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8
MILLIONS IN THE
CHRISTMAS BOX
VAST SUMS IN HOLIDAY GIFTS.
THEY G4I AL THE FORTCSEB OF A
VANDERBILT OR A GOI’LD.
Two Million* Sent Horae Annually
by Immigrant* to Their Friend*
In Enrope—Great Sami l’ald Out a*
Christinas Boxes by Wall Street
Firms and Other Employers ot
Labor—Christmas Harvest of the
Elevator Men and the Walters.
Immense Snms Spent for Dinner*
to the Poor by the Salvation Army
and by Millionaires.
By Guy T. Viskniskki.
New York. Dee. 17.—Just a discarded
cigar box, wreathed with Christmas
greens and holly, labelled with “Merry'
Christmas,” with a generous slot in
the top, and placed where no one can
possibly overlook it in barber shop and
elevator, on the cashier's desk and on
the bar. But in the immortal words
of Col. Mulberry Sellers, "there's mil
lions in it.”
The man who would undertake even
to approximate the millions dropped
Into the Nation’s Christmas box—or
its equivalent—would set himself an
impossible task. Happily, there 'are
figures at hand w'hich give some faint
idea of the enormous amount of
money that is given away at this glad
some season and which warrants the ]
assertion that the grand total reaches j
way up into the millions and equals j
the fortune of a Vanderbilt or a lesser
Gould.
Immigrant** Gift* Sent Home.
Take, for example, the money spent
to Europe by Uncle Sam’s new citi
zens just before Christmas. It has
amounted to about $2,000,000 yearly
since 1900. The Christinas boats of
last year, the first sailing on Dec.
12 and the last on the 19th, carried
to the old country 161,603 postoffice
money orders valued at $1,896,295.23, be
sides many thousands of dollars in
registered letters. Of these money
orders, 81,331, calling for $839,638.18,
went 'to Great Britain. Thiyty-two
thousand seven hundred and fifteen
Germans were made h'appy by the re
ceipt of $284,828.04 among them, while
the number of orders and the amount
of money sent elsewhere in Europe
were as follows:
Orders. Amount.
Sweden 14,148 $145,123.88
Italy 5,994 200,795.25
Russia 5,570 97,860.54
Hungary 4,751 93,087.98
Austria 7,156 118,858.45
Denmark 3,209 33,166.82
Norway 3,971 50,638.52
Switzerland 2,237 27,091.53
The Netherlands 521 5,206.04
Italian* Are Generous.
It is interesting to note that though
less than -6.000 Italians sent money
gifts to relatives and friends, the av
erage value of each gift was thirty
three and a third dollars; while the
eighty-one thousand Englishmen who
remembered their old associates did
bo to the extent of something under
ten dollars apiece.
Next to the railroad builders from
the shores of the Mediterranean, the
Hungarians sent the most generous
gifts, each averaging sl9. Then came
the Russians, $17.50, with the Aus
trians next, a few centß less than
sl7. The Germans sent the smallest
gifts, $8.50. they being the only ones
below the English.
The Italian with his pickaxe and
mud-covered clothes may seem any
thing but sentimental and warm
hearted when he is passed on the
street, but the figures prove that at
least at one season of the year he
leads all of our new citizens in dis
pensing Christmas cheer across seas,
■where, but for the Immigrants' contri
bution In the Christmas box. the day
would be a cheerless one indeed for
many a family.
Million* Given by Millionaire*.
Although no records are available
to show what the great financiers give
away in the aggregate, as in the case
of these Americans in the making,
“till a good idea of the size of their
contribution may be gained by bunch
ing what few statistics are available.
It is known beyond peradventure
that in 1901 the firm of J. P. Morgan
& Cos. gave to its employes alone up
wards of half a million dollars. Every
clerk received an amount equivalent to
his year s salary, while the heads of
departments had checks amounting
from $5,000, to $15,000 and $20,000 hand
ed to them with the firm's best wishes
for a “Merry Christmas and a Happy
New Year."
Every financier, banker and broker
In Wail street gave away great sums
of money that year; it was and still is
the record year of good cheer for
their thousands of employes. But
while the gifts have not been so large
since, no man who finds his living In
Wall street suffers for want of gen
erosity on the part of his employer at
this season. For years, no matter
what the condition of the market, one
well-known broker has given one
hundred dollars in gold to each of his
office boys, twice that sum to a few
of the clerks, and SSOO to the rest, the
telegraphers and all others in his em
ploy. AH told, this broker dropß
DIAMONDS
And Diamond Jewelry of every
description. Gems mounted to order
to meet any taste or requirement.
STERLING SILVERWARE.
Cut Glassware, Fine Umbrellas.
Gold and Silver Novelties.
117 BROUGHTON, WEST.
Sternberg & Cos.
The freshest, newest and handsomest
ChRISTHAS DISPLAY
In Georgia, and LOWEST PRICES.
Open late every evening this week. Call and view
our selections. * No obligation to buy.
SILVER.
25 PER CENT.
OFF
BOYS’ AND CHILDREN’S
OVERCOATS
„ ®£* WT i r CQtf
Beginning Monday morn
ing and continuing every
day during the week this
discount will be in force
throughout our stock of
Boys’ and Children’s Over
coats.
something like SIO,OOO into the Christ
mas box.
Stnrted With Banker*.
The custom of giving money gifts to
employes undoubtedly had its origin
among bankers and brokers; but it has
gradually spread until now the em
ployer who does not distribute Christ
mas envelopes to make glad the men
and women who work for him is the
exception that proves the rule.
A certain big department store in
one of the Eastern cities has given
each of its 2,000 odd employes $5
apiece for several years past. The
amount is not graded according to the
employe's position and importance.
The members of the firm takes the
ground that they give the $5 bills sim
ply as a reminder of the good will they
bear their workers, and so the head
of the silk department is not entitled
to a gift one tithe bigger than that
received by the humblest package
wrapper in the store.
For some reason or other $5 has come
to be looked on, outside of banking
and financial circles, as about the right
sum to be given to employes. Inquiry
among office workers in the skyscrap
ers and the salespeople in the retail
and wholesale stores has substantiated
this statement.
Employe* In Skyscraper*.
But many a firm does not limit its
Christmas box contributions to those
who work for it directly. This is par
ticularly true of concerns with offices
in the skyscrapers. The elevator men,
the superintendent, the window clean
ers, the scrub women, all are taken
care of. And the amount of money
they get is a' caution. In one of the
lesser skyscrapers of New York the
three elevator men, when they counted
up their gifts on last Christmas Eve,
found that they had received a little
over SIOO apiece. These men had put
up a box artistically painted with hol
ly designs, in each elevator. Quite a
lot of small change was dropped into
them, but more was given them di
rect by the tenants, in sums varying
from $1 to $25.
The Christmas pickings of this trio
is small, though, when compared with
that of the men who run elevators in
the great office buildings that have
several thousand tenants instead of
several hundred, as in the trio’s case.
The Waiter*' Harve*t Time.
Another class of men which reap a
harvest during Christmas week is the
waiters. In the downtown restaurants
of New York, Philadelphia and Chi
cago, where only lunch is served, the
waiter who does not clear $75 over
and above his usual perquisites feels
sure that there is no “good will to
ward men” on earth. Yet his holiday
tips would be regarded as a mere pit
tance by the dignified automaton who
attends to the stomach’s wants in the
swell hotel uptown. Five and ten-dol
lar bills come his way in a seemingly
never-ending stream, for your million
aire at dinner around the mellow sea
SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY. DECEMBER 18. 1904.
CHRISTMAS JUST ONE WEEK OFF!
Falling on Sunday the Day will be One of Dress.
Some Rare Offerings in Haberdashery for Gift Buyers:
Bath Robes.
Guaranteed Fast Colors.
54, 55, 5 6.50, 57.50.
Ladies’ Umbrellas.
Extraordinary.
55, 56.50, 56.50, $lO.
Silk Mufflers.
51.50,
52.00, 52.50, 53.00, 53.50
Beautiful Neckwear.
25c, 50c, 75c,
SI.OO, $1.50, 52.00.
Men’s Gloves.
SI.OO,
$1.25, $1.50, $2.00, $2.50
J M > '■2*/ • *3l r
w —IS
son finds the chief aid to good diges
tion in making happy those who wait
on him. Waiters who ought to know
declare that it is not uncommon for a
waiter in such a place as the Waldorf-
Astoria to come out S3OO and S4OO and
even SSOO ahead during holiday week.
An Army of Walters.
Merely in New York’s first-class ho
tels and restaurants there are over 4,-
000 waiters. Chicago has about 1,000,
and Philadelphia two thousand, less.
Nine thousand waiters all told—and in
the light of the figures already set forth
their share of the millions in the
Christmas box certainly amounts to
several tens of thousands of dollars.
Even if each waiter got only $5, the
sum total would be $45,000. But it is
undoubtedly above that, for even the
"food slingers" in the “bean shops"
and “hasheries” say that nearly every
one remembers them; and as each
waiter of this grade has to look after
several scores of customers in the
course of a day the nickels and dimes
soon turn into dollars.
Dinner. for the Poor.
Another contribution of generous
proportions put into the Christmas box
is that for dinners to the poor. Hun
dreds of dinners of this character are
given on Christmas day throughout
this broad land—dinners with turkey
and cranberry sauce and pie and ice
cream and all the good things asso
ciated with the day. And these good
things cost money—turkey at 25 cents
a pound, and the other delicacies in
proportion.
Last year the Salvation Army fed
300,000 poor in our large cities, and
over SIOO,OOO was collected for this pur
pose bv means of the army's pot. now
a familiar sight at this season to every
dweller in NeW York. Chicago, Phila
delphia, Boston and other cities.
Amounts varying from one cent to SSOO
are dropped into the pots. So many
pennies are contributed in New York
and Chicago that machines are em
ployed in counting them.
Politlclnnx 1.1 In-i n I (livers.
While the Salvation Army dinners
are by far the most ambitious of all
dinners to the poor, those given to
newsboys by their patrons, and the
meals spread for the delectation of
their constituents by the political dis
trict leaders of New York’s East Side
are not to be passed over lightly. That
is a poor and small dinner, indeed,
which does not cost SI,OOO, and the
Sullivans of Bowery fame have been
in the habit of spending several thou
sand dollars for turkeys and trim
mings.
The millionaire does not lag behind
the politician In his efforts to give
good cheer to the poor. He does not
do so promiscuously. He is more than
willing to give big sums of money to
charitable organizations at other peri
ods of the year, to be spent as the or
ganisations see fit on people and in
stitutions that he personally knows
nothing or very little about. But at
Christmas he insists on looking after
the worthy poor with whom he is ac
quainted, or of whom he has intimate
knowledge. The charitable organiza
tions recognize this failing, and they
diplomatically refrain from soliciting
contributions a't this season. Their
great harvest day is Thanksgiving,
when they ‘aim to have a touchingly
worded appeal at the plate of the mil
lionaire when he sits down to give
thanks for the golden bird und
the other material evidences be
fore him of a kind and beneficent
Providence.
In he Hole of 4he Kentlnl Lord.
So it happens that the millionaire
Just now is unconsciously, perhaps,
playing the role of the feudal lord of
other days, who went among his re
tainers and the poor of the country
side, scattering Christmas largess to
one and all, and leaving good cheer
und merry hearts behind him. The
millionaire does this pleasant tusk
every bit as well as the feudal lord,
and with u hand even more liberal. A
Gould or Morgan or a Belmont thinks
nothing of disposing of barrel after
barrel of choicest turkeys in this way.
A big wholesale poultry desler In New
York has hud one of the country's
leading inllllonairea for a regular lyis
iotner for the laat alg Christmases,
and each aeaaon he placea an order
for 600 turkeys $1,200 for this one Item
alone.
Typical of these modern "feudal
| lords" ta John K, Andrus, Mayor of
| Yonkers, N. Y,, and owner of sso,oou,-
•m worth of property, lie give* sway
I more than $260,000 to charity every
■ year, and by far the greater part of
, this fortune Is distributed at this ses-
I son The poor of Yonkers always
.have a Merry Chrlsimss hawaiise of
I Mr, Audi us. Last year he gent out 1,
Lounging Robes.
Very Elegant.
55, 56, 57.50, $lO.
Men’s Umbrellas.
Unique Handles.
53.50, 54.00, 55.00.
Initial Handkerchiefs.
Halt Dozen in Gift Boxes.
75c and $1.50.
Fancy Suspenders.
In Boxes.
75c, $ 1.25, $1.50, $2.50.
Men’s Dress Shirts,
Dress Collars,
E. & W. Collars and Cuffs.
200 dinners, and gifts by the wagon
load for the children.
Tlie Christina* Club.
One of the millionaire's stock ways
of showing “good will toward men”'
is. by means of the Christmas club.
Whenever there are two or three mil
lionaires in a community they are al
most certain to have formed a Christ
mas club. Perhaps the most famous
club is that one composed of the Rit
tenhouse Square set in Philadelphia,
which boasts such well-known mem
bers as the Cassatts, the Harrisons
and the Wetherills. This club, after
the manner of its kind, but on a far
more elaborate scale, provides a high
class vaudeville entertainment, follow
ed by a dance and a dinner, for the
poor who are personally known to the
members and their families. The
money they spend for this purpose
would make a fortune for the aver
age man.
These clubs are conducted so quiet
ly that accounts of their doings never
get into the newspapers. It is safe to
say that the average Philadelphian
knows absolutely nothing of the most
unique Christmas entertainment that
is given yearly in his town, where the
poor and the lowly, the maimed, the
halt and the blind are solicitiously
looked after and their slightest wish
fulfilled by the members of the most
exclusive circle of the most exclu
sive society in America.
The Harbor* anil Bartender*.
Millions of money already account
ed for, and nothing has been said
about the Christmas box contri
butions for America's 132.000 barbers,
89.000 bartenders and 9.000 boot
blacks; the ash man and the garbage
man; the furnace man in Philadelphia,
the apartment house janitor in New
York and Chicago; the butcher's boy,
the grocer’s boy, the milk man and
the Ice man; the household cook and
the second girl; you and I—ad in
finitum.
Millions In the Christmas box?
Perhaps as many as make up the for
tune of the Mayor of Yonkers, N. Y.
♦ i
—Cholly—“D'ye know, old chappy,
I went to three balls aftah the thea
tah lawst night?” “Weggy—“Bah
Jove, old chappy, you’re in luck, don’t
you know. I had to go to Thwee
Balls before I could attend the thea
tah at all!”—Cleveland Leader.
In the Hall of Fame and Fun
William Travera Jerome. Juriat.
Smoking Jackets.
Novelties.
$5, $6.50, 57.50, $lO.
Men’s Canes.
Very Swell.
$1.50, $2.00 and Up.
Silk Handkerchiefs.
Plain, Fancy, Initial.
25c and 50c.
Gold Link Cuff Buttons.
Guaranteed.
In Boxes.
Scarfs Pins,
Watch Fobs,
Tie Holders.
j g**m*row
The Deacon’s Story.
By EVAN B. BASCH,
In the Georgia Tech.
In the first place, it was not Christ
mas Eve. I had excused myself from
my wife to see a friend on business,
and as I never lie to her about going
out at night, I stopped at the postoffice
on my way to the club and bought a
postal card from my friend at the
stamp window.
As I said, it was not Christmas Eve,
so we had no business telling ghost
stories. But when we began spinning
yarns around the punch bowl, we
agreed that every one who laughed
should take a small “panacea.” Then
followed some very witty stories, and
when we were all pretty jovial, the
conversation turned to “dear depart
edd,” and then to ghosts.
Most of the ghost stories were weird,
so we all had to pay the forfeit fre
quently. The deacon especially seemed
to be in a merry mood.
"Fellows,” said he, “you may not be
lieve the one I am about to relate, but
I’ll swear to it.”
We all knew what to expect, and
from each bosom there came a weary
sigh.
“We are resigned; proceed,” said the
doctor.
“I take my text from the first chap
ter of ” he absent-mindedly began.
“Oh, what am I saying? Anyway,
this happened to Banks. Banks, you
know, was the second cousin of Jones,
the undertaker. Jones was the man
who bought up all the coffins when he
heard that the yellow fever was break
ing out. He didn’t get a corner,
though, because Brown wouldn’t sell
his. Brown said ”
“Well, never mind what Brown said;
tell us about Banks.”
The deacon became confused, and
said we were not treating him right,
so we gave him a nice, stiff drink, and
started him over again.
“I take my text from ”
Former sl2. sl4 and sl6
Suits —fashionable to the
extreme —in this Ante-Hol
iday Sale at the
net price of w
Top Coats, Long and Me
dium Overcoats, full sl6
values, in this ‘dust Before
Christmas” Sale
at the net price of 1 w
Two Veritable Clothing Snaps
“Are you going to tell that story or
not?” we interrupted.
“Darn it. who is telling this story,
anyway? Where was I? Oh yes; I
take my—. No. I was talking about
Fido. Banks called him Fido, because
the ghost treated him like a dog. That
reminds me of a dog I once had—.
Hang it, how can I tell this, if you all
keep interrupting me? Banks dreamed
four nights running that a man with
a green hat came and told him where
Capt. Kidd’s treasure was buried. It
worried him because, every dream
book that he read said that things
came true if you dream about them
three nights running. He couldn’t
help thinking about the fourth night.
He got so worried about it that he
finally took to drink. He visited the
“fountain of youth” pretty often, and
on the night I am telling you about,
he came home tipsy. Poor Banks.”
The deacon sighed softly, and tears
rolled down his cheek. So we took a
minute’s recess for refreshments, and
started him on his story again.
“Banks succeeded in finding his
home, and the key-hole—double mira
cle! He wasn’t feeling well, as ‘some
thing he had eaten for breakfast the
previous morning’ gave him a bad case
of hiccoughs and chills. He had such
a chill that he couldn’t hold 9, match
in his hand and must have used up
half a box trying to keep one lighted.
"Banks got in bed without waking
his wife, and was almost asleen, when
something made him open his eyes and
look up. There was a ghost, standing
right at the foot of the bed. He
thought at first it was the dream
again. But no! It was a ghost, a
real ghost. He was so frightened that
he began to laugh. And he laughed—
and he laughed—and he laughed—and
he—, —, I say, who is telling this story,
you or me? Suddenly Banks stopped
laughing—the ghost had on a green
hat! 'Ha! Ha'' said the ghost, in a
hollow voice. 'You have dared to larf.’
Banks was really scared; he tried to
coax the ghost into going away. Then
he offered him the 'departed spirit’ of
all the spirit he drank that night.
“By this time his wife had awaken
ed, and hearing Banks talking about
‘spirits’ and ‘ghosts,’ said:
“ 'William J., you are drunk!’ She
called him “William J.’ when she was
angry.
" ‘You have dared to larf,’ repeated
the ghost, with a ghost of a smile on
his ghostly lips.
“Of course Mrs. B. could not hear or
see the ghost.
“ ‘Shut up!’ yelled Banks, at the
ghost, of course.
“ ‘William J.! how dare you say that
to me?’
“ ’You have dared to larf,’ said the
ghost, for the third time.
’’ ’Dam you and your green hat,’
said Banks to the ghost. Mrs. B. had
bought anew green hat that morn
ing.
“ ’Come with me to seek the treas—
$32.00
NEW YORK
And Return
—VIA—
SEABOARD SOLD DOMINION
Air Line Railway D Steamship Company.
SCHEDULE
hr. Savannah...l:ls p.m. or 12:10 a.m. R. R. Time.
Ar. Norfolk 8:00 a.m or 5.30 p.m. Eastern Time
Lv. Norfolk 7:00 p.m. “ *•
Ar. New York 2:30 p.m. ** *•
By leaving Savannah on the 1:15 p, in. train yon
can spend the followingfday at Norfolk and Old Point
Comforti by leaving on the 12:10 midnight train you
make direct connection with the steamship.
Tickets at above rates sre on sale daily; and art
limited for return six (6) months from date of sale.
Full information, reservations; etc, at City Ticket
Office, No. 7 Bull street. Phone 28.
CHARLES K. STEWART,
Assistant General Passenger Agent.
Rain Coats
PIffISffJ9O^WSOKrtCKKWAfiHI JL.
They are very popular this
season and the styles and
qualities we are showing
range in price from
$9 to $25.
The changeable weather of
winter makes them doubly
serviceable —they keep you
warm and keep you dry.
sure,’ said the ghost. ‘I will show thee
where it lies hidden from the gaze of
mortals.’
“Banks didn’t stop to put on his
clothes, but taking up his silk hot, he
followed him out of the house, and
they walked quickly to the grave
yard.
“ ‘You will need something to steady
your nerves and strengthen your mus
cles,’ said the ghost, producing a bot
tle. (Here the deacon acted the part
by taking a drink.) So Banks sat on
one tombstone and the ghost on the
other, and between them iay the soon
emptied bottle.
"When his nerves were sufficiently
steady, they began working. Taking
up a shovel that he found near by,
Banks was soon digging the dirt from
a grave that the ghost pointed out. •
"By this time Mrs. 8., looking for
‘William J.,’ found her way to the
graveyard. There was Banks, his silk
hat on the back of his head, and night
shirt fluttering in the midnight breeze,
throwing the dirt from his mother-in
law’s grave over his shoulder, and
singing in a loud, rollicking tone:
“ ‘Fifteen men or a dead man's
chest,
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum.”
And the ghost had vanished!
" ‘William J.!’ was all she said, and
they haven’t spoken since. Poor
Banks!”
The deacon, blessed soul, burst out
crying, and his sobs could be heard all
over the house. We gave him a last
drink, and presently he laid his head
on the table and went to sleep mut
tering, "Poor Banks.”
—Officer—What is the complaint
here?" Orderly (offering basin) —"Taste
that, sir.” Officer (tasting)—"Well, I
think It’s excellent soup." Orderly—
“ Yes. sir; that’s the trouble; they want
to persuade us it’s tea.”—Glasgow
Evening Times.
Low Eicnnlon Rates During Hall
days via Atlantic Coast Line.
On account of Christmas’ holidays
Atlantic Coast Line will sell tickets to
all points east of the Mississippi and
south of the Potomac rivers at rates
one and one-third fares for the round
trip. This Includes all stations on the
Atlantic Coast Line and connecting
lines in the territory described. Tick
ets will be sold Dec. 23, 24, 26 and 31
1904, and Jan. 1, 1905, with return limit
Jan. 4. 1905. Tickets at same rates
will be sold to teachers and students
in schools and colleges on presentation
and surrender of certificates signed by
superintendents, presidents or princi
pals, Dec. 17-24. Inclusive, with return
limit Jan. 8, 1905.
For further information apply to
ticket agents, De Soto Hotel; both
’phones. No. 73, or Union Station; Bell
235, Georgia 911. It pays to patronize
the best service.— ad.