The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1918-02-28
In Which There Is Some Moralizatiou
on the Subject of Christmas.

1 ON the SUBJECT OF Christmas.
Second floor-suits, waists, shoes
elevator man as he flung open the
iron door.
Helen, who was in the back of the
crowded car, tried vainly to wedge
| herself out
ooh wait-wait-I want to get off
here!"
But the door changed to, and the
elevator shot up to the next floor.
Here she managed to struggle out,
her hat showed on one side, and with
that generally disarranged feeling
that Genes from pushing through a
crowd. Hereafter, she told herself,
she would walk-it was less weak
ening, than getting in and out of
crowded elevators. And now she
| inadc her way down the stairs to
the shoe department. A pair of
quilted satin fur-topped bedroom
slippers for Edith. Warren's young
| err sister, was what she wanted She
had seen them advertised for SIPS.
Warren had said most emphatic
ally that they could not spend as
much on presents this year as last.
And Helen was now confronted with
the very difficult problem of getting
a great many presents with very
| little money.
A Quick Purchase.
| All the clerks were busy, but when
/, at last she was waited on. she made
her purchases with swift precision
which mildly astonished the sales
men, who expected women not to
know what they wanted, and to look
over the entire stock before they de-
cided.
ST want that slipper" pointing to
| a sample pair in the case marked Gas
| advertised, 81 25." in black, size 3-A"
The next on her list was bureau
| scarf for Aunt Mary. On the first
| floor was a sale of bureau scarfs-
| two large tables in the aisle. "S1.49,
reduced from $780," read the placard
over the first. $3.50, reduced from
| $685." was over the second.
A crowd of eager bargain hunters,
as many as could get around the
tables, were paving over and pull
imp out the piled up scarfs.
Everyone seemed trying to get at
those on the bottom. Why is it that
the woman shopper always thinks the
best article is underneath? Inva-
riably, if an odd lot of goods are
thrown on the bargain counter, every
instinctively pick out those beneath.
And now for a moment Helen
stood watching these women pushing
showing, .rudely elbowine each other
to get at the tables and then pull
ing out the scarfs from the very bot
tom of the pile
AS there was only one clerk at
each table, it was hopeless to ex-
pect to be waited on soon, so Helen
passed on to get her bureau scarf
at some other store where they were
h. r<hf haxr
to pay few cents more, but the
saving of time and temper and wear
on clothes would be worth 1T.
A Subtle Complaint.
A little further on was another
large table with sign desirable
gifts, choice CSC" Around this too,
was an eager crowd, for there is al
ways a curious attraction to women
in any assortment of articles marked
"choice" for so much. 1t is subtle
complaint to their judgment their
knowledge of quality and value which
every woman believes she had, to an
exceptional degree She is always
convinced that if there is one article
in the lot of more value than the
others she will at once discern 1T.
Still another table marked "appro-
pirate pifts, choice SIC" YVES in the
next aisle.
There were inrumerable ash trays
(did you ever know a man that didn't
get at least two every Christmas y
hatpin holders, vases, pin trays,
stamp boxes, paper weights and an
endless variety of bric-a-brac ar
ticles.
And now Helen hurried by this
table with its alluring sign of
"choice soc" firmly resolved that
whatever she gave this year would
be something really useful-though it
was nothing more than dozen good
lead pencils.
Tt was after five before she at last
left the shops. carrying with her
number of packages for she had con-
scientiously needed the placarded re-
quests to please take small packages
with you"
Outside it was already quite dark.
There was a faint misting snow which
yelled the brilliancy of the electric
signs and street lights. A surging
crowd of homeward bound shoppers
with their many packages filled the
sidewalks and overflowed into the
streets.
The surface cars were packed to
the platforms. Helen hurried over to
the subway. but there. too. the cars
were crowded to suffocation. The
force of the crowd carried her in and
wedged her up against cross seat
1t was not Tntil they had whirled
past a couple of stations that she
realized she was on the down town
sideI How could she have made
such a mistake.
Helen is Tired.
BY the time she had gotten off and
crossed over to the other side it was
twenty minutes of six. Warren would
be home now before she could get
there-and he hated to find her out.
But her arms ached with the bundles
she was carrying and her hair and