopkeepers depended more than usual upon
the sale OF inexpensive articles. There is.
of course, in this city large number OF
wealthy people anxious to take
advantage Of yuletide to re.
lieve their plethoric purses, but
what is known as "the holiday trade" does
not, in its final outcome, obtain its com
paretive value from the purchases made by
millionaires. 1t is the money spent by the
people fairly well Off In this worlds goods
that determines the question whether the
holiday profits shall be greater or
less than last season. It is evident
to @ close observer that an effort has
been made this year to appeal, In the mat
ter of Christmas shopping, especially to
those purchasers who cannot afford to
squander money. There are more novelties
III In61luul pTlceQ hEblCleS UHaQ IN those that
cost small fortune. However, hear that
leading jeweler few days ago sold a
diamond necklace TO a loving husband for
$50 900. He will give 1t to his wife. You
won't be surprised to learn that he was a
brewer.
SALOONS.
By the way, speaking Of a brewer, did
you know that a vast number OF saloons in
this city are practically owned by the manu-
facturers of malt drinks? A man who has
just money enough to hire and fit I'D a
saloon gives chattel mortgage to the
brewer who supplies him with beer. In this
way the leading brewers of the city have
gained possession os a vast number of drink
ing places. The malt has captured
the house that Jack built. Some
men are born rich, some have riches
thrust upon them-and some are brewers
One of the latter recently bought a hand
some house on Madison avenue and fur
nished it in elegant style. How to fill his
library was a problem he could not solve
Sending for highly-educated young man
who was tutoring his boys, he said: Nov
look ahere! D'you see them empty shelves7
want 'em filed up. There's just -
yards o. space. See? Well. you 90 ahead
and I'll let you spend - dollars a yard. y
Selling beer by the key eventually enables a
man to buy books by the yard.
THE OPERA SEASON.
The first week of the Italian opera at the
Metropolitan has been a great success
Whether this means that the experiment
now being tried by Messrs. Abbey and Grau
will be triumphant is questionable. New
York opera goers-those, mean, who go
to the Metropolitan to see and hear, not to
be seen and heard-have taken kindly at the
outset to this practical protest against the
Wagnerian monopoly that has been
in control here for so long,
Nevertheless, there are Cassandras
who predict that, after the new
singers have been heard, and the old operas
rendered there will be a reaction, and a
loud cry will go up for return to Wagner
ism. l dare not hazard an opinion in the
matter, but as / listened to Lehman and
Kallsch in al Trovatore," on W ednesday,
on the occasion of their first appearance in
italian opera, a remembrance OF that awful
night when was obliged to sit through a
rendition of Tristan aud Isolde" came over
me and prayed that the present enthusi-
asm for Italian -contemptuously
called "ths operate grip" by WagnerianS
would last for at least the season.
A RACE WAR.
The contest between German aud Italian
opera is not the only evidence here of an
underlying hostility between the Teuton
aud the Roman. The Leading German
newspapers here recently made sharp ed