New-York tribune., 1918-12-22
FNHE maddest. busiest, most unex-

pectedly riotous season of Christ
mas shopping which this city has
ever seen will come to an end in few
days, and unless another war decides
to come to sudden close so perilouslv
near the holidays we shall probably not
witness again scenes of activity such as
those which have been going on in the
stores for three weeks past.
From empty buildings whose hollow
aisles (due in part to the influenza cpl
demlc) have mocked the fall rush of
earlier years the shops have become
centres of jollity where a relieved COM
munlty is letting off the steam of eco
nomic repression. New York merchants
will tell you that they have never seen
anything quite like the spirit shown in
buying this year. The favoritc sport
of all New York seems to have sud
denly become shopping expedition,
with soldier or sailor on ones arm.
The avenue is crowded with men in
khaki and blue who are loaded down
with small bundles, and not grumbling,
either, at this once scorned task.
So great have the holiday crowds be-
come, especially in the last week that
merchants have had hastily to devise
unique methods to meet the needs and
conveniences of their patrons.
Getting the crowds through the
stores without congestion has been the
hardest task. Especially at the toy de-
partment do they congregate, and as
this is usually on the upper floors the
elevators have not been equal to the
needs of customers. At Wanamaker's
1t has been necessary to turn large
freight elevator over to the use of the
public. This car makes express stops
at the busiest floors. At Macy's the
front doors are roped off and the pub
lie admitted slowly. AS one enters,
uniformed attendant directs one toward
the escalators. Timid women who have
always SHE'D at moving stairways find
themselves gently helped on before
they know where they are going.
The escalator landings of Bamber-
gers, in Newark, have been decorated
with flags, and customers are urged to
use the pathway of the Allies" in
seeking the upper floors. All these de-
vices have been put to use, and still
there is constant flow up and down
the stairs. 1t has astonished many to
discover how pleasant starways may
be. In some stores the long sweep of
wall space has tempted the decorator to
use stairways as showrooms for much
of the finest merchandise.
1t was something of sight to see
the employer marshalling additional
help this Christmas. Warned by the
government against extravaganza, he
had cut down his sales force to a mini
mum, but when the armisAce was
signed there was a general rush for
more labor. In one instance, at the
gas mask factory on Long Island, en-
ployers forgot their oldtime dignity
and aloofness and opened bureaus in
the factory itself, where they bid for
the labor which was being released.
From other sources they have been
drawing help in haste, and many Of our
Christmas clerks are fresh from the
munition factory
Fortunately, the strategic problems
of the Christmas rush are limited to
the handling of the crowds. Stocks are
sufficient Americans, still under the
influence of four years training in
thrift, are satisfied with the practical
gifts on sale. In Paris, it is said, there
was mad scramble for expensive
goods as soon as the war was over, but
this may be because Paris has suffered
more deprivation and is consequently
experiencing greater reaction. In
London, too the shops are crowded
with reckless buyers. But here they
are more conservative. Jewelry of the
less expensive sorts, handkerchiefs
hosiery and underwear and, of course,
toys, are leading in favor.
So Christmas, 1918, which two months
ago had been bounded by restrictions,
prepared according to formula and laid
down beforehand by special law, has
proved to be the most revolutionary
and startling period of business we
have ever witnessed.
BOUNDING the depth of the customers
~ toners pocketbook was trick of old
time craftsmanship which has gone the
way of many mortal things. That
method of skilful questioning and
crafty quizzing which revealed the
limits of ones purse as inexorably as
a psycho-analyist does the quirks of a
Greenwich Village mind proved too
distasteful to the customer and too
wasteful of time to last in modern
shops.