Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1914-12-17

was a spontaneous holiday Christ
mas eve they hung their stockings on the mantel-
piece in full confidence that Santa Claus could
find hts way through six-inch stovepipe Then
there was the Christmas tree, with grandfather
ito distribute the gifts and strong force Of uncles
land aunts to maintain peace among the cousins.
And there was skating in the afternoon with the
choicest sort of melee to give the finishing touch
Ito the day.
There was no need of science there; 1t would,
In fact, have spoiled the whole thing But
the spirit of Christmas has changed. We still
have our Christmas trees, subject to the regula-
tioas of the fire department but we are really
slaves of Christmas shopping list From
Thanksgiving to Christmas most of us live in an
atmosphere of deepening gloom We have con-
ltinus1y hanging that dreadful problem
lof what would be the best thing to give So-and-
80, and when we have made selection our hearts
sink at the awful thought that, perhaps, What's
hiE-name may give the same thing.
II is to relieve this situation as much as posi-
Bile that science has been called in to our aid OF
course even science has not yet been able to
prevent two people from sending the same gift
to person But 1t has been able to display
unusual gifts and larger number of them for
our consideration, that it will be easier to Sc
lect present which may be quite sure anoth-
er person would not think Of And the greatest
advantage of scientific Christmas shopping is the
increased speed with which the ordeal may be
gone through
There are two things which have brought about
this result The first is the establishment OF ex-
hibits of gifts for children in the schools of the
large cities of the country. And the second is
the scientific arrangement of gifts for sale in the
shops and department stores. On floor we
have department devoted entirely to toys and
other gifts for children in another place presents
particularly suited to men; and elsewhere sec
lions for women and boys and girls. 1t is all the
direct result Of the card index and the filing cabi
net You look under the particular heading you
wish and you find displayed before you vast
quantity of suitabse gifts to choose from.
The object of the school exhibits is not so much
to save mothers labor worthy object though that
might be- Nor is it to display the latest and
most ingenious products Of the toy market Child
welfare is the primary purpose, and there we
have another side of the scientific Christmas It
AS to save the children from being deluged at
the Christmas with inartistc, unhygienic
and useless gifts. Esthetic and hygienic are
words that loom up larger in the vocabulary or
the present than that Of the past
And So although Noahs ark will remain Noah's
ark to the end of the world, no twentieth century
4youngster whose family attends one of these ex-
hfbits will feel constrained to suck the paint on
IShem Ham or Japhet. For, 10 and behold, they
are entirely innocent Of the familiar red and
green and blue Of that unsanitary century we
have left behind. The of the patriarch and
all the animals that went in two by two" are OF
reasonably hygienic white wood.
again the scientific Christmas has produced
change to more esthetic and hygienc product.
Instead Of the big rag doll, whose features have
been kissed into obliteration by several genera
tons OF children, there is stockinet successor,
equally unbreakable, far more beautiful and abb
solutely impervious to washing.
For older children finds marvellous all
wood dolls, again embodying the three important
virtues They are unbeatable washable and ar
tistic Their naturalness is evident at glance,
and the visitor Is not surprised to learn that they
are reproductioAs of American children modelled
by American Artists
And yet, ~ bought rises, will mo ern Dorothys
. and Name these charming creations
sAFhft NOR their mothers and grandmothers
loved tho and wax doslies who preceded
them? n Is Henrietta, gorgeous Partisan,
you may r. Der, whose pink and white lowell
ness is still happy memory Poor Henrietta!
She died the victim of bad small brother who
tried the effect of midsummer heat upon her
waxen complexion. Then there was Juliet she
of real brown hair that combed and warm
brunette complexion, and host Of others who
may have had untold attractions. Put you must
put them out OF your mind In this scientific age
Real hair harbors horrible microbes and complex
ions do not digest well in small stcmachs
Then there other suggestions which are the
result Of the practically Of our time Housekeep
ing furnishings for example, such as tea sets in
pewter cooking utensils In granite and metal, an
ironing board and iron which can really be used,
and an iron cookstove upon which things be
cooked In the matter Of musical toys science
has gone even further The pianos for the child
OF today are marvellous instruments. Alas for
the prestige of the tinky toy .os generation gone
by! These have from two to three octaves of the
chromatic scale and are accurately tuned TO
concert pitch"
a. But all such marvels coIst money and are nor
likely to avail much for 1.-THE household whsA
I'VE or six must live sAnan income. So It Is
good to discover a case containing number Of
toys At minimum price. Not one exceeds ten