Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-12-16
CHRISTMAS TREES
FOR HOSPITALS AND
STARR GARDEN KIDS
Germans Part in the Big Fes-
tival-Merchants See Pros
perity in the Volume
of Trade
WHEN WILLIE is LOST
Including today, there are only eight more
shopplng days before Christmas,

Including today, there are only eiRht more
shopping days before Christmas
The German Hospital will have a dozen
trees trimmed and placed in the wards
for the patients this Christmas. rms
will moan little to the average reader,
except that it sounds like an exceptional
ly duh Christmas note" until it is eN-
planned.
The name of the institution has come to
be so familiar. that we think of 1t only
as a hospital and not as n German Hos
pital, which it Is primarily. In the same
way we are so used to Germantown that
we may think of It as a town, but rarely
as ever having been a German town.
But the grim truth must be faced; not
only that the German Is going to nave
the best hospital Christmas in town, put
also that the Germans have made christ
mas as n festival the uproarous ana
glorious day for children that 1t Is in
America.
1t is about time for lot of people to
humble themselves and admit that they
have said n lot of mean things about
the Germans, and Christmas is the time
to admit it, These people are quite sure
that the Germans stand for Nietzsche'
but they have tried to forget that the
Germans also stand for Kriss Kringle.
If the French had had the influence
on this country the Germans have had
we would not have any Christmas fun at
all but only the stately custom of send
ing New Years cards. Yet many are
quite sure France Is fighting to save art
and poetry and romance and that the
Germans are a nation of materialists ana
Crepe-hangers.
But German Christmases are material
enough when it comes to that The Ger
man cakes that are baking at this min
ute in many hundreds of German ovens
in this city are the best Christmas cakes
there are anywhere
Merchants express the opinion that the
greatest volume of Christmas business in
the history of Philadelphia is now going
out over the counters. Great stocks of
goods laid in for the rush have melted
away before the armies of early shop
pers, and new supplies have had to be
rushed to the stores. 1t is estimated that
between 10000 and 100000 shoppers daily
visit shops in this city.
The 2j-foot Christmas tree that when
decorated with hundreds of electric lights
and gifts will represent the present of
Mrs. r.. T. Stotosbury to the children
who play in Starr Garden Park recrea-
tion centre is being planted by NJ. Gar
son Fall principal of the centre, and
will soon be ready for the "big spread"
Mrs. Stotesbury provided the tree and
gifts last year to the children of the
Starr Garden section and promised to
keep up the custom every year as long
as she lives. More than 500 children Will
receive presents of candy and useful
articles.
The centre will be opened for the cele-
bration and distribution of gifts Thurs
day night December 90, Tickets are
being issued by Mr. Fall and his assist
ant to the poorer children of the neigh
borhood that will admit them next
Thursday night.
If it so happens, by any chance, that
you are one of the few persons shopping
these days. and Willie suddenly disap-
pears in the throng while you are in
specting pair of carpet slippers that
will he fathers surprise in his sock on
Christmas morning. it is just as well that
you keep cool and refuse to get excited.
For Willie will probably have a better
time where he is bound to go than tug
ging around with you.
For Willie will promptly be sent by the
first traffic cop he meets to the lost and
found bureau of the police department.
is called. when the holiday rush Is thing
of the future or past. Mrs. Margaret
Cooper. matron at City Hall.
Right up on the sixth floor of the hall
are the rooms of Mrs Cooper. During
the summer and fall and spring they are
Just comfy, but around Christmas they
are touched up here and there until they
look like a part of Santa Claus mann
moth residence at the undiscovered por-
tlon of the North Pole Although the mad
rush of last-hour shoppers has not yet
reached its height, Mrs. Cooper is al
ready welcoming the advance guard of
the little boys and girls who enter the
room shifting and crying for mamma"
and are soon sucking on piece of that
strong -the-rock Gibraltar Christmas
candy and playing with some of Mrs.
Santa Claus toys.
TT is usually the case said Mrs.
Cooper, for one of the children who is
downtown with his older brother or sister
to be lost. Either the brother doesn't
want to be bothered with him or he wants
to sea something his older brother has
seen when he was younger"