The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-23
BUYING GIFTS BY PROXY

From the Chicago Evening Post.
 Say" said the young man who lives in bachelor apartments, "I have solved the Christmas problem. Best everrf
 Sop said his companion languidly. "I suppose you'll insist now on telling me about it. You're the most system cursed. method ridden individual on this floor.9
 70, it isn't my system" protested tn e young man. But it is a cinch, that's what it is."
 Well, heraus mit,p said the other, exhibiting doubting spirit.
 You wouldn't doubt it if you had landed on velvet as l have" declared that bachelor man. Tt came about me that some friends of hers, young couple living in Lake View, were mak- ing little speciality of Christmas shopping on commission.
 "'I know what wretched shopper you are,' she said so l am sending you their names and address. They are just as clever as can be. Send them your list with brief description and as much money as you want to spend
 Now, do you knoy anything softer than that?" inquired the young man triumphantly. "I sent 'em my list, in cluding everybody but my mother and my kid niece. and told them to go as far as they liked up to $6O or so. You just ought to see the way those pack ages have been rolling in.
 'It seems he's quite nabob with books. I believe he writes for a liv- ing. Anyway he reads them, and he Snows the studs and their trotting records and what books have been dis qualified by the judges. My uncle who is dippy over Roosevelt, gets book by Captain Mahan, or some such per son, on a greater navy. My aunt, whom l put down as '45 and president of the Vittoria Colonna Woman's club gets an illustrated volume on Italian Cities 0, it's easyl"
 "Wh ere does their commission come in?" inquired his companion.
 N"Five per cent, I understand" said the bachelor. "They said they'd send me a bill as soon as they had com pleted my list. T understand their shopping netting them about SIP a day"
 After several hitches this thrifty and enterprising couple were run to earth. They were a little disconnected at the idea of publicity. but said they were willing to talk if their anonymity was preserved.
 Its simple enough" said the man. There's a big falling off in the adver- Using in the magazines. That means a big falling off in the stuff which the editors can accept. We were included in the stringency. A friend of ours who suffers severe headaches when she attempts to shop, begged my wife to help her select her christmas things and insisted on her accepting com mission of 10 per cent. Well, that was too much, of course, and after some furious te1eph oning back and forth, my wife got it down to per cent.
 'I didn't have much to do, with five manuscripts doing the shuttlecock be- tween me and the publishers TOW in New York, so I was inveig1ed into help ing. Between us we cleared up things so rapidly that our friend urged us to help out several other people. In about a week we had nine clients and were fillin0 lists that ran, I suppose, into the neighborhood of $55O.
 70 yes, it is fatiguing," he assented, ''but we have it systematized and in looking around for things for A and we get ideas for c and D. Then, too, we make it point to reach the stores at a. m. sharp and shop until Il or l2. Then we have lunch con downtown, and come home to take things easy for the remainder of the day, Incidentally pian- ming the next days campaign. thought in time saves nine.'
 "Yes. broke in his wife. This going down to the stores to get ideas is dreadful. We'd be in a rest cure by this time if we had tried that old fashion method"
 .It's been quite a little adventure" resuaned the man. Men aren't sup posed to be good shoppers, and don't know that it is important that they should be- but I've noticed that most or my selections have met with ap- proval."
 Don't forget that your precious selections have been sifted through my mind" reprimanded the wife.
 The couple are limiting their opera tions to the needs of tn cir friends, and are accepting no other engagements this year.