The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-12-20

widely advertised sales.
Furthermore, the shops of "the dis
trict" have their rivals in the Borough
of Manhattan itself. One OF these
rivals, and monster at that; Is STU.
ated at the corner of Third avenue
and Fifty-ninth street, nearly two miles
AWAY from the Thirty-fourth street
shops Scattered along the One Hun
dred and Twenty-fifth street there Is
a row of dry goods and department
stores, as yet not rivaling those OF
''the district" to be sure, but still
supplying many thousands of women
with shopping facilities, and selling
quite as cheaply on the whole as the
older shops down town.
All these shops appear to be doing
a rushing business this year, and it's
a blessing to all concerned that they
are not concentrated IN the district
If they were it would be well nigh
impossible either to reach them over
the already over-crowded routes of
intramural transit or to force an en-
trance into them once they were
reached.
Bread cast upon the waters" came
back after many days to one New
York woman in the form of a Christ
mas greeting from Europe last week.
on Christmas Day fifty years ago
this coming Christmas, when she was
little more than girl she went to
the bake house where the maids we've
baking the Christmas bread, in her
home in Germany. 1t stood near her
fathers office, and the laborers en-
ployed on the estate were filing past
to receive their days wages.
One of the workmen, a young and
pale man, stood opposite the bake house
door and he looked at the Drowned
loaves so hungrily that the girl ran out
and gave him one. Tears filled his
eyes and he said: "Oh this is Merry
Christmas, indeed. My wife is sick and
didn't know what to give my two lit
tie children" He choked over his
thanks and turned away.
She did not know his name and never
thought of him again. Not long after
wards her family left Europe and set
tied in this country. and she has not
seen her old home since then.
Last week one of her nieces, who
had gone to Germany 10 visit the old
estate, returned and told her that while
she was there an old peasant had pre-
| sented himself before her and had ask
ed her If she was niece of Mrs. --
who had been little Miss . On
being answered in the Affirmative, he
said
Tell her that / have never forgot
ten the loaf of bread that she gave me
for my Christmas. 1t will be fifty
years ago this coming Christmas and
1 have prayed for her every night
since"
1t is hardly probable. in view of the
general downward tendency in Wall
street during the years latter half,
that there will be any such Christmas
distributions among their employees by
the bankers and brokers this year as
there was. last.
But there is one firm that is very
sure to make its employees happy. Its
business is the conduct Of two extreme
| ly popular high grade" drinking estab-
| lishments with restaurant attachments.
| They have been running for many
years. and, twenty-six years ago, come
| Christmas 1903, the proprietors began
| the practice of turning over TO their
| employees the gross sales of the day. In
| Guiding last years distribution. the to-
/ tai sum thus given away by these lib-
eral gin mill proprietors mounts up 10
s305. 55S.78. One Christmas Day. 1873,
the first year OF the custom. the dis
tribution was Si.1S3.9 80. Last year IL
was sls.557 q. The beneficiary IN the
largest sum got $3.50. He had been
IN the firm's employ about twenty
| years. II goes without saying that
| Jobs In these two establishments never
go a begging. Cooks and scrubwomen.
cashiers and walters. baFtenders and
bOuncers. all come IN for their share,
according 70 a carefully devised Eys-