Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1914-12-19


ySA the ideai In their time Christi Christmas
spontaneous holiday. Christ
they hung their stockings the mantel-
piece in full confidence that Santa Claus could
find his way through six-inch stovepipe. Then
there was the Christmas tree, with grandfather
to distribute the gifts and strong force of uncles
and 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
to the day.
There need of science there; it would
in fact, have spoiled the whole thing. But
the spirit of Christmas has changed. We still
nave our Christmas trees, subject to the regula-
tons of the fire department, but really
slaves of our Christmas shopping list. From
Thanksgiving to Christmas most of us live in an
atmosphere of deepening gloom. We have con-
tinually hanging over US that dreadful problem
of what would be the best thing to give So-and-
so. and when we have made selection our hearts
sink at the awful thought that, perhaps What's
hisname may give the same thing.
1t is to relieve this situation as much as posi-
Bile that science has been called in to aid OF
course even science has not yet been able to
prevent two people from sending the gift
to one person But it has been. able to display
unusual gifts and a larger number of them for
our consideration that it will be easier to Sc
iect present which we 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 1s
scientific arrangement of gifts sale in the
( shops and department stores. On one floor we
have department devoted entirely to toys and
other gifts for children in another place presents
particularly suited to men; and elsewhere sec
tions for women and boys and girls 1t is all the
direct result of the card index and the filing cab
net You look under the particular heading you
wish and you find displayed before you vast
quantity of suitable 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 1t
is to save the children from being deluged at
the Christmas season with inartisties unhygienic
and useless gifts. Esthetic and hygienic are
words that loom up larger in the vocabulary OF
the present than that of the past
And So although Noah's ark will remain Noah's
erk to the end of the world twentieth century
Youngster whose family attends one of these ex-
hibits will feel constrained to suck the paint on
Shem Ham 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 sons of the patriarch and
all the animals that went in two by two" of
reasonably hygienic white wood:
By the same token. dolls will be dolls For here
again the scientific Christmas has produced
change to a esthetic and hygienic product
Instead of the big rag doll, whose features have
been kissed into obliteration by several genera
lions of children, there is a stockinet successor
equally unbreakable far more beautiful and alb
solutely impervious to washing
For older children finds marvellous all
wood dolls again embodying the three important
virtues They are unbreakable, washable and
tistic Their naturalness is evident at glance.
and the visitor is surprised to learn that they
are reproductions of American children modelled
by American artists
And yet the thought rises, will modern Dorothys
and Nancys love these charming creations one
whit more than their mothers and grandmothers
loved china and dollies who preceded
them? There Henrietta. gorgeous Partisan.
YOU may remember, whose pink and white lowell
ness is still a happy memory. Poor Henriettai
She died the victim of bad small brother who
tried the effect of midsummer heat upon her
waxen complexion. Then there Juliet, she
of real brown hair that combed and warm
brunette complexion and host of others who
put them out of your mind in this scientific age
Real hair harbors horrible microbes and complex
ions do not digest well in small stomachs.
Then there are other suggestions which the
result of the practically of time Housekeep-
ing furnishings. for example. such as tea sets in
pewter cooking utensils in granite and metal,
ironing board and iron which really be used.
and iron cookstove upon which things can be
cooked 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 tinkly toy of generation
by. These have from two to three octaves of the
chromatic scale and accurately tuned ITO
concert PITCH
But all such marvels cost money and not
likely avail much for the household where
good to discover containing number of
flows MT a minimum price. Not one exceeds