The Savannah morning news., 1903-12-20
CHRISTMAS I'm WALL STREET.
Not SO Much Given in Bonuses AS There Was
Two Years Ago.
BY w. @. NICHOLAS.

New York. Dec. 1.-TWO years ago
columns and columns of printed space
were devoted to the lavish dispensation
of Christmas money in Wall street. l
do not recall that any estimate was
made of the aggregate amount of
money given away at that time, but
it must have been very large. The
employees of various banking houses
from the office boy up received bo-
muses. equivalent in some instance to
their salary for a full year, and in a
few instances did those of big institu-
tions get less than the equivalent of
their salary for a quarter. Directors
of trust companies voted lump sums
to presidents. Even the commission
houses distributed gold to their clerks.
bookkeepers and messengers. There
was a rivalry about it, one house ev-
identity being bent upon outdoing an
other of it's own class rather than be
made the object of invidious compare
son with others. The several ex-
changes made up large sums of mon
ey for the benefit of their attendants.
All this happened at q time when
Wall street was more prosperous than
ever before in it's history. Everybody
had been making money and every
body was rich in paper wealth. A
year ago there was a marked falling
off in the Christmas distribution as
compared with the preceding year, and
this Christmas will be a very slim one
indeed for those who attend to the
vast machinery of Wall street. A
good many houses have already stated
that they will be unable to make pres
| ents of any kind to their employees and
others will make presents OF only nom
inal value. A house that gives nothing
will not be conspicuous. The bear mar
ket not only caused heavy falling off
of commissions, but entailed serious
losses upon houses that were engaged
in promotions, others that were loaded
up with stocks not amply protected by
margins, and still others whose clients
refused to make good on their ac-
counts. This year everybody feels
poor in the financial district and feel
| ing has a good deal to do with Christ
mas giving.
The financial community has been
taking deep interest in the Christmas
trade. Reports thereon, published in
regular trade reviews as well as special
reports prepared in response to the de-
mand for minute information on the
subject, have been much more opti-
mistic than might have been expected.
1t is admitted that there has been some
falling off in the more expensive
branches, but 1t is said that this has
been fully offset by the increased de-
ntand for goods of medium grade. There
/ is a marked discrepancy, however. be-
tween these published reports and the
private information that one gets as
TO the condition OF the Christmas trade.
The private information is much less
optimistic than that which Is publish
ed. II is the most natural thing, OF
course that merchants and manufact-
urers, IN fact all who are interested
in trade, should talk up business for
print. II Is this attitude that often
makes trade reviews misleading. There
n an art dealer "a New York patron
lzed BY the weaithlest people IN the
East who complains that his Christ
mas business Is the worst for many
years His patrons come IN, ne says,
and examine bis offerings, praise them
and then 50 away without buying, eK.
] planning that times are hard aad that