The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-11-26
GIVE XMAS GIFTS
 ALL IHROUGH YEAR
. What the Holiday Rush Means In the Way of Merry
 Christmas
BY NINA BULL
g1cxcIusive ser-vsice me Survey Press
 Bureau.)

On the morning of December a year ago. went down town to do a few bits of Christmas shopping, and. after xad1fng to find the sort of note the crowded bookstore, eli imbed up- stairs and had a long weary encoun- ter with a girl clerk wfe seemed to know far less about the stock-in- trade than I did. After she had told me that there was no such thing in finding it for nysezf--a soiIed sam. pie, that is to say; and then pro ceeded to wait end1essIy while some one went down to the basement for a clean copy.
 who had come 70 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-a1ad had finally been directed to the sec sond floor
 Knocked the Store
 Being very fradl she had climbed the stairs with great difficulty and was now thoroughly dfsgusted to find no { sign whatever of tickets for sale.
 This is disgracefuL she exclaim- ; ed to me, sI never saw a. store so bad 1y managed. No one knows anything about these tickets"
 suggested tn her that this was a rush season-very hard on the clerks
 and as the tickets were doubtless on sale here only to accommodate some one else, it was hardly. fair to what modified but said, At least they should have a sign up at the entrance. saying where the tickets could be found
 in charge of the concert They can't expect a store to give much atten- ton to this sort of thing at Christ mas tinne.'s She had not thought of this before. My blank book now ar rived and we went downstairs to-
 Here encotfntered one of the man agers of the store, a friend of mine, and stopped to tell him of a certain lecture in which I knew he would be interested. He smiled rather sadly. wish u1ght,' he said, "bJlt we're here every night up till eleven o'clock and have been for two weeks. It's absolutely impossib1e.'
 Lets do away with Christmas, I suggested facetiously, and then: won deFed if had not shocked him. for he was avery earnest Christian.
 Stores I64e on Xmas Trade
 But he replied quite seriously. srto, we have to have the Christmas trade { to live on.. But if the public would only scatter that trade through the whole year insteads In June and July, for instance, there is practically nothing do at all. It's terrible hav- ing everything concent trated like 4his.s'
 Then we discussed my friend wne had searched for tickets, and I told him what I had said to her. He seemed grateful for my championship s.It's these new holiday clerks,' he said "Of course. they can't know it all right away, and yet we have to have them"
 ty>9e gentleman customer ''Iambaste, s
 young girl. one of the s.news clerks aShe had been 9 little care 1ess,'' admitted the manager, 'but so very littIo. No more so than we all are at times"
 with my usual contraiety, I now took the other side. ''Of course" I to try our patience in the stores now edays too.''
 5 "feS" he agreed readily. 'I know ahat Its just nerves against nerves. :"
 Nerves against nervesi What a preparation for the season of peace on earth, goodwill towards menI And xhfs was only December 5!
 The Consumers League has made a protest against certain symptoms of tho great strain. hut it does not touch the core of the situation Christ mas has become cialized. and Santa Claus drives up the main street of my city to advertise large new restaurant!
 There are people here and there who say that Chrfstmas should be for the poor and for children We have