The farmers' union. (Memphis, Mo.) 1891-1895, 1895-01-03
COST OF CHRISTMAS.
AMERICA SPENDS MORE THAN
ANY OTHER COUNTRY.
Presents. Trees, Dinners and Other
Things Totaied up. in All About
100000.

s1o,ooo,ooo.
America spends more on Christmas
than any other country.
This. says Foster Coates, was the
giSt of what Il veteran market man
told me-a very Carroll ID, Wright
when It came to statistics about
game. provisions and the capacity OF
the American people to consume
these and other things. What is
more. he figured out results that
made me open my eyes, TO say the
least had no idea that the Ameri-
can people had such an appetite,
even at Christmas.
FRS: he started in with turkeys.
There being over 10000, 600 people
in the United states the number OF
families might he set down at near to
%. UtO. 600. Allowing that one-half
Of these families had a turkey, the
number would be IL. 600, 900 turkeys
conSumeu--uot an eXtr.vagant eSti-
mate. Some Of these will be large.
some small. but eight pounds per
turkey will be Il gout enough aver
aye, and that makes Su,OtooW
pounds of turkey. or more than \
pound for each man. woman and
child in the United States, providing
it was all eaten at one meal, and not
kept on hand and picked ut for
ioupe of days. Ten cents Il pound
say. and good turkeys will bring
more. and YOU sac that the turkey
/ will foot up - Noo,ntO.
/ My informant said that turkey
was the biggest item in the Christ
mas bill. for the reason that Aneri-
! cans who do not care much for turkey
eat it rs a duty at Christmas time.
+ OF course, Il good many eat chickens
and It great minority can afford game.
! The man Of figures puts the outlay
in this way down at%2 ,Wp, 600, and
said the figures were low.
''CranlrrrieS you want to figure
on, too" said my statistlcian, and
you re safe to figure on Il pound for
each family. Some of them will
take good many pounds and some
Of them none. Figure EN- at eight
cents Il pound
did and footed up 81 600, 900 as
the cranberry outlay. Verify figures
were mounting up and | wondered
how all this was to be accomplished
in the way Of eating when money is
so high.
"Then there's the mince pie, tho
statiStician went on. Every one
doesn't eat mincc pie, but Ill'ven-
ture anything that IO,UUo,ouo OF
them will be baked They are not
80 popular in this city, but in the
country districts they make shelves
upon shelves Of them. That's where
the Ia, Oon,0nD come in. If you
bong At these pies in the city you
woui' have To pay twenty cents and
more apiece for them. Made IL u
farmhouse, with cheap labor, put EN-
dow: at say eight cents. II pie, and
YOU set fSDO,O,D for mince pies.
:irllrcd on n,UDt, 900 trees at fifty
GEMS and the bill for Christmas trees
ran Ip to -, 600, 900 more. 1t looked
too biz. The tree merchant remark ed
tina. it vas not and that this WIS Il
s bio country. He wcnt on to say that
1 the other green's, holly, ivy, mi>,le-
toe and all that sort Of thing would
r foot up Il million or two more. put
{ down ~, nMorO and gaLed once more
in awe at the swelling total of Christ
- mas cost.
: Christmas toys. TO be sure they
must not be forgotten. Ten million
. at least Of little ones figured in this.
i, The head Of n mammoth toy house
Dondcred when he was asked wha
=, the Christmas toy trade amounted t1
: in the whole.
!, Well you might put II down al
=. about Il dollar family on the aver
ar. Some spend 800 and some ter
cents, 50 it is hard TO estimate tn
amount Of the total expenditure.
did not put the figure at a do!la
j.. a family. pat it At fifty cents. |
looked more modest. and even at tina
;. | got Il total Of some j 10 900, 800.
Next SAW solne biz dealers in Jew
> clrY ard novelties. such AZ are il
A.. vogue as Christmas presents, an
again the figures were astonishing
, pditing the various estimates til
;. smallest ones ut tAat-.o-et hcr. an
:. then adding them. could not .ct tn
J total below $40. uU4.o,N-