The Whitefish pilot. [volume] (Whitefish, Mont.) 1904-current, 1912-12-26
c. n. SANTA
LITTLE TARDY
NEARLY KNOCKED ALL THE
CHRISTMAS CHEER OUT
OF THIS CITY.

Pay day and no checks in sight.
Immediately there We're forebodings
OF gloomy Christmas in Whitefish.
and the whole populace was ready
to take up arms against the Great
Northern for being so unaccomoda-
ting, especially at Christmas time,
when everyone was keyed up to
the highest pitch, depending on that
check with which to do their Christ
mas shopping, and it was all on
account OF some one in the St.
Paul offices. who was SO selfishly
wrapped up in his own Christmas
plans that he forgot that the peo-
pie out here in Whitefish were just
as anxiously looking forward to the
great annual holiday.
The peace on earth and good
smitherines the boys at the depot
thought. The telephone wire was kept
sizzling all day with the same old
question, Have the checks come
yet?" and when Yates or Favorite
answered in the negative as plea
sanity as they could, there was a
party sizzling on the other end OF
the wire. They flocked to the win
dows with the Same Queery and
wen. away in the same unhappy
frame Of mind, cussimg Jim Hin and
the whole Great Northern system. 1t
was Christmas, they had earned
their money and they wanted 1t.
Every body was angry. The mer-
chants stood in their, stores and
gazed out at the empty street. while
the clerks and extra help put on
for the holiday business hung around
on the counters waiting for custo-
mer to turn up. The shelves were
piled full of all kinds OF holiday
goods still unsold because the checks
did net come in and the merchant
began figuring on how he was going
to meet his bills which would fall
due on the first of the year. It
was enough to make anyone feel
blue
Most Of the people had put off
their shopping until pay day, conse-
auently there were presents un-
bought that would not reach their
destination on time. More oussing
from these. Many people had their
grips packed ready to take the first
train, but couldn't go until the
cnecks came in. More gloomy disap-
pointment for them. because they did
not know when they would come,
and as the passes all terminate the
first CT the year it meant that their
vacation would be shortened that
much. Cussing galore from these
people.
At the roundhouse every cne was
cuseing the Great Northern and
laid the delay to a thousand lima gin
ary causes. The moet absurd one
was that the merchants here had
requested Supt. w. r. Smith to with
hold the checks until they got their
books Strengthened up. There was
absolutely no foundation to this
story at all, and it made many who
did believe it feel unduly hostile to
the Merchants Association. The fact
of the matter was that the mer-
~cnsmts were just as anxious to see
these checks in as any one could be.
Every day those checks were delay
cd meant a loss of at least $500 to
them, because it shortened up the
buying season just that much, and
it meant money lost that they would
otherwise get.
To put an end to all this mis-
cry and suspense the checks did
come in on No. late Saturday aft
erncon. 1t helped some as a sooth-
ing balm to quell absurd suspicious,
heal wounded feelings, and set the
wheels of business whirring again.
Shoppers did their best in the short
time that remained to buy their
presents, and the stores were tax
ed to beyond their capacity in trying
to serve all, but never the less 1T waa
not the Christmas 1t would have
been had the checks come in on
time. Some are money ahead and
many are money out, but any way,
1t was a merry Christmas.
Mrs. Frank Lynch of Troy was a
uicitCr ir <hn oi%v Er{Hov