Rocky Ford enterprise., 1914-12-11

arrangement and the catalogues and lists of suit
able gifts, classified according to ages have done
much toward making even shopping for men a
simple matter.
This, however. is a very recent institution. In
the old days, woman went to the large shop.
without the slightest idea of what she wanted to
buy' and after ten minutes in the crowded heat
ed aisles, surrounded by thousands of elaborate
allurng, gayly colored possibilities with ap-
parent order or arrangement. bewilderment and
not decision was her portion. Under such condi
tions, even the most conscientious of them seized
the article nearest. She was at the mercy of the
saieswoman because she did not know what she
had better get or where she could get II.
But the woman's bewiderment nothing to
the mans. He didn't even make an attempt to
shop; he simply bought
But all these things are different now. You get
a list Of things which suchand-such store has
age, with the floor on which II may be found indl
Gated. and you have only to walk in calmly and
deliberately and purchase it II is literally an in
dex Of the peace and good will which you may
wish to dispense. You do all your thinking be-
forehand and have opportunity to remember
that Mrs. SoandSo's library is furnished in red,
and that Kaiser Sim would be more
ceptable than lamp.
Then when you have made your selection you
may make your way to the store with a fairly
calm and tranquil mind or course 1t is crowded
with density which makes progress almost i'm
possible. blazing hot with mulutudinous lights
and noisy with many clamoring voices. but all
that can have no effect on you You are a sci
entihc shopper and know Just what you are going
to get and where you are going to get it. Science
saves time. money and nerves.
There is another way in which Christmas has
become a science and that is in the method
which the big shopkeeper employs to attract the
crowds OF holiday shoppers Go into one OF their
establishments and you cannot fail to It.
They are aglow with light. bright with the colors
OF unnumbered fabrics and you hear far and near
the clash Of music from many instruments That
Is simply to lure you in and once you are there
you at first nothing but a spectacle OF con-
fusion and conflict of sounds that would make
Babel lose caste as synonym. But II you start
to buy what you have come for you will nnd
remarkable state of order far the things
offered for sale concerned. II is not really
a store; it's exposition.
There isn't a man in the world who has
keener understanding of the human makeup than
the big shopkeeper. He knows every string of
the instrument and plays diligently upon them
ALL He hires people with advertisements which
are wonder stories. He halts the passing crowd
in the streets with windowful of Christmas wax
works. and once they have come inside. whether
with purpose or out Of mere curiosity. the ma
chinery is there to hold them fast
For weeks the designers. decorators scene
painters. dummymakers have been at work devils.
ing and constructing some sort of living pictures
fraught with the spirit of the Christmas tale
There is the papier mache church, still and beau
tiful with snowcovered trees about it, light shin.
ing from the tall windows, men. women and chill
dren mounting to the portal. and from away in
the inside sanctuary somewhere come the music
of a mighty organ and voices singing Christmas
carols
1t is expensive. but it impresses, the people who
enter the store. II is the idea of 1t all that the
hearts of the shoppers be mellowed and the spirit
be moved to buy and still more for the
holiday giving. That may seem little FAR
fetched you sit at home with Crouch on"
because something went wrong yesterday, or a
man you thought was your friend went back on
you. but get into of those stores where you
can't hear yourself think" of your troubles for the
noise, and you will realize that It is really very
clever conception.