The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-21
Stores and Streets Were
 Crowded.
Tn. Christmas Trade And the PReva- fence of the cbristmas spirit is
 Bixer Than Ever Before.

The man who is assailing the modern Christmas as a pagan festival, Whose traditions are the relics of a pagan age and the superstition of an era of ignorance is talking against the gale.
 The voi.e of the man wno procldims that the nerve racKing horn, the ex- ploding fire cracker, and shouts and laughter are foreign to just and ap- propriate celebration of the birthday Of the Prince of Peace tails upon unheed- ing eears, whether the man who raises the voice be minister or layman.
 And the man who goes back and con- temptuously analyses the traditions of Christmas. who says that the mistle- toe is the relic of an old Druidical superstition. that Santa Claus is a myth. whose story Is .corrupting the minds of the schildren. and who, says that the Christmas tree is only the transplanted relic of a supsrstition that mad its origin among the ignorant German peasants, that the holly Is a part of the deplorable observance of the day to be coupled with the stuff ing and drinking Christmases of Charles Dickens-why his voice Is as sounding brass and tinkling cymbals." The merchants of Montgomery can tell these people where they arc mis- taken. The merchants of Montgomery can tell them that so far as Montgom- cry is concerned the people are given to laughter and pleasure, to the Christ mas tree. to the holly and to the mistletoe. that they are loyal devotees of Santa Claus. The giving of pres ents may be an aggrayating and hypoc- riticaI practice but the merchants of Montgomery will tell you that the peo- pie of the city have not reached the vuh varf1l fy frs yJaa Ira any such acknowledgement
 The merchants are prepared to say this and say 1t positively because the present Christmas season is the best from a business standpoint that the city ever enjoyed. Itfwould have been a phenomenal season, If the price of cotton had maintained its lofty and re- spected place instead of falling to a station, which. to say the least. ia not high. if it had continued to bring ten cents a pound no season the city of Montgomery ever had would equal in the amount of business done this pres ent Christmas season of 190<.
 But even with cotton at 1-4 cents more business has been done this soa- son than last year during the same season. The trade of the last Christmas season. while the South was lectiHS tHS uiChSue0 llIe Ct d nl8n cOL- ton market. was supposed to have been the best that Montgomery ever experi- enced. Put the holiday business this year has excelled it. The local mcr- chants say so without reservation.
 A good deal of the increase, they say. however. was noted before the heavy slump in cotton two weeks ago. Business was going forward with a rush. the holiday trade had assumed a>.. GA when cotton struck the chute and sail ed down.
 But the sensational slump in the cot ton market only partially affected bus mess. The increase continued. but with diminished per centage. The Mont gomery merchants heaves a sigh for the fall of cotton. but he smiles his qualification because business has con- tinued good In the face of adverse cir cumstances.
 There. is one peculiarity about the business we are doing now. in these Christmas holidays" said a we'll known dry goods merchant yesterday This peculiarity Is the constant demand for luxuries and costly goods We have sold more fine furs, more costly dress goods and more expensive Christmas gifts than ever before The purchases are made by people who are not seri- ously affected by the fall of cotton. They have money and property that is not affected by the price of cotton, and r they have cotton on hand as they have in most Instances. they are not compelled to sell it while the price Is in the neighborhood of cents. They do not find 1t necessary to curtai1 their Christmas expenses because cotton Is low.
 Trade in the cheaper Christmas goods is not so encouraging or SO sat isfactory. We are not selling many of this class of goods when comparison Is made with the trade In the finer grades"
 This dry goods merchants experi- ence was duplicated in the holiday bus mess of retail merchant selling books. pictures. dolls and gifts of various kinds
 This season. said the latter mer- chant has been very fine one We have had large increase over our bus mess for the same period of last year. We kept last season. as we are doing this season. record of each day's bus