The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-12-24
.CHR|sTMA SHOPPING
ENDS WITH MAD RUSH
STREETS AND STORES NEVER so
JAMMED BEFORE.
Everyone Is Tired but Christmas Spirit
Shines from Every Face and Good
Nature Prevents Outbursts from
wornout Clerks and shoppers-Mer-
chants Say Trade Was Heavy.

Grasping frantically for the rem
nants sof the depleted stocks Of Christ
mas gifts, 100000 put-it-off- until-the-
last-day shoppers last night descended
upon the business district, cleaned up
nearly every vestige Of the holiday dis
play and brought to most suspicious
history of Minneapolis. Ten thousand
others, who had been fortunate or far
sighted enough to make purchases
early, swelled the force and thruout
the evening the streets were surging,
swift-curernt rivers of seething human
ity, presenting a monotonous panorama
Of faces.
Never before have the downtown
streets borne such numbers in such a
short period as this week. Last night
was but the final setting of a period of
retail trade without precedent fol
numbers spending and amount spent
in the annals of commercial Minneapo
lis. Hundreds of thousands of dollars
have passed thru the hands Of worn
out clerks into the Golfers Of merchants
during the week and not only have the
larger stores observed decided in
crease i'm receipts over former holiday
weeks, but the lavish stream has beer
turned down thru the ranks Of the jew
eler and haberdasher to the humble toy
vendor who sells little mechanical toy!
in the alleys. .-.
Christmas Spirit Rife.
| Not only did the crowd last nigh
eclipse in numbers and Guido in gen
! INV oil dc ~
I but the Christmas spirit that beamet
from the happy faces and was vouche'
by the rabble of voices was deeper ans
more extensive than ever before. 4
| poor little half-grown man, trudgini
along beside a 200-pound spouse
weighted down by bundles containing
everything in the toy line from rock
inghorse to a Scent rattle for No.
was chucklihg and smiling over hi
stealthy stocking-act, to come, as i
the occasion was his best-remembere
romp with "the boys.'
All the shoppers did not have bi
bundles to show the amounts expended
either. Certain young men darted int
"swell" jewelry stores, laid out sex
ereal yellow backed bills and emerge
with nothing in sight. Little parcel
tucked away in pockets and CAREFUL
guarded by hand thrust therein rel
resented great generosity and ind
; Gated that the firms selling high.price
articles are drawing their share Of th
Christmas patronage. g.. .
Crowd Stays Late.
It was long after II o'clock befo1
, the appreciate decrease in the widt
and length Of the happy throng W.
observable, and not until midnight ma
the streets assumed theier normal a.
, pearance. ~.
From early morning, until the stor
closed at 10 CLOCK there were endle
! streams pouring into and out from tt
big stores. At 10 o'clock the multi
tude still in the places was started o.
e and many minutes were required
drain the larger stores. No sooner hs
! the last happy faced shopper emergs
+ and hurried for his car than the exod
! Of tired, careworn clerks began, al
y tho this week has been the most tryil
: in the lives Of a majority of thel
y their faces cleared when they we
t dragged into the stream of human
t and before they had bounced along fl
;. the full spirit had seized them and e
d joyment reigned everywhere.
> There were shoplifters in the mer
J. throng and, according to several cler
d rich harvest was reaped by the
}. clever thieves and they doubtless
@ were among the happiest Of the rema1
ably high-spirited crowd.