The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-25
CHRISTMAS NORTH AND SOUTH
4 NEW Workers. IMPRESSIONS OF
SAVANNAH IN HOLIDAY SEASON.


known in the Greater City Arrest
Attention Here-sOme Lessons in
POIiteness-FireworI and Bon
fires in llidwinter Unknown in the
North.
Seated in The corridor of the Pulaski
House yesterday was a young man fresh
from New York city. He had never been in
the South during Christmas time before.
Everything appeared strange to him. Al
most his first conversation was of Christ
mas in the South
when I left New York not many days
age" he said, "the street, avenues and
huge stores were bristling with sprays of
evergreens and lighted by myriads of tiny
candles. The human Christmas tide was
weighted down with huge bundles and bas-
kets and was busting, hustling showing
| and jolting, pushing crowding and rubbing
itself in almost endless friction.
while the great metropolis had taken
on every indication and attire of the near
approach to the holidays and while Christ
mas there have the same Christian sgnif-
! canoe as it does in civilized communities
| all the world over, as the anniversary of
! the day on which Christ was born in a
| manger, the preparations making in sa-
/ vannah as compared with those in New
York are of a nature vastly different.
! Although the island of Manhattan,
I alone" he said. has population of near
ly two million people, a large percentage of
whom are children of a peculiar aptitude
FOR noise and mischief of every known
character, the sound of a single fire crack
er had not been heard. up to the time
left, from Battery Park TO the Harlem riv-
er, nor had a barrel been gathered from
| any quarter with which to reflect the
heavens with light on Christmas night.
1T win be admitted, even by Savannah
ties" remarked the stranger from the
! North, that New York is somewhat larger
than Savannah; but from my observations
to-day, New York, with all of it's mum
| dreds of thousands of people, will from
a noisy-faming enthusiasm standpoint,
sink into utter insignifcance when the
| Southern Young Americans break loose,
! a few hours hence.
''The small folk of New York would stare
| with open-eyed wonder should they. be
dropped suddenly into Savannah to see the
shop windows, stores and sidewalks
stands, laden with firecrackers, Roman
candles skyrockets and other firework 6e-
vices at this time of the year and to near
the periodical reports of crackers, the fore
| runner of what l feel sure is near at nand.
Il. have been wondering all day, as l
walked through the beautiful parks and
shady streets, looking into many of the
prettily kept yards upon blossomng rose
bushes and delcately-tinted japonicas, see
inn fI,a hfrJ- nIa ~fraer tor 81 he
green leaves and hearing the nearby and
distant reports of fire-crackers, while 1
wiped the Precipitation from my forehead,
if the seasons had not been suddenly
transformed and if it was not really the
anniversary of the day on which the Dec
laration of Independence was signed.
When I saw several very small boys
among whom was a little negro, with the
brim of his battered and rusty-lookiag
SLOUGH hat, torn in such a way that WITH
every motion of his ragged little body, il
would strike him squarely between the
eyes, rolling two barrels up an alleyway,
l still more wondered why it should be
Christmas time and not approaching July
4. I inferred what the rolling of the bar
rels meant. I can picture myself doing
similar things when l was about their
age Yet it was at that time of the year
| when the month of June was waning
Fourth of July is New York's great
day for noisy celebration, with fireworks
and bonfres and a person might walk the
streets of the great metropolis all day
n and night at this season of the year with
out ever seeing a frecracker Roman can
die or skyroclSet, much less hearing them
or seeing the tiny sparks
J q noticed also the published wording Of
{ the ordinance, recently adopted by the
City Council. A similar law goes into eff
feet every year, just prior to July 4, in
? New York, but Savannah's officials are
more generous and broader minded re-
speeding it than the city fathers of the
5 North. The setting off of firecrackers and
2 other fireworks within the limits of New
! York city is permissible, but the building
Of bontires is strictly prohibited and the
several police courts are crowded on the
day following the Fourth of July with lit
| tie culprits who paid no attention to or
knew nothing of the local law laid down
3 by the officials. 1t win be a novel sight
for me when l look upon Christmas in
Savannah.
"Other things have appeared to me to
be strkinglv different, during my brief
$ acquaintance with Savannah, from the
way things are conducted in New York
2 city. Most Of them are refreshingly in
2 contrast For instance while riding in a
5 trolley car through Abercorn street yes
e terday, Tie car came to a stop. / saw
2 for moment no apparent reason for il.
z There half a block away | saw a lady,
J with a charming looking little girl by her
{ side walking hurriedly in the direction of
z the car. The conductor stepped from the
5 platform, assisted the lady on board lift
' cd the child IN his arms boarded his car
J rang The bell and off we started again
= Fully two minutes was consumed in TAX
= ing those two passengers on board and
A the politeness Of the employe was one of
s the most striking and delightfully."- refresh
: ng episodes ] have witnessed so for.
= Would this have been done in New York
] Well I've lived there the greater portion
q OF my life ana I've got to witness a SINH
Y lar occurrence. It's about all one can do
4 there to get car 10 stop after he has
= / waited two minutes for IT,.
d con my return 20 the business section
e of the city the car I boarded was fairly
= well filed with passengers. Most of them
were men. Al one Of the streets a middle
: | aged lady was assisted on board and with