The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-12-24
NIMBLE COINS LEAPFRoM POCKETS
INTO THE MERCHANTS
TIELS.
HOLIDAY TRADE VERY BRISK
P0STOFFICs SERVICE AND EXPRESS
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES OVER
TIME.
MAILING RECORD BROKEN.
Holiday business Uncle Sans
Department Larger Than
Ever.

The busiest place in the city, not even
excepting the toy counters in the big
stores, is the lobby Of the postoffice.
Times are hard and everybody is COM
planning of poverty, but everybody is
having Christmas shopping expert
ence Maybe the presents are not so
expensive this year as in former sea-
sons, but if the business at the postof-
flee is any indication, every body and all
his relatives. are sending and receiving
presents. From early until late the
stamp windows and the young lady
Who presides over the scales at the adj
joining window, are besieged by people
with packages.
Business is 10 per cent larger than
1T has ever been before" said Superin-
tendent of Mails Hardacre yesterday.
Our busiest days are yet to come, -
he said, and all records for the holiday
season will be broken in this office.
We have all the carriers and the re-
serves at work and every man of them
is overworked. The collectors, too,
complain of the size and number of the
packages which they pick up all over
the city Tomorrow, Christmas day
Saturday will be our really busy times.
Oh, yes, continued Capt. Hardacre,
this is busy scene, but come in to-
morrow if you really want to see what
we can do when pressed
Assistant Postmaster O'Brien said
there was no diminution in the vol
ume of business done in the money or
der and registry departments. There is
no indication fahard times with u.s.
he said. The volume of business is as
large as ever at this season of the
year, and much larger than last Christ
mas"
At the offices 1of the express COM
panies the same report of heavy holt
day business was reported. There
seems to be no falling off in the de-
mand for express service, though there
are not so many large packages, per-
haps, as in former years. The money
transactions of the express companies
Is generally reported larger this season
than for several years past. This, In
addition to the heavy money order
business at the postoffice, is a fair in
dication that, although times are hard
and money scarce, that the people gen
orally are willing to make any sacrifice
to observe the holiday of holidays
The commercial pulse of the city was
beating with abnormal rapidity all day
yesterday and until the last car pulls
in tonight Christmas shoppers will
have the right of way on the streets.
1t doesn't look much as if the town
is financially distressed. All this bust
ness which is going on is not done on
credit, not by good deal, and under
the surface Of things there certainly is
more cash floating around than people
generally suspect. 1.-The retail business
is not up to former years. That is
admitted. But neither is 1t at such a
low ebb that calamity howlers are
justified in making their annual dys-
peptic lamentations.
Seventh street and other retail thor
oughfares were busy scenes all day
yesterday and far into the evening.
Shoppers rushed to and fro with their
arms loaded down with bundles Ped
estrianiSm was difficult and uncertain.
Huge delivery wagons burdened to the
topmost notch ratified hither and
thither, giving an evidence Of the busy
retail commercial beehiVes.
Today will be buster than yesterday,
for many Of the manufacturing and
business concerns will pay their en-
ployes tonight in order to allow them
to do their holiday purchasing Many
women will wait for husbands to re-
plemsh their purses in order that they
can buy husbands presnts. Hubby
will try and look pleased, although he
knows it is only taking money out of
one pocket and putting it in another
If 1t should snow today, and the
weather man says it looks as if it
would, the holidays will take on some
of their old-time gayety A green
Christmas makes graveyard enterprises
pay dividends according to an old
adage. However, as there are indica :
tons of snow inethe far west, the gov
eminent weather observers say the
storms will doubtless reach ST Paul by
the time Santa Claus begins dropping
bricks down the chimneys.