Evening star., 1915-11-20
AB0uSH|NG
HOLIDAY SHOPPING RUSH
Nina Bull Makes Plea to do Your
Christmas Buying
All Year"
In Story for the Survey Urges That
Yuletide Giving Be Made
Spontaneous.

Distribute Christmas giving over the
entire year; make 1t spontaneous and
do away with the crowded. rushing
ante-holiday shopping. That is the
tenor Of the advice given By Nina Bull
in a story written for the Survey. 1t
makes a plea to do your Christmas
shopping all year instead of merely
doing 1t early. r
Here is the story:
On the morning of December a year
ago I went down town to do few
bits of Christmas shopping. and after
failing to find the sort Of note book
wanted on the first floor of the
crowded bookstore I climbed upstairs
and had a long, weary encounter with
a girl clerk who seemed to know far
less about the stock in trade than /
did. After she had told me that there
was no such thing as I described
eventually succeeded in finding it for
myself-a soiled sample, that is to say
and then 1 proceeded to wait endlessiy
while some one went down to the base
ment for a clean copy. t
While waiting 1 talked with a lady
who had come to buy concert tickets
said to be on sale here. She had been
handed from one clerk who knew
nothing about the tickets to another
who knew even less-and had finally
been directed to the second floor.
Criticises Store Management.
Being very frail. she had climbed the
stairs with great difficulty and was
now thoroughly Disguised to find no
sign whatever of tickets for sale.
This is disgraceful." she exclaimed
to me. Il never saw a store SO badly
managed. No one knows anything
about these tickets"
l suggested to her that this was
| rush season-very hard on the clerks
and as the tickets were doubtless on
one else, it was hardly fair to blame
the store. She seemed somewhat mol
lifed, but said, "At least they should
have sign up at the entrance. saying
That" said. rs up to the people
in charge of the concert. They can't
expect a store to give much attention
to this sort of thing at Christmas
time" She had not thought of this
before. My blank book now arrived,
and we went downstairs together.
Here I encountered one Of the man
ayers of the store, friend Of mine.
and stopped to tell him Of certain
lecture In which knew he would be
Interested. He smiled rather sadly.
wish I might" he said, but we're
here every night UP till II o'clock.
and have been for two weeks. It's
absolutely impossible
Let's do away with Christmas"
suggested, facetiously, and then won
dered IL I had not shocked him, for
he was very earnest Christian.
Live on Christmas Trade.
But he replied quite seriously, mo,
we have to have the Christmas trade
| to live on. But II the public would
only scatter that trade through the
whole year instead! In June and
July, for instance, there 10 practically
nothing doing at all. It's terrible
having everything concentrated like
this"
| had searched for tickets. and I told
| him what had said TO her He
seemed grateful for my championship
IT'S these new holiday clerks" he
said. "of course. they can't know 1t
all right away. and yet we have to
| have them"
And he told mo Of overhearing an irats
gentleman customer "lambaste" = young
girl, one of the new" clerks. she had
manager, "but so very little. No more
| so than we all are at times"
with my usual contraristy, / now
took the other side. "Of course" said,
| I'VE customers have q good deal to try
our patience in the store nowadays.
too"
| YES" he agreed. readily. IT know
| that. It's Just nerves against nerves."
| Nerves against nerves! What q prepa-
| ration for the season Of peace on earth,
good will toward men! And this was
only December s!
There are people here and there who
say that Christmas should be for the
poor and for children. We have too
much patience. believe. with the sort
Of mind that contents Itself in donating
4 Christmas dinner to some poor FAM
lily, carefully Ignoring the question Of
/ that same famify's dinners for the re-