Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-12-22
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pOrtant on the hOrlZOn Of the cOmlnS week as the coming of Santa Claus and the annual festival which marks his advent. While the cry of hard times" has gone up over the land, it is not likely that it will affect, to any great degree, the eXuberance of the holiday spirit.
 President Roosevelt and his family will spend the day quietly at the White House. As in the past the chief executive will lay aside his official cares and devote the day unreserved- ly to his wife and children. The us- ua distribution of gifts will take place in official circles at the capital, and there will be numerous social functions of holiday nature during the week. Most of the senators and representatives have already left Washington for their homes to spend the holidays with their families, and |'by the beginning of the week the city will be almost deserted by all except the Washingtonians
 Despite the financial panic, the poor of all the large cities and towns of the country will be provided with Christ mas cheer. In New York, while the contributions have not been as large or as liberal as in past years and many of the poor are even poorer than usual, it is unlikely that any deserving person will be allowed 10 go hungry although the dinners and baskets may be on less elaborate scale than usual. From Boston, Philadelphia. Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco and other great centers of population come reports of preparations for great feasts for the unfortunate, in all of which, as usual, the Salvation Army is taking a prominent part.
 While Europe is not unaffected by the financial stringency, cables from itals tell of the customary manifesto ,ions of the Christmas spirit, and re- port little falling off in the volume of the holiday trade. King Edward, Queen Alexandra and the English roy | al family will hold the usual Christ mas reuL on. and the jolly British monarch will forget. for the time, the cares of one who Sits upon a throne. As nearly all the European royal fam lilies are closely bound by ties of blood there will be the usual interchange of magnificent gifts among the monarchs. In Sweden the holiday spirit of the people and the court will be tempered by the sad memory of the recent death of King Oscar II
 Emperor and Empress William will spend the day with their children. The former is reported to be greatly im- proved in health by reason of his re- cent visit to England. and in conse- quence there will be no shadow to mar the spirit of Christmas cheer among the loyal subjects of the kali
 ser No European court gives pres ents on so extended and magnificent
 a scale as that of Germany, and in
 consequence the royal eXchequer will
 be greatly depleted when Christmas
 day dawns. Republican France, al-
 though it has been called an "atheis-
 tic" nation, will celebrate Christmas in it's accustomed joyous manner
 There will be many great fetes in Par
 is, although President Fallieres and
 the government officials will not off
 cialy observe the day. The illness of
 the empress may affect the holiday
 festivities of the Russian royal fam fly.
 Down in Trinidad, the land of sum-
 shine, the 12,00O Jacks" who are talk
 ing part in the cruise of the Ameri-
 can battleship fleet to the Pacific will
 spend a joyous and hilarious Christ
 mas. Numerous social events have
 been arranged in honor of the officers
 by the hospitable citizens, while the
 men will be entertained at severa
 great public sporting affairs. The Christmas dinner served on the flee
 will be very elaborate, with Vermont turkeys from the refrigerator ship Gla
 cier as the principal feature of the bill of fare.
 In large proportion of the states of the Union the pedagogues will take . advantage of the holiday season to holt
 their annual conventions. While mos , of these will be state meetings, there
 will be several important national ant and international gatherings of edu nual session of the American Histor- ical association at Madison, Wis, the
 twenty annual meeting of the INIusic Teachers National association
 in New York, the convention of the
 National Commercial Teachers asso' . citation in Pittsburg, Pa, and the I meeting of the Southern Educational association at Lexington, Ky. All oi