The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-12-25
ALL SHOPPING
RECORDS BROKEN
Great Crowds ThTOng Streets
on Christmas Eve.
SNOW Is PROMISED TODAY
PREPARATIONS FOR THE CELE
BRATIoN IN SALT LAKE.

BUSIEST day of the present holiday
d season in the retail district Of salt
Lake was yesterday Many thou
sands of people who had delayed maxi
ing their Christmas purchases crowded
into the stores, and they kept the regu-
lar and extra forces of statesmen anG
saleswOmen on the jump from a. no
until between and D. M. when the
wave of shoppers began to subside
They included all classes, both sexes.
and the young, middle-aged and aged
While the bargain counters were MOI
overlooked. a majority of the purch.
asers sought articles that We're not ON
the bargain lists Christmas is the
one day i'm the year when the bargain
hunter subOrdinates his or her natura
proclvities to the desire 10 purchase
something that is not considered
cheap.
Probably never before WAS there such
diversity shown i'm gift buying for
scarcely an article in dry goods. gro
CeTieS, clothing, hardware and other
kinds of ware Was overlooked some
even purchased stoves and bedsteads
and bedding to send to recently mar
Tied relatives or friends The merch-
ants report that their holiday trade has
been from 10 to 80 per cent in excess
of that Of last year
PeddIers Have Busy Time.
Many peddlers and itinerant merch-
ants did a thriving business during
the day, especially the sellers of holly
wreaths and holly in punches. They
seemingly were not grieVed because the
rain fell upon their stocks, for they
usually sold the greenery by the
pound One dealer on Main street made
a great point of the fact that he was
20 b,1 hE
lasting holly" While others were
hawking off the home or Utah product
Then there was the candy and nut
man, with prices that could not but
prove tempting TO the children and 70
grown ups Of an economical turn of
mind. But the candy had the appear
ance of having been CohcOcted Of cheap
sugar and terra alba, and other non
digestible substances. As much OF this
cheap stuff was peddled out yesterday
it is probable that many little ones
will not relish their Christmas dinners
because Of preliminary symptoms OF
appendicitis.
The street cars were all crowded IN
til midnight many of the passengers
being loaded down with packages large
and small and of many shapes. In
many instances the husband and wife
brought the children along and made
home.
b Today being Sunday. the principal
evidences of joyfulness, outside Of the
homes of the people, viii be given in
the churches. where the day will be
celebrated with songs and instrument
tai music. interspersed with discourses
appropriate to the occasion by the pas
tors.
Weather Bureau Promises Snow.
The government weather bureau,
of the tradition that a green
Christmas makes fat graveyards has
been doing it's best to spread a white
blanket over the earth in Salt Lake
and vicinity. But il has met with con-
siderable opposition from the elements,
with the result that, while on the
mountains and in the canyons the depth
of snow varies from a few inches 10 a
couple Of feet, in the valleys the ground
is bare except in spots where drifts
have formed.
The local weather observer is not
without hope, however. Yesterday
evening, after a careful reading Of
the kilograms showing weather condi-
tions in the localities whence Salt
Lakes storms usually come, he con-
hdently predicted that there would be
snow today. At the time this pre-
dictiOn was made the sky was shedding
a drizzling moisture upon the thou
sands Of shoppers who thronged the
streets, and the indications pointed 20
a lowering of the temperature sufficient
10 transform the raindrops into snow
flakes. The highest temperature Of
the day was Al degrees and the lowest
81 degrees.
Salt Lake at 4:SO D. m. was in the
outer edge of a ''barometeric low
which was central at Roseburg Ore,
az which point the barometer registered
29.45 inches at s a. N. At the same
hour in Salt Lake the barometer reg
istered 29.S7 inches and at 4.30 %. M
1t was down to $3.50 inches, a fall of Z
Of an inch. 1t was raining yesterday
at ROseburg. Ore, Boise, Ida and
other points within the area of low
pressure. as wen as at Salt Lake,
but the reports showed a lack OF
The main element in a storm-high
wind-the velocity being but four miles
an hour at Salt Lake and at Rose
burg, Ore. and ten miles at Boise.
Legal Holiday Tomorrow.
Uncle sam. who in some things re-
sembies Santa Claus. does not intend