The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-18

Between the 1st and the 2bth of December. the American people VIII part with si0o.0Oo.oo0s It will go to the buying of Christmas gifts. For years the newspapers and the mer- chants have been preaching the gos- pel Of early shopping: they have told Of the wider range of selection at the beginning of the season; of the free dom from crowding and the oppor- tunities for prompter and more et- ncient service which is received by those who come early and avoid the rush. But the nearer approach of the holidays brings zest to the Christmas hnvinr that makes the great majoriy prefer the hurly-burly of the last feW days of the season.
 The average reader has no concep- tfon of the immensity of the Christmas trade. Tn New York there are a half dozen big express companies, each or which has cars of It's own, freignt yards and piers, scores of stables, theusanas of horses. thousand of wag- ons. vans, etc, and thousands of men. A single depot of a single company can handie A5.0O0 packages in one day. Yst with all this vast distributing machinery and the addition of every other available horse and wagon in the city. they are still overburdened by the tremendous tide of Christmas goods that sweeps out of the shops into the homes of the city. America is the greatest gift-buying nation on the globe. and New York City is the great est eift-buying place in America
 The packages that go out from the stores of the land tell of the rise and fall of fads. Who does not recall Lne chunks of coal which were so widely given in 1902--a commentary on the results of the coal strike? Then came the little rocking chairs, and after them the Teddy bears. But their vorue is past, and this year the doll will resume it's place as the gift par excellence for the little girl. santa Claus has distributed 5,0Oo,Oo0 dolls over this broad land. and it Is expect ed that evefy one of them will get into the arms of some little girl-mother before Kris Kringle journeys back to his North Pole home.
 It is said by the department store people that the sale price of the aver age Christmas gift Is perhaps less than 30 cents. No one has ever taken census of Christmas giving, but careful and experienced observers would place the total number of presents given at about 200, 900, ,0O0. about one-half of which are bought during the last seven days Of the season.
 Not long ago Mrs. T. P. OConners the wife of the great Irish Commoner, XtEAkE0 mas shopping here. Her verdict was that the American people have better stocks to select from than either the English or the French. She found better selections in New York than in Paris or London. especially in gifts of silver and other things for women.
 There was never a time that taxed the advertising man of the big store so much as Christmas time. He must draw the crowds. and he matches up some strong trade-puIling schemes. A Tacoma (Wash.) store hit upon the idea of having an immense horn of plenty, reaching from the top of, the building to the main floor. There 1t empties upon a big plain of snow, and Santa Claus. with one of his reindeer. is there, gathering up the profusion of gifts, ready to start on his rounds Of the earth. The great scale on which the thing is planned may be imagined by the fact that the reindeer weighs 1000 pounds. Every child in Tacoma wants to see that Santa Claus. and is has proved a- great business getter, The store gives each child that comes a package Of candy, santa Claus hand ing 1t out with his own hand.
 A large percentage of the foreign element of the country has to pay but little heed to the advice to shop early z. To them good hard cash is the best Inrtstm1S present. anu thSy onOP ae the postofElce, getting money orders to send their savings to the faraway homes over the seas. It is estimated that S50,00O,OO0 was sent back to Flu rope last Christmas. $15.00O ,000 having gone from New York alone The early rush In the foreign money orders busi- ness indicates that even last years record may be broken this year.
 Christmas buying pays but little heed 10 the state of the times. AL though last year was one of the hard est, financially, that has been expe- rienced Tn a dozen yeaIs, 1t is said