The Portland daily press., 1893-12-25

The season of good cheer and good will
finds the United States of America in a
more sober and cautious mood than for
many years. Maine has not felt the
bitterness of the hard times as the States
depression has manifested itself III this
State to decrease materially the amount
and intensity of Christmas manifesto
tions of good will. The happy hustle of
Christmas shopping, the great express
wagons dashing through the streets
piled high with boxes and bundles, the
plodding and careworn postman weight
ed far below the load line with mysterl-
Gus packages large and small, have all
been the signs that times were good and
people were prosperous.
This year there has been marked
difference. The postman moves with
brisker step and happier mien than for
years. He remem bers that last year dur
ing the Christmas season from 800 to 400
bushels of Christmas presents were ar
irving daily at the postoffice for three
or four days and that these had to be
distributed about the town promptly if
he would keep his hundreds of friends,
old and young. This year the presents
arriving have been averaging from 240
to $50 bushels only day, and the post
man is rejoicing that he is no longer
a mere beast of burden The economies
of this year are showing in other ways
through the postofdce. What there are
of bundles are smaller, indicating that
those who are sending gifts are econo-
mixing in the kinds of articles The
registered letter department, which has
charge of the transmission of jewelry,
sums of money and other small but val
liable packages. report that thu amount
of business is only from half to two
thirds what it was last year. These
data are for the incoming mails. For
the outgoing ones the same proportions
will hold good
At Woodfords post Office the falling
off is even more remarkable Where
there were three sacks of presents DAY
for week preceding Christmas last
year, there was up to Saturday this year
only one sack.
pressions given by the post office bust
ness. While some of them report that
the mum Der of parcels is about equal to
that of last year, the sizes and values are
reduced about third or more There
is much less rush about the Offices and
depots than last year.
The local dealers describe just such a
indicates. One of Portland s leading Jew.
ellers, who does very high class of
business with patrons who are in the
best of circumstances, says that the state
of the times is plainly reflected in his
business. He is having as many Gus.
toners as usual, SO far as he can see but
they are buying far less expensive arti-
cles.
In the book stores The signs of the
times take an interesting form. I'VE
have been through three panics, said a
member of one of the Oldest and most
fourishing of 3hese esta adjustments to
the PRESS Saturday, and we are OBJ
serving this year the phenomena which
haveattracted our attention in every panic
year. Ouf UOOk lrduG Is muCQ greater
than last year Or for several years pre-
viously. This is a sign of hard times.
When people feel that they must econo-
mize in their Christmas gifts they seek
the bookstore. Five dollars or three
dollars will make very little showing in
jewelry; but for that sum one can buy
a handsome and valuable array of
books The general opinion seems to
be that people have been seeking the
useful this year, rather thaG the orna-
mental.
One OF the proprietors of very enter
prising local drug store, who knows the
value of advertising and has used it to
keep his trade up to the level of prosper
Gus years, finds that the rule this year
is the sale of few of the larger and more
expensive articles and great demand
tor twenty-five and fifty cent articles,
such as will do for pretty or useful re-
membranes.