St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-12-24

II Amounts to Tens Of Iillions-Turkeys and
II Trees Among the Biggest Items Of Expense
Il The Cost of Christmas Toys.
So it is that America spends more on Christ.
mas than any other country.
Don't except England where Christmas Is
the one holiday and feasting time that over.
shadows all other days2 No. do not. England,
it is true. celebrates ENTHUSIASTICALLY where
there is money to do it. But the Christmas Of
the well-to-do country squire of whom Dickens
wrote is not the Christmas of millions of Eng.
l1sh people in London, Liverpool and Man
chester. Roast beef and plum pudding and
boar's head and all that sort Of thing are not
over familiar to the masses.
In the United States it is pretty poor family
that does not get its share of turkey or chicken
with some accessories at Christmas.
This was the gist of what veteran market
| man told me; a very Carroll D. Wright when
| ltcame to statistics about game, provisions and
the capacity of the American people to consume
these and other things. What is more, he fig
ured out results that made me open my eyes to
say the least. had no idea that the American
| people had such an appetite even at Christmas.
| LEU uO SterG6u III WIFI turkeys. InGre De-
ing over 6O,OO00OO people in the United States
the number of families might be set down at
near to 20,000,00O. Allowing that one half Of
these families had q turkey the number would
be 100000 turkeys consumed, not an extra.
| VACANT estimate. Some of these will be large,
some small, but eight pounds per turkey will
| be good enough average and that makes 60.
COO,OOO pounds of turkey or more than pound
i for each and child IN he TYyit
| States, providing it was all eaten at one meal
and not kept on hand and picked at for a couple
| of days. Ten cents pound say, and good tur.
| key will bring more, and you see that the turkey
will foot up SS,OO0,G0O.
My informant said that turkey was the big.
gest item in the Christmas bill fer the reason
| that Americans who do not care much for turkey
eat it as duty at Christmas time. OF course,
good many eat chickens and q large minority
can afford game. The man Of figures put tho
outlay in this way down at 100000 and said
| the figures were low.
"Cranberries you want to figure on too, said
| my statistician, and you're safe to figure on q
pound for each family. Some of them will tako
a good many pounds and some of them none,
| Figure em at s cents q pound"
1 did and footed up 81 800, 900 as the cranberry
| outlay. Verify figures were mounting up and
wondered how all this was to DO accomplished
in the way of eating when money is so high.
"Then there's the mince pie - the statistcian
went on. Every one doesn't have nlince pie,
but L Il venture anything that 10, 900 of them
will be baked. They are not so popular in this
! city but in the country districts they mako
shelves upon shelves of them. That's where
| the 100000 come in. If you bought these pies
| in the city you would have to pay 20 cents and
more apiece for them. Made in farmhouse
with home made cider and cheap labor put EN-
down at say, 8 cents pie and you get $4,000
| for mnce pies?
| ''Now as for beef and mutton the statisti.
clan was going on, but fed. Beef and mutton
are every day commonplace articles of diet
and besides began to get frightened at the
manner in which the dollar figures were piIing
| up.
I next sought one of the biggest dealers in
| the country in Christmas trees, greens and
| decorations. He gave more figures and big
ones, too. He admitted that in country places
the people gathered trees and greens and all
that. But he held that the demand for trees
throughout the country and through dealers
would amount to from 100000 to 10000 900
trees. The poorest of these go to small groceries,
| the finest to churches and hundred of thousands
| ~ W uouSSS IiidO gu LII lOf DECORATIONS hG
| Christmas. Asked the price of these trees the
merchant said from rs cents to $40 and moro
for q single tree. Fifty cents on tho whole
would be fair price per tree for the whole lot
in striking an average.
Figured on 10, 100000 trees at 80 cents and tho
bill for Christmas trees ran up to $5,COO,eO0
more. 1t looked too big. The tree merchant
remarked that it was not and that this was a
hilr pOuntrv Ia 70 hot tha han
greens. holly, ivy, mistletoe and all that sort Of
thing would foot up million or two more.
put down 81, 000, 600 and gazed once moro in awe
at the swelling total of Christmas cost.
Christmas toys To be sure they must not
be forgotten. Ten million, at least of little ones
| figured in this. The head of mammoth toy
| house pondered when he was asked what the
| Christmas toy trade amounted to in the
| whole.
swell, you might put it down at about dol.
lar family on the average. Some spend 800
and some ten cents, so it is hard to estimate the
| amount Of the total expenditure"
| I did not put the figures at a dollar family.
put it at 30 cents. 1t looked more modest and
even at that got total os some slo.O0O,OGO. n.
| Next saw some big dealers in jewelry and
novelties such as are in vogue as Christmas
presents and again the figures were astonlsh-
| ing. Putting the various misunderstanding.
| est ones at that, together and then adding
them could not get the total below $40 100000.
But large though the sums of money that are
| spent they are not too large The figures I
| have quoted of the cost of Christmas in o few
| directions, footing as they do upwards of S5O,-
| 100000 are but part Of the whole sum spent at
| the Christmas times and even if we be in no
way sentimental about Christmas we cannot
| deny that the spending Of so much money at
such time hurts no one and helps the com.
| munity In general. The individual will hardly
| feel the dollar or 80 that he may spend, but
when 20,000,000 or 100000 persons spend such
q sum the amount is worth considering. Il
gives work for months before Christmas to a
vast army Of workingmen and women In shops
and factories where Christmas goods are made.
| 1t gives the farmer chance to make up for a
| bad year, with Christmas market supplies.
| Even the bare legged country lads may earn
| money for STOUT shoes and warm jackets by
| gathering Christmas green's and berries. It
stirs trade, it stimulates human feeling it sets
the blood running red in the veins of men and
| women of right mind. Tt is time when tho
! poor are helped, the miserable lifted up and
even the criminal is made to feel that he has
not ceased to be man while thieves for the
| time forget to think that the getting of money
| is the purpose for which man was put on
| earth.
So what If the coming Of Father Christmas
| does cost US round hundred million and o
| good bit more. His visit is worth the money
| and twice as much more.
And the work of Christmas Why 1t il all
| Measure The hardest of IT. ia az Hoht 10 ths