Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-12-11
RICH AND POOR
BUY BEST TOYS
FOR CHILDREN
Parents Sacrifice Food
to Provide Youngsters
With Expensive Gifts.
By NORRIS

special Correspondent OF IHS urea aus sf'So"S'
Copyright 1879. BY Great Fails Tribunet
Chicago. Dee. 10.-Mr. Jones of j
r. Jones g. Co.. whose recent finan-
cial crash was the moments sensa-
ton on Wall street. did his Christ
mas shopping Saturday. It consisted
Of a single purchase and was made ID
the toy department. of Marshall Field
& Goa 5000 doll house for his
little daughter Betty. :.
The world knows we are broke
Jones explained to his protesting
wife. and that means a lean Christ
II a for You and me. But how are
we going to explain that to BettyE
This incident. declared the toy de-
partment manager, is merely one OF
hundreds of its kind which prove that
in the toy dppartmet there is no
such animal as a lean as If
there is any e~conomizing TO be done,
it is the grown ups who must do it.
for no matter how much money might
be tight. there always are millions Of
dollars to buy toys for the little
folks.
Business Varies
Volume Of business which We do
here at Christmas time is no bar
ometer of the economic situation in
general, Mr.. Gibson said. The Christ
mas Of 1907, the year of the panic.
exceeded the previous in the sale OF
toys. For the lean Christmas of
1920, we sold more toys than in the
fat YuIetide of 1919. while the still
1eaner season of 1921 set a new rec
ord all of its own. And this year,
with prosperity back ahead of Santa
Claus the Riddles will find their
4 c,II.. -, ,.a nrr1 ~ ~
than they ever did before. The
steady increase in volume of toy bust
ness does not meal necessarily that
the world is growing richer and more
generous Mr.. Gibson explained, but
rather that toys are being improved.
and the public made to realize more
and more their intrinsic value to the
child. Peace and contentment of mind
are two-thirds of the battle. Pretty
clothes. palatable food, moral com
forts of life, the average child takes
for granted. But isn't it a v~elocipede
with which for SO you can make
q sickly child play out of doors.
Real Luxury
The dolls sleep in beds fitted with
real sheets and pillow cases and lounge
in drawing rooms on gilded Louis Kuhn.
Queens. Who buys all these glitter
ing and luxurious toys! asked.
Surely there are not J. X. Jones
enough There are two classes of
customers for toys answered Mr..
Gibson. In the first class is the prac-
teal mother and father who select a
gift for its utility, the one that will
last the longest before its ruins will
grace the attic or the woodbox.
"In the second class is the Young
man who wants to get in strong with
a big historical family or the ones
with an aspiring business, who wants
10 close a deal with father, bless their
hearts.
Many and odd are the experiences
of this kind in toy land. What is the
highest priced toy you ever saw or
heard of" | asked. my curiosity still
unsatisfied. Ii was a fully equipped
merry-go-round with electric horses
and automatic music. 1t was made in
Germany and was bought by an Amer
lean department store for display pur-
poses. 1t cost 1000. Since the Ger
mans have been too busy making bread
and butter to build such a toy. there
are a number Of toys to be had today
on which the price tag is as high as
800.