Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-12-04

IXTASHINGTON, d. c., Nov. 30.-The other day
wv society woman spent $4,000 on Christmas
presents for her relatives and friends AS
she waited in her limousine for the chauffeur to
orlng out her parcels, she looked infinitely lsthss
and tired.
-t.~
All about her swarmed the life of great city
IL was the noon hour, and factory workers flooded
the streets, shivering under their thin coats and
eating odorous lunches. Some of them were nearly
moved down in the network of traffic. An Italian
woman in purple threadbare coat her face scanned
with wrinkles, hurried along through the mob, drag
gng small blind child after her. On the corner
an ambulance had stopped tC pick up a small news
boy who had somehow managed to get himself
Knocked down by motor. Nearby women in blue
wells were soliciting contributions to the Red Cross
The society woman nothing that was going
on outside the limousine window. She was think
ing THAT she must have taken cold at the skating
rink that morning, and if so, it would be better
to take a Turkish bath that afternoon. She
breathed a sigh of relief as the chauffeur climbed
murmured Christmas is such a bore"
This particular society woman is notably I'M
selfish. The ugly things of life, it is safe to say,
distress her much anybody else. Every year
her name heads the list of number of subscrip-
tons to charitable institutions. But in spite of a
reputation for cleverness she is really stupid. She
doesn't know how to get the most fun out of life.
Christmas bores her. and why? She doesn't know
how to buy perfectly nice Christmas for herself
That is why Christmas bores most people. They
don't know how to place their money where it will
do the most good. For six weeks before the hol-
idays they rush madly around the stores buying
superfuities for their friends and relatives, mo-
tivated by great ambition to give to each person
as much as that person will presumably give to
them. The result is simply exchange. Every
body gets his raft of neckties, shaving brica-brac
and writing paper of the type that women think men
like, and the women get lots of things which they
subsequently take back to the stores. The only
people who really want what they get, and more
than pay for It, children.
Did you ever give child toy that he had
been wanting and wanting for months, and see a
slow smile of absolute Joy radate his small face?
II So you got your moneys worth out of that toy.
And, the more he wanted that toy, the more re-
turns you received on your investment
Christmas is not a bore to people who under
stand how to get the most out of 1t. Last year a
travelling man for a large plant found that he
was going to have to spend Christmas day on the
road He did not feel very cheerful at the pros
pect of eating holiday dinner in middle western
hotel with no one to drink his health but foreign
waiter, but there nothing else to do. In the
morning he lit his pipe and took walk about the
town, striving to forget his growing sense OF dis
appointment. The stores were all closed and the
streets deserted except for corner in front of a
dilapidated grocery store where boys were
shooting craps behind dingy bread box.
The man paused to watch them, and the boys
instantly became suspicious. They showed the dice
into their pockets. The man smiled his most win
ming smie-the smile that him his salary
and the boys Immediately recovered their sang
froid. ct used to shoot craps the man explained
confdentially, "and I always liked the game. I'll
shoot you a game now for todays dinner, against a
package of cigarettes"
Needness to say, the man lost, and that after
noon he played host to six ragged youngsters who
ate as II they had never had food enough before.
The man told friend Of his week later, "I never
had such enjoyable Christmas in all my iife."
This year when the nation Is at war and the
bare necessities of life scarcely be bought there