The Elbert County tribune., 1914-12-11

l3lAJ the idea! In their time Christmas
was a spontaneous holiday. Christ
mas eve they hung their stockings on the mantel-
piece In fuil confidence that Santa Claus could
md his way through six-inch stovepipe. Then
there was the Christmas tree. with grandfather
to distribute the gifts and strong force of unces
and aunts to maintain peace among the cousins.
And there was skating in the afternoon with tho
choicest sort of melee to give the finishing touch
to the day.
There was no need of science there: 1t would,
IN fact, have spoiled the whole thing But now
the spirit of Christmas has changed We still
nave our Christmas trees, subject to the regua-
tons of the fire department. but we are really
slaves of our Christmas shopping list. From
Thanksgiving to Christmas most of us live in an
tatmosphere OF deepening gloom. We have con-
,tinualy hanging over that dreadful problem
of what would be the best thing to give So-and-
SO. and when we have made selection hearts
sink at the awful thought that. perhaps. What's
his-name may give the thing.
1t is to relieve this situation as much as posi-
BILE ttat 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 one person. But it has been able to display
unusual gifts and larger number of them for
our consideration. that 1t will be easier to Sc
lect 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 two things which have brought about
this result. The first is the establishment of ex-
hibts 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
tions for women and boys and girls. 1t is al>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 suitable gifts to choose FROM
The object of the school exhibits is not 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 deuged at
the Christmas season with inartistic. unhygenic
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 g
ark to the enc of the world, no twentieth century
youngster whose family attends one of these ex-
hibits will feel constrained to suck the paint Oh
Shem, Ham or Japhet For. 10 and behold. they
are entirel-, innocent OF the familiar red and
green and blue of that unsanitary century wo
have left behind The sons of the patriarch and
all the animals that went in two by two" are Of
reasonably hygienic white wood.
By the same token dolls will be dolls For here
again the ecientihc Christmas has produced a
change to a more esthetic and hygienic product
Instead Of the big rag doll, whose features have
been kissed into obteration by several genera
tons of children. there is a stockinet successor.
equally unbreakable. far more beautiful. and abb
solutely impervious to washing.
For older children one finds marvellous all
wood dolls again embodyng the three important
virtues They are unbreakable, washable and
tistic Their naturalness is evident at glance,
to ~ fo 1ear hat bov
are reproductions Of American children modelled
by American artists.
And yet the thought rises, will modern Dorothys
and Nancys love these charming creations
whit more than their mothers and grandmothers
loved the china and wax doilies who preceded
them? There Henrietta, gorgeous Partisan.
you may remember. whose pink and white lowell
ness b st.n 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 was Juliet she
OF real brown hair that combed and a warm
brunette complexion, and a host OF others who
may have had untold attractions. But 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 stomachs.
Then there are other suggestions which are the
rr.uIt of the practically OF time. Housekeep-
ing furnishings for example, such 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 can 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 tinkIy toy Of generation
bvt These have from two to three octaves of the
chromafic scale and are accurately tuned TO
concert pitch"
But all such marvels cost money and not
likely to avail much for the household where
five or six must live small income. So 1t is
good to discover a case containing number Of
toys at a minimum price. Not one exceeds ten