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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 1913)
1 Mother Saves Money on yy Her Christmas Presents By E. Ma. 'Tou see, I read in a paper somewhere luiea and hyacinths and daffodils and plant them in the cellar and tend to them right then-bring them into the light a little while befora they are ready to bloom, they would make nice Christmas presents. So I bought a lot of bulbs and little flower pots and followed directions, and you can see for yourself that they're all going t to bloom In time to. make lovely Christmas presents. ; - "You know how mother loves purple well, she gets that deep purple double hyacinth. I'm going to tie a lighter shade of purple crepe paper, with a big ribbon bow, around the pot. And you, know your sister Daisy is just crazy about daffodils she gets that one marked 'Daisy.' And so on. All I have to do is to get some ribbon and crepe paper and make -the plants look artlstlo and Christmassy, and we'll be giving people something they'll really love to have." "Ma," solemnly quoth Fa, "you're a wonder!" ' 'Didn't ypu ever know that-before?" laughed Ma. .'The only .thing that bothers me," commented Pa, "is how you're "going to get -the things delivered." ' - "Oh, you'll have to take around as many as you can," declared Ma. "Who me 7' queried Pa. - "Say I ain't any express wagon." "But Just think of all the pleasure you'll have being a sort of flower Santa Claus," urged Ma. "I could pay some of the boys to do it, but I know you'd, be careful and not break anything, and wouldn't get them mixed up, and you're such an old dear, anyway " Pa wriggled and rattled his newspaper and cleared his throat to Show that the flattery didn't sink In. , "Well." he growled; "I didn't say I wouldn't, did ir . More Genuine For New By Herbert Corey. NTSW YORK'S apt to have a little Christ mas for about a cent this year. But It's fair guessing that - the Christmas spirit will be of a better quality than S3 In any"- recent year not even exclud ing 1907. r 'That" says Wall street and before New York waa spugged Its Christmas was tooted to the Wall street tune "that waa the grand est little Christmas ever. We went home with twists of money in our ears." The rest of the country waa busted. It was In tha middle of panic times. But brokers get just as much for selling stocks as they do for buying them. Every broker who had not been fighting the market had his safe stacked with soft money. In auch times giv ing is as wide and thoughtless as the Missis sippi. It was the stingy and picayune little house that gave as small a bonus aa 10 per cent- Doaeno gave- their "clerks an. amount equal to their annual salaries. . , . : ... "This year," said a banker, "five or six houses may give boom-time presents to their employes. But most clerks will be tickled to get word that they may hold their Jobs an other year. There's more happiness in that sort of a gift in this sort of a year than in being given a hatful of money when folks are flush." The only real favorite of Christmas for tune on Wall street this year will be James N. Wallace, president, of the Central Trust company, if gossip is correct. Every year he gets $50,0"00 from his adoring directors. He will get that sum this year. "They're afraid he might go somewhere else if they got to holding out on his stock ing," said an observer. "He Is the finest handshaker west of the Crystal Palace, Lon don. He has handshaken his company into more' good things In Wall street than any other four men in the district." ALL brokers who can will hold on for 1914, of course. They're optimists by nature. Also, they think they nave reason to be lieve that next year will be a better year for them than last year In which, according to one unofficial statistician, the Stock Ex change earnings of the financial district did not average $500 per broker. They have been able to hold on to their offices because in the last few years many of them have built up an Investment rather than a purely speculat ive business. But while they're holding on, they're not buying many d:amond lavallieres for their second cooks. - "It's safe ' to say that $2,000,000 less will be spent for Jewels in the Fifth avenue shops this year Aan during Christmas time of a fairly prosperous year." Bald the manager of one of the rat stores. That may be a most conservative estimate. One year a west em millionaire came into this man's store. "I want the finest pearl necklace you have In the store for the old woman," said he. This quotation is verbatim. He got the necklace. It cost approximately $60,000. The next day he came raging into the store. He had discovered that hla wife's dearest rival had purchased a diamond necklace for some thing more than $100,000 in the same store. "Why didn't you tell me?" he yelled at the store manager. "Do you think I'm going to stand for my wife getting showed up that way? Gimme another pearl necklace." With jewels being purchased at that rate, tho manager's estimate of this year's de crease In trade seems not excessive. It Isn't only the westerner who buys that way. One year a New York man paid $100,000 for Jew els which he presented to women. He is a bachelor. LAST year Tony worked for $6 a week In an uptown store. Five' dollars covered his necessary expenses. For 4 10 weeks he had held out $1. a week in order to buy a warm coat for his . mother. The week before Christmas the office snitch came to him. "We're getting tip a puree for the manager,. Tony," said he. "I've put you down for $5." Tony told the snitch with considerable elab oration and attention to detail where he could go, - and when. He waa fired that night Tony's mother didn't get the warm coat, but it la a pleasure to. state that . the office man ager got a bunged eye. Tony is today per haps the only .pugilist Spug In the - world., ;lt tha we w you" (this is what the wire Most of his ineome Is derived from fighting Wppera call the. "convlneer") ; J-we have heard seml-flnal,i Between times he organises - Spug circle lack nerve Ji;;.V:;;:':f . "They can ; fire one guy because lie don't ' give up," says Tofly, "but they can't, fire the whole force. An' I'd like to see some ivory handled floorwalker .try J to 1 chase me when I'm prantitog?.- nnwtr-i9f.,!"A'v-ir The ( tremendous growth of the Spugs In the paat two seasons is largely because in this organisations tha '; underpaid and timid employe finds protection a;;;: hist Christmas K. Wooley. V. ? " ' : HEN FA JENKINS cam noma last night ha casually remarked that thera seemed to be a lot ef extra ' pi ants-'occupy in -Hhe-- window epaeer-They -elK seemed to be In pots of about the same size, and consisted mostly of1 all, slender green leaves. ' "Why all the grass?" facetiously observed Fa. , "I Just brought them up from tha cellar to ' day." explained Ma. ."They must bloom by Christmas, : you know. , " - . ... ' ' .' '.,i "Going to decorate our fair dwelling?" queried Pa. "No they're Christmas presents," said Ma. iJ"O.0-O-HJ" breathed Pa. "I was wondering why '. I hadn't been called upon to dig up for Christmas. Some Dew wrinkle, isn't it?' Well, as long as it's cheap, I'm for it!" '- . - "., .; "I wasn't going to say anything about it until " I felt pretty sure It would succeed." beamed last fall that If you'd take oulbs of Chinese Christmas York This Year blackmail. It la safe to say that the fore men in nine out of .ten sweatshops In the crowded downtown districts have extorted Christmas "gifts'' from the miserable, fearful Utile foreigners under them. Spugging lias spread as rapidly as have the principles of unionism among these people as fast as the Spug theory Is presented to them. That is why the Spugs hope their party at the Grand Central Palace will be attended by 16,000 on Christmas day which will be about a record for Christmas parties. Hot coffee and choco late and palatable sandwiches and plenty of trots and tangos, and a 40-foot Christmas tree which was presented by the state of Maine will be features of this event. B" IG TIM SULLIVAN Is dead. But the ex ecutors of his estate will give a Christ mas dinner in his name, as they know he would wish them to do. In the old days Big Tim annually fed between 6000 and 6000 down-and-outs and fed them to breathless ness with turkey and pie and mugs of Bteam ing, coffee. "No one will be admitted without a ticket," the placards lrt front of the clubhouse alwaya read. But just before the long line that had been stamping its myriad feet In the tingling cold began to move through the opening door Sullivan was sure to sidle up to the doorkeeper. "No matter about the tickets," he always whispered, "if the lads look hungry." It's perfectly, true that there's a fight on for the political control of the Bowery and that the old Sullivan clan seems to be under neath the pile. Therefore there will be two Christmas dinners with turkey and every hun. 'gry man In town can eat himself Into an ill- ness at each. And It's likely that there Is something ol a selfish motive underneath both. But there is also sentiment on the part of the Sulllvans. If you. don't believe it watch their Irish eyes fill with teara when they speak of Big Tim and the Joy he took in these turkey feasts. Christmas lv In g in- New York-will be-cut down to a paring this year. Wall street's com parative impecunloslty accounts directly , and indirectly for much of this decrease. The Spug idea for the prevention of useless and the promotion of useful giving accounta for more. People have learned to give more thought to their gift bringing. Thousands are. daring to defy Christmas extortioners for, perhaps, the first time since they opened a pay envelope. Perhaps It is only fancy but It seems as though the groucnes are fewer and less malevolent and that wider smiles are seen on more faces. The subway can never take the Christmas place of the old fashioned one horse sleigh. And a tier , of cubicles ire a hlgjh building will never seem as homelike as the big white house under the evergreens. But just because there is less of blare and ostentation and smoke of money this seems a more Christ massy Christmas than New York has seen lit " The Newest Graft THIS is the very latest graft It combines phychology and credulity and the humane sentiments. It has proven irresistible. "Oh," said the spokeswoman of the pair of pretty girls, fixing limpid eyes upon the vic tim, "we are so frightened!" So the victim sits back in his office chair and mildly swells up a big, ana tells the pretty lady that she has come to Just the right shop. He won't let anyone frighten her. "Mame and I were taking lunch with Dr. Marcus Broone In Chicago yesterday," says the pretty spokeswoman, "and he said that he had to go to New York. He dared us to ride aa far as Englewood with him. So we did just for a lark. And then the train didn't atop at Englewood and here we are." Business of tragic throwing of troubles on the auditor's shoulders. "But what become of Dr. Marcus Broone?" ' "He said that he had to go on to Wash ington. He will come back tomorrow morn ing ana iaae us oacK 10 wnicago. But. we haven't any baggage and we can't go to a hotel, and we haven't enough money to go back to Chicago." Silent appeal in two pairs of pretty eyes. "But how did you happen to come to me?" asks the victim, vainly try;ng to elude the falling sword. "Oh," says the spokeswoman, . "we - almost Tha victim'' lnw- m., v.,. Vn, ity. So he stakes -the two marooned wander- era to the money they need for hotel fare, and f for railroad fare, ajid possibly for a little bit of shopping they positively must do before '' they go back to Chicago. And then, long aft. erward." "asks" Mary Tupper Wilkins about her two rfenlds. . And Mary says she never beard of t htm before. , Thte graft hka not failed in a single known Instance. ' , , . it i .ir - X it mm x ' i v V .:L..--A:.:-:-t-'::' f i i t 7 2 x- i'". . v A r 'vf.-. . i f -1 , , , . w ' - ', SSjSh ",- - ' , ' ' '' " ; rt ' 'tr, Vy1. X . . iff -4. IT ft 4 t TUH& TOO,: - wJirxjr fc-W J :r '....... mmmmmmm 4 44 j- "-J" i'S"' I -'X- 51 'mV LI ' - 4 fH;v 'Y: 4 y v - i -4:-Jt -y- - rv, ,A r , - r i ',s, . " 1 asiiiiiiwiipil SITH " J. JUA W.V.J. r-mrtjfAi i- - f v 'I, i : J'' Si',
