Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-12-25
A TURKEY FOR EACH.
700 coLoRED EMPLOYEES PRE-
SCENTED WITH GoDBLERs.
AMERICAN TOBACCO cos GENEROSITY.
A. Usual. Each One of Its Employees
7. Presented with Nmns-"itt-
stcmm.ng Hands Get Turkeys I'm"
nfhers Camdy.

All corporatlons are not without souls
contrary TO the generally accepted theory
10 that effect. The American Tobacco
Company is certainly one Of the eXcep-
lions.
The Richmond branches of this great
concern yesterday presented each OF us
e,nnloyees with Christmas gift GUS
tom they have adopted for years
None of the small army Of employees
anpreciated this generosity more thah
the 700 colored hands" at the Richmond
stemmery and no one at that establish
mont was in better humor yesterday
than the genial manager himself, Mr.
w. L. Walker. One of the greatest joys
of Christmas Is derived from making
other people happy, and according 10
that test. Mr.. Walkers cup should be
full To the brlm and running over for
any one who saw the 200 darkies emerging
from the stemmery yesterday shorty
after noon, each laden with turkey
and showing their white teeth III a srhlle
Of satisfaction as they lugged of the
nrize would have had no doubts that
these worthy sons of Africa were
thoroughly happy.
EVERY DARKY HAD A TURKEY
What a sight it was, to be sure. Shiny
eyed. kinky-haired 'pickanninies,' strug~
Cling with gobblers almost as large as
themselves mingled with gray-halred
"uncles" and fat, black 'mammies IN
tho great crowd of employees whose ages
ranged from u years TO 20.
when a darky has money in his pocket
ba ie bappv. but when he has a fowl
under his arm, and which he Is not COM
pelled to hide beneath his coat, his JOY
is complete, especially when he has the
anticipation of a holiday ahead. And
the hands" of the Richmond stemmery
had Yesterday all of these requisites LOT
happiness, for they had received thelr
envelopes. containing the weeks wages
and with them each was given NUM-
bered coupon emitting them to one oil the
turkeys laid out in state on the tables
in the big warehouse. There were seven
of these long tables and each bore lVo
turkeys. ranging in weight from fifteen
70 thirty pounds. The prize gobbler of
them all hung from the wall and at
tached TO II was a card, bearing the
word who" No matter how many en-
pIoyees belonged to one family, they
each received a turkey, and in some
cases as many as four fowls went to
the same household.
A stranger happening to be in the
neighborhood of Twenty-sixth and Main
streets shortly after noon yesterday,
would have been struck with the unusual
sight. as for over an hour every darky
who passed carried a turkey, and II
seemed that all of Richmond's colored
population had assembled in convention
on lower Cary street.
AT THE OTHER BRANCHES.
At the Allen & Ginter Branch and at
Whtlocks each employee was presented
with handsome box of candy. The
hands at the three factories mentioned
were given holiday yesterday, as they
will be to-day also.
The people of East Richmond and High
land Springs assembled yesterday at
Newbridge church to see Santa Claus be-
stow gifts upon the children Of the sun
day school. All were remembered, as well
as the teachers and pastor. The
Ladies' Aid Society presented the latter
with a splendid overcoat.