Evening Star Newspaper, December 23, 1928, Page 68

BY GRACE TALBOT HADLEY trees that blossom magically at night with m; hanging holly wreaths in windows, fill- ing childres stockings thing * * * why not a Christmas stock- ing for Washington; well, why not? Christmas season, taking undis- Washington is a wonderful city, but | wants many. things. So, imbued Senator Hiram Bingham, as chairman va. is perhaps the nearest to being Santa Claus for the city. He was seen in the President’s room at the Capitol. “Senator Bingham, if you were Santa Cla ould you put into Wash- ington’s Christmas stocking?" He was deep in a thick volume de: ing with the District of Columbia. V¢ quiet in manner, almost o the point of di , he is, howe very inter- sting to interview. he Senator d and dropped in a good wish. 1 would like to see Washington be- come the most beautiful city in the whole world, by persistent continuation of plans already under consideration and vith the necessary funds to make the needed improvements. Now, I've enough, have I not?” No, no, please think again!” So he thought again and his eyes be- gan to sparkle, as, plop! he dropped into the Christmas stocking a model airport for the city of Washington. “I would like to see people flying here in their own planes and find a_model air- port with all the facilities of a modern airport.” “With plenty of space to park their planes while they view the seven won- ders of Washington?” he was asked. “Yes, said the Senator, ‘there fis nothing here in the East to compare with the great airports abroad. Wash- | ington by reason of its ideal location is the logical terminus of transcontinental | and transoceanic air lines that may be cstablished on regular schedules within the next five years, so the ci hould be prepared with the proper kind of an airport.” Senator Bingham is president of the National Aeronautic Association and the only air pilot in the Senate. It is no trick at all for him to take the air. In 1918 he was in command of the fly- ing school at Issoudon, France. Last Fall when the great dirigible Graf Zeppelin came into sight over the city the Senator was calmly lunching at his club. When the cry went up, “The Graf Zeppelin is here!” he left his luncheon and hurried out to Anacostia. There he obtained an airplane, and hi: slogan being, “America first in the air!” he went right after the giant airship, overtook it, raced on ahead of it, and he was one of the first to board the l?\f“c Zeppelin when it landed at Lake- rst. * ok ok X SENATOR ARTHUR CAPPER, chair- man of the Senate committee for the District of Columbia, said: “If I might give only one gift to the nearly 600,000 people of the District, it would be a greater and continuing interest by all members of Congress in what is and Jjustly should be the one great source of pride to all good Americans, our Na- tional Capital. When that time comes, ;A‘e shall Ihnvs the bes& schgols in Amer- ca, ample playground and park space, a fair division of tax bumen?:thxtp;fil» fills the obligations of the National Gov- ermment in the upbuilding of a national city. District residents will have some voice in the Government to which they contribute taxes and which has the power to send them to war. All the people will have adequate library facil- ities. There will be an entire elimina- tion of unfit alley dwellings and no need of the District will he overlooked.” Proctor L. Dougherty, Commissioner for the District, was interviewed in his office in the District Building. The Commissloner was much amused at the idea of the city having a Christmas stocking. He said: “If I were Santa ANTA CLAUS, sovereign of the puted possession of the city, with | gifts galore, planting Christmas | with good | |ton’s Christmas stocking? Well, well!” Then, with his customary savoir- faire, he promptly dropped in the new | municipal center for the District. to 2in a model Police Court Building, le Court, a recorder of deeds of- the police headquarters, with an office for director of trafic and the affic bureau, a Fire Department head- administrative offices now cared for in the present Municipal Building. The immediate need for this is a recent de- cision of the Federal Government re- garding Federal buildings on what is |called the Triangle which forces the | District of Columbiz to find new quar- ters for the activities now housed in the present District buflding. A site has been selected consisting of four | | squares, the focal center of which would be the present Supreme Court Building, which is considered an architectural gem. The new municipal center would match in architectural treatment the Federal development Lieut. Col. U. S. Grant, 3d.. director | of public buildings and public parks, | put into the Christmas stocking an carnest wish for the finest brand of | Spring period, s | at its’ glorious best to all | that they will be well impressed by tha city and its possibilities and will feel a ital. No blizzards will be welcome dur- snow storms and wandering windstorms are hereby warned that there will be a new vagrancy law in effect March 1, and they should stay away from Wash- | ington. George C. Havenner, president of the Federated Citizens' Associations, put in & new bridge to span the Anacostia River from Massachusetts avenue. Representative F. N. Zihlman, chair- man of the committee on District of Columbia in the House of Representa- tives, is a very satisfactory gentleman to interview—after you find him. One of the pages had said: “You can always tell Mr. Zihlman by his white carn: tion, look for the gentleman wearing a white carnation,” so we looked and looked. We saw the gentleman who wears the red carnation and many other gentlemen who wear pleasant smiles, when they're called out in th: corridor, but we could not find the gentleman with the white carnatios | permanent interest in its future weifare | and development as their National Cap- | ing inaugural weck, All rain, sleet and | anything citizens chose to put in it, she said: “Not far from our city we have a vast area of 5000 acres of great scenic beauty and historic interest, with for- ested bluffs, islands and rapids of the Potomac, bird and plant sanctuaries, which we women would like to see pur- chased by Congress as a permanent national park. And on the bluffs of the not for a time, at least—but finaily, pa; tience was rewarded and we found him, but he was not wearing the customary carnation! Very promptly Mr. Zihiman put into the Christmas stocking “the comple- tion of the proposed outer boulevard system, connecting the Civil War forts, with their wealth of historic interest, extension of the park system, with the aid of the adjoining States of Maryland and Virginia, out into the environs of Washington and preservation of the Po- tomac gorge as part of the parkway system of the District of Columbia. The carrying out of the comprehensive plan of development of the Mall from the Capitol to Lincoln Memorial and Me- morial Bridge.” His interest in the preservation of the Potomac Gorge will be a source of satisfaction to the Wom- en’s City Club. * K ok X RS. MERRITT O. CHANCE, presi- dent of the Women's City Club, had previously put into the stocking the Great Falls of the Potomac and the gorge. It happened this way. At the Sunday evening tea at the Women's City Club, when Mrs. Chance was told about the city's Christmas stocking, she exclaimed: “What a fascinating idea. I do hope it's a. big stocking, big enough to hold what we women want to put in.” gorge is a wonderful site for the Sum- mer White House. Only a few years ago Rock Creek Park was considered a sort of dream, but look at it now with its beautiful driveways and bridle paths, its rocky creek, picnic and recreation grounds, and, last but not least, the Zoo. 1Tt is one of the big attractions of the city today. “Similarly in another section of the city, consider the cherry trees, whose blossoms in the Spring attract so many visitors. They come to see this charm- ing natural spectacle and incidentally they enrich the coffers of the city b thousands of dollars. We women thinl that the Great Falls of the Potomac, or a portion of it, could be made a valuable Claus, what would I put into Washing- BY ALAN MACDONALD. VEN the night before Christmas, prosperity is the big talk of the day. You hear it everywhere, like a refrain, It's to go on and on, like Tennyson's brook. If - Republican, you have at.least a sneak- ing comfort such as pervaded the aris- tocracy when Louis the Grand got his young, capable, extravagant hands on the rich treasury of France. If Demo- crat, even though you recently pulled a plum out of the big bull market, you suspect owlishly that there must be, incredible as it, appears, a nigger in the woodpile, sure enough. But the ques- tion before the house is what has pros- perity done to the Christmas present? Surely, this is the most prosperous of years, President-elect Hoover himself avers poverty is on its last legs. Stocks and securities have been marching steadily and unprecedentedly upward. Days of $500,000,000 in money-making trade on change are scarcely eyebrow lifters, The profits, paper and other- wise, are admittedly enormous, and ‘with 14,000,000 holders of the catapult- ing shares in the land they are, seem- ingly, spread about pretty evenly. Every community must have its pos- sessors of sudden money, with every- body else more or less hopeful. Under this condition, I asked myself, isn't it natural to suppose this Christ- mas will be super-luxurious? Won't the fortunate go in for bigger and better presents? Won't alert dealers and busi- ness men go to extremes of inge- nuity and research to provide richer and rarer gifts to share the dancing dollars of doting parents and love-dazed sweethearts? ] ATURALLY, I went at once to the famous Fifth avenue gem shops. Maybe there would be a necklace such as the priceless gaud that caused the unfortunate Marie Antoinette such tur- moil. Sure enough, there was. In the midst of the regulation things, great diamonds and square-cut emeralds, was a pearl necklace on sale at $685,000. And old firm had been 20 years as- sembling it. Perhaps a foot long, its central pearl was about as big around as the top of your fountain pen, the others graded down to the diamond clasp with a perfection no naked eye could successfully challenge. The firm! had had many offers of cash and other necklaces and jewels, and several mil- lionaires had wanted to buy a part of the string. But the owners believed some Christmas shopper would bily the string intact before the season was done, and for all I know some bull-market mabob has already acquired it, Not far down the avenue another jeweler produced a necklace worth $85,000, designed for the Christmas trade. It was a magnificent thing of diamonds and platinum, three strands of brilliants for the neck, with a pend- ant like a.small sun. The jewéler biandly broke it in parts before my eyes, llke a prestidigitator, making it into three bracelets. It had invisible clasps little short of marvelous. Again, I saw a shining necklace priced at $14,000, which could be made into bracelets, brooch and two earrings. A little Mrs. White's big black eyes glowed when she showed it to me. She was obviously in love with the thing, end I could not blame her. Next, I was looking at a small glass case in & green and gold room. In- side was, apparently, a collection of gold coins, some antique, and here and there a modern American $20 plece. and took one out. gently, and a little invisible flay Lig as a nickel opened on a The suave jeweler reached in He pressed it as age. to be found, according to all tell, Upon being assured that it would hold A BIG BON-BON BOX asset to the city by attracting visitors who would come here and bring more dollars. We regard this park as a pre- clous possession and we do not want to see it bartered away for a mess of pot- tage. To this end the Women's City Club has indorsed by resolutions the bill providing for the purchase of the Great Falls of the Potomac and the a permanent national park.” Ivan C. Weld, president of the Wash- ington Chamber of Commerce, said: “National representation in Congress is the gift which I would most like to place in Washington's Christmas stocking. National representation is the | gift which Washington most. richly de- |serves and the one which it seems to i be most clearly ‘entitled to receive. TR AR WY “All citizens of the United States, ex- cepting those in Washington, partici- pate in the election of those who make all laws governing them and levy and collect all taxes paid by them. If peace on earth and good will among men ‘were serfously upset when our ancestors went to war to secure for themselves and their descendants the right of rep- resentation in their tax-making bodies, then it must be clearly evident that peace on earth and good will among men will be promoted if all the people of the United States instead of only a part of the people of the United States are permitted to enjoy the fruits of their victory. Taxation without repre- sentation is imposed only on those who dwell in Washington and relief from \ N AW N P such an intolerable and un-American system has been too long delayed!” * K K K W. EVERETT, president of the * Washington Board of Trade, stat- ed that the District of Columbia, the orphan child of the Federal Govern- ment, is looking eagerly toward the Na- tional Legislature, which has within its power the golden opportunity to be a very ideal Santa Claus to Washington and through this city to the Nation. “As we look about us and see the Christmas stockings of other eat municipalities filled with the needs of those cities,” he said, “we quite naturally have a longing to have the same things. From Congress we should be delighted to find that our Christmas present has been an adequate airport for the Na- tional Capital which would be the pride of all American air enthusiasts. Some definite plan to bring about equitable fiscal relations would be a happy pack- age to find. . From the Roosevelt Me- morial Foundation we should greatly like to find their decision to erect in Washington the Roosevelt Memorial Stadium or Coliseum, for which the ‘Washington Board of Trade is putting Men and Women Who Are Known to All Citizens Advise Santa Claus That Washington Ought to‘Be Beauty Winner, Have 1 Model Airport and Best Schools, Enjoy Boulevard System and Other Means of Leading the World. fads of glittering lights, | forth every effort. If we could get these things this Christmas I am sure the District will be very happy indeed.” Maj. Gen. Anton Stephan, president of the Merchants and Manufacturers’ Association, said: “There are two outstanding facilities that many other cities possess that are greatly needed in Washington—an ar- mory and-a large stadium or coliseum. There is not a single city in the whole United States, other than Washington, that has not an adequate armory where its National Guard troops can be train- ed and prepared for a national emer- gency. Even such small towns as Ken- sington, Silver Spring and Hyattsville have been provided with well equipped | buildings for this purpose, but Wash- ington, the Capital of the Nation, which furnished 25,842 men to the World War, has no armory in which to train such unselfish, patriotic citizens who volun- tarily give of their time and ability to prepare themselves so that they can be ready at any time for their country's call. “It has been proposed that the Me- morial to Theodore Roosevelt, that vigorous American patriot, should take the form of a stadium, and I therefore hope 1o see these two outstanding needs of our city met within the near future.” Isaac Gans, a past president of ihe Chamber of Commerce, on behalf of the Board of Education, dropped into Washington’s Christmas stocking a model school system, with plenty of schools and playgrounds, all completely equipped. “The great mistake we all make here,” said Mr. (Fans, “is that we think and plan only for today and we ought to plan for the future. When we had only a quarter million people I prophe- sled that before we knew it we would have a half million, and I now prophesy that within the next five years we shall have a million!"” E. C. Graham, past president of the Board of Trade, put into the Christmas stocking a wish that the majority might rule in Washington instead of the mi- nority. “The theory of all American cities,” said Mr. Graham, “is the principle that the majority should rule in all matters pertaining to their civic welfare, but here the reverse is true. I'm a believer in a government for the people and by the people, and think this should nold true here of all cities. If the Federal Government pays only $9,000,000, or about 25 per cent of the cost of running the District. and we taxpayers have to bear the burden of the balance, I think we should have a voice in our govern- ment.” * kK ok 'OL. R. N. HARPER, first president of the Washington Chamber of Commerce, dropped in a suggestion for some way of arranging the automobile parking system that would meet the needs of the business man as well as the shopper. Rudolph Jose, president of the Men’s City Club, dropped into the Christmas stocking the Community Chest, in which he is deeply interested. Louis Ludlow, one of the board cf governors of the National Press Club, put in an appreciation of the work of the Salvation Army. He said: “Mingled with the glad paeans of the joyous Christmastide, there is always a moan. In my opinion, there is no greater work in the world than the work of the Sal- vation Army.” And he hoped there would be a lot of good things in the stocking for the Salvation Army. As if in direct response to his plea, Elwood Street, director of the Com- munity Chest, came along and dropped into the stocking the million and a half dollars which he hopes to raise during the coming campaign. “This,” sald Mr. Street, “is a Christ- mas gift lasting through the year. It means one appeal for one united work, one combined campaign for about 50 social betterment agencies, so there is a saving of time and labor and a great resulting economy. It means food, fuel and clothing for the needy. It means comfort and well-being for 75,000 hu- man beings who will be served regard- less of race, color or creed. It means one sum distributed by a budget com- mittee of capable citizens, who will ymake sure that the money is expended where it will do the greatest good or where the need is greatest. The ulti- mate aim is the prevention of crime, disease and insanitary living condi- tions.” | George Whitwell, president of the | Rotary Club, put into the Christmas stocking the Rotary bus for continued use of those in homes and hospitals and this year’s contribution of the club for the free dispensary work in the Chil- dren’s Hospital, similar to the contribu-~ tion made by this body for the past four vears. This gift is usually ready about Christmas time. Mrs. Borden Harriman of the Women'’s National Democratic Party ‘thought it would be very gratifying to wake up on Christmas mern and find that the L'Enfant plan foP the city had been carried out to the limit and all buildings and alleys that have been an eyesore or in any way interfered with the beauty of Washington had been eliminated. Miss Belle Sherwin, president of the National League of Women Voters, said: “If I were an omnipotent Santa Claus, looking down into the Christmas stock- ing of the City of Washington, I should not hesitate to drop into it Federal suf- frage, an “occupational gift.” Cats may look at kings and purr with enjoyment, thus fulfilling their destiny, but men and women who merely look on while government is administered for them, though it be done ever so gloriously, cannot live up to the fullness of their endowment.” > RS. WHITMAN CROSS of the In- structive Visiting Nurse Society dropped into the stocking a Child Guidance Clinlc which would correct the mental twists of problem children and make them into normal men and . women. Mrs. Cross also put into the stocking a bright sunny sanatorium for tuberculous children and a School for Crippled Children, and good health for the whole community. Merle Thorpe, editor of Nation's Bus- iness, said: “If I were Santa Claus, I would give to the people of Washington a greater realization of the larger mea ing of the National Capital City. Wash- ington is & city of imposing str artistic monuments, uriversities, churches and cathedrals, but its great- ness lies not in piles of stones and ma- terial handiwork. Rather it rests on the American idealism of which these struc- tures are the outward symbols. Here in this city gather not only the representa- tives of our own people, but representa- tives of peoples from the far corners of the earth. They are here to mold into a whole the social and economic aspira- tions of mankind. But it is beyond the borders of the City of Washington that these hopes, ideals and aspirations are translated into action. I would that every resident of Washington were an evangel, who, when he travels, would make better understood the forces for understanding which reach out from ‘Washington, encompassing the world. I would that each resident of Washington might better .understand his own _city. This would be my gift if I were Santa Claus.” .Dorsey W. Hyde, ir., secretary of the Washington Chamber of Commerce, said: “Amen, and let us hope that the Congress of the United States of Amer- ica at an early date will assume the role of Santa Claus and pass the resolution providing for national representation in the District of Columbia.” ‘Washington's Christmas stocking was now so brimful of good things that it overflowed and bulged out everywhere. It became necessary to hail an Army dirigible that was taxiing over the city to transport it to The Star Building. Just as it was being hoisted into the air, Strickland Gillilan of the Press Club pinned on the toe of it “Metropolis of the Americas!” A Prosperous Santa Claus This Year Will Bring Such Gifts de'Luxe as $85,000 Necklaces, Automobiles in Great Candy Boxes. NTAINING A FULLSIZE AUTOMOBILE. Inside the gold piece was a minature watch about as big_as a dime. It, too, was hinged. Tiny but legible black numbers on a white face, and little gold hands. Incredible and won- derful! The timepieces were like big watches in every detail, even to th: little stem-winder. They were made abroad for rich America to sell around $850 apiece. LS [JNABLE to inspect all the various luxury lines that would surely con- tribute to this richest Christmas, I went at last down to Wall Street to discover, if possible, what some of the stock mar- ket beneficiaries proposed to give as presents. Oddly enough, Wall Street was guite practical. Magnums of im- ported champagne for man friends was very popular, so I was told, and $1,000 speculating accounts with brokers for feminine intimates were much in vogue. Women, according to Wall Street judg- ment, love to gamble, and the present market is without shadow of doubt the most exciting gamble in the world. And there, too, I learned that Harrison Wil- liams had ordered & $3,000,000 pleasure yacht, the craft to be the largest of its kind in the world. I heard of a man who paid $250 for goldfish the like of which are sclrcefll}; this country. And of another who put up $1,000 for a chimpanzee. The prize, however, must be given to the stock market winner who sent his wife away to a Winter resort in order that an artist might, unbeknown to her, deco- rate their marble bathroom with fres- coes such as she had admired in a museum. That was her Christmas pres- eni from daddy. Briav pipes cut from the heart of Algerian roots at least 100 years old and on sale at $100 were popular, as were lighters of gold, with little watches set in their sides, at $350. I discovered, too, an instance of a man who had ordered -a lighter of platinum set with diamonds at a cost of $1,150. * oK Kok “I HEAR there’s a Christmas business in airplanes,” a crisp young broker told me, and I fancy he was hoping some one would give him a plane for Christmas. It was true, I found—there was for the first time a Christmas trade in air- planes. Beckwith Havens, 8 flyer turned sales manager, told me of a young millionaire from up-State New York who ordered a $30,000 Loening plane to be delivered before Christmas. A present? Mr. Havens didn’t know. The young Croesus spent a million or 50 on his owa airport, so '.hl"flyfl' sales- man said, and could well afford to give his friends planes. The Christmas plane was delivered in the South. It was a de luxe model, with place for two oper- ators and six passengers. Scores of makers of comparativly cheap planes, mainly in the West, were doing a land-office business turning out plane after plane, and behind in orders. A sales agency in Albany, N. Y., for a ship costing about $3,000, had reported 30 sales, a considerable number for pre- Christmas delivery. A center of the business was curiously enough Wichita, Kans., seemingly because the long dis- tances of the West, the open country and the normally clearer weather made planes more desirable there than the more urban East. Six low-price compa- nies put out ships in Wichita. Arrange- ments had been perfected whereby you could buy planes on credit, much as you buy automobiles. Most certainly, many young Westerners would find planes at the end of their stockings Christmas morning. Surprising! And were there any in- teresting stories about the trade? Well, there was the tale of the man who bought a plane for his son. He was an old man. He had bought the boy a bicycle when bicycles came out. When automobiles became popular he bought the boy a car. And now he was going to give him an airship. True, he sup- posed only his grandson would fly it, but- he wanted to keep up the record. Mr. Havens brought the tale from Wichita. * ok Kk WHERE there’s luxury and money, there are always automobiles, so I delved in the motor industry. A genial secretary at the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, sitting behind a shelf of statistical matter, supposed prosperous America would give more low-priced cars for Christmas this year than ever before. Why more low-priced vehicles as opposed to the wheeled lux- uries costing around $20,000, he couldn’t say for sure. You could take your choice of reasons. Perhaps it was the perfec- tion reached in the low-price field, the tendency in general toward that type, or because you could put one beside the Christmas tree without much incon- venience. The secretary was right. The young man with whom I talked at the home of the British made symbol of wheeled magnificence, the famous Rolls Royce, rather regretfully saw no increase in Christmas business over previous years. Yes, some rich worshipers of a show girl might rush in Christmas eve and want a Rolls delivered next morning; it had happened before, and the young man was hopeful, but that was all. The same was true at all the other high- priced establishments, Spanish, French, Italian and American. On the other hand, a salesman for a low-priced car told me this interesting tale: Some weeks ago a dapper, opulent looking man about town dropped in at the show room and wanted five small cars, all different in color and detail. Each must be boxed just as bonbons are done up, only on a big scale, with rib- bons of red, holly and all. On Christ- ymas morning they must be taken by truck to the homes of his five cousins, and left on the doorstep. And there you are—Santa Claus: Model 1928, Too Realistic. “Dauber does very realistic work, doesn’t he?” said one artist to another. “So much so," replied the other, “that those apples he painted six weeks (880 are now sald by the critics to be rotten.” BY C. MORAN. NOTHER day and a few hours and children in 100,000 Wash- ington homes will be fighting off sleep as the magic hour of Christmas nears. A dozen times today they will visit back porches and gaze in wonderment upon the ever- greens there which are soon to be trans- formed into a scintillating, iridescence of ornaments, tinsel and colored lights. The history of Christmas tree usage extends far into the mists of antiquity. Some historians say it is connected with the legendary tree of Time, Ygdrasil, the great tree of Norse mythology, within whose roots and branches heaven and earth are bound. Others declare the custom may be traced to the Egy&» tians, who, at the time of Winter sol stice, decorated their portals with the branches of the date palm, the symbol of life triumphant over death. An ancient legend of the Scandina- vians relates how the Christmas tree owes its origin to the “service tree” which sprang from soil once drenched with the blood of two slain lovers, and how each night during the Christmas season mysterious lights played among its branches. T6 this legend, perhaps, may be traced the custom of illuminats ing the tree at night. Among the Greeks Christmas is known as the feast of lights. Approximately 5,000,000 trees are used in the United States in the annual Christmas celebration, according to es- timates by officials of the forest service. Far from depleting forest resources, the | proper cutting of this number of trees with due regard to thinning of the for- ests, say the forestry experts, is bene- ficial to the remaining stand of timber. Only the ruthless destruction of young growth is deplored. Pine is a popular Christmas tree in Maryland, Virginia and District homes, the more expensive and lordly fir which is shipped in from long distances being regarded as less permanent. Black and red spruce are commonly seen in New England Christmas celebrations and in New York and Philadelphia. Through- out Illinois and Ohio nurserymen partly supply the local demand with nursery grown Norway spruce. Hemlock is used in some places the absence of other vatieties and occasionally a few arbor- vitae are shipped among firs and spruce. In California red cedar and mcenu' cedar are not uncommon. EEEE MAINE, New Hampshire, Vermont, the Berkshire hills in Massachu~ setts and the Adirondacks and Cats- kills in New York are sources of supply for New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore and Washington. Many truckloads of nearby trees in Maryland and Virginia are cut for local con- sumption. The swamps of Michigan, ‘Wisconsin and Minnesota_furnish the markets of Chicago, St. Paul, Minne- apolis and the cities of the plains States. On the Great Lakes the “Christmas tree ship” bringing greenery from the upper peninsula of Michigan to Chicago or Detroit is usually one of the latest .events in navigation each Winter. In the Northeastern and Lake States yll- sam fir furnishes the bulk of the Chfist- mas tree trade. In the South the Fraser fir is the favorite. In Colorado and other Rocky Mountain States, fir, though abundant, is difficult of access and the Lodge Pole pines and occasionally the Douglas fir and Englemann spruce are used. On the Pacific Coast the Christ- mas tree is often the white fir. It has been demonstrated that by cutting Christmas trees of certain ever- green species above the lower whorl of L] Annual Tree-Cutting Beneficial in Thinning Forests, Experts Say. American-Made Dolls and Toys Growing in popular Demand. GATHERING CHRISTMAS FOREST, branches the remaining limbs turn abguptly upward and often reach a he&ht of six feet in less than two years. In European forests the removal of Christmas trees is made to serve the welfare of the forests when at the holi- day season the cutting of the small trees is in the nature of an improvement, thinning, and at the same time a source of revenue. ‘The United States Forest Service now permits Christmas tree cutting in some national forests and these trees bear red tags reading: “This tree was cut under the supervision of the United States Forest Service for the betterment of the forest stand.” ‘The production of Christmas tree or- naments and toys has grown enor- mously in recent years. Prior to the year 1675 more than 90 per cent of the toys sold in the United States were made abroad. Up to that time there TREES IN PIKE NATIONAL LORADO. was not a doll factory in the United States. Now it is estimated that less thah 5 per cent of the toys sold here are made in foreign countries and ex- ports of toys from the United States are increasing. * oK ok K SCIENTLSTS assert that the custom of playing with dolls is as old as civ- ilization. Archeologists delving among tombs of ancient Greece and Egypt have discovered that children played with dolls more than 5,000 years ago. They have unearthed other playthings from these ruins, including dolls’ furniture, cooking utensils and miniature articles used by priests in making sacrifices. Children used these articles in “playing at religious exercises.” In the British Museum collection there is a flat, painted wooden doll with strings of mud beads representing f . Ee N hair, a bronze woman doll bearing a pot on her head, earthenware doll caiTying and nursing a child, many toy animals and a porcelain elephant with a rider. There are balls made of leather and stuffed with hair and jointed dolls moved by strings. Dolls were known in ancient Egypt and Asia Minor and were common in Greece and Rome. Persius decl that girls vowed their dolls to when they were married. Dolls fc in the catacambs are preserved in the | vatican and the Museum Carpegna | Dolls were in use among the Arabs | at the time of Mahomet and the prophet’si9-year-old wife Ayesha is said to have induced him to join her in | play with them. Dolls were common in Africa, they have been found in Alaska among the Eskimos, most red Indian tribes had them and dolls have been dug up from prehistoric Peruvian graves. ‘The commercial toy industry origi- nated in Germany, the manufacture of toys being taken up by French Protest- | ant immigrants who emigrated to Ger= many to escape religious persecution. Before the days of the railway, ship- ments of toys from Nuremburg passed through Sonneberg on their way to Italian and other southern mark and this stimulated toy making in Sonne- berg, which is now the leading industry of the district. ‘The doll industry of Walthershai originated over 100 years ago and n there are more than 20 firms ther which employ factory and home workers in making dolls. The town produc more than 100,000 gross of jointed dolls a year. The first dolls made in this center had cloth bodies and limbs of papler-mache; this type led to the manufacture of plush and other textile covered stuffed animals. The German version of the Teddy Bear was first made in Walthershausen. * Xk x k N the late 80s, large-scale machine’ production was made possible by & dle-forming and stamping process that required the use of long-fiber card- board. Further improvements included hair eyelashes, articulated teeth, ad- | justable joints. with removable rubber tendons, and the paint-dipping method in place of brush painting. Since the war German business with the United States has declined in dolls, notably in the jointed variety. Am: can dolls with stuffed bodies, Llovd a: | Grubman voices and the “cuddlesome™ feature, are said to be more durable than the imported article. The Ger- man manufacturers were forced to turn to the “unbreakable” type. Leaders of the German doll industry declare that jointed dolls will return to favor bee cause they can be made slimmer, shape= ler and, if of the walking type, need not be so bulky as the stuffed type. A re- cent development is a movable head which bows when a hand is taken up for a handshake. * ok ok MERICAN dolls of the unbreakable type now are made with heavy papier-mache heads, the face being cov= ered over with fine gauze for more ef-' fective tinting or coloring for char- acter expression. Celluloid heads are used principally on character and kid dolls. Bisque heads were formerly in demand. but these have been replaced gradually by the unbreakable typ=. Decided progress has been *iode American manufacturers sin World War in the production ~f do wooden jointed figures. m=atal tors, eol strurtion toys, building blecks, nlastie molding materials, printed toys and pice ture books.