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Show f l v filing r h hinf N r.t I f r w -cm I . j Americas Christmas Prospects j: The busincfs men of England, noon ftr war b!s.in, himi; th!lr Christ- m.i3 stocking!) with many mi:.KlvinK. Inrt-istry hart hcromn iinxnUkrt ;' ; through the nation's rapid rcartjn!tmnt.. With l.hc first. hlio k nf war ; '; EnRlnnd fearrt for tho fate of iti working tlam. A fund of Sr,niio.ooi ;; ; was rair.ed to rcliovo erprctcd dlst.rw. ! Then a most unexpected thing carno to pa'is. The "poor" conimrincil 1 ' to Iniy tho things the rich had begun to dnny IheitiRelTen. Tho working;' ; class had hoon touched by magic it bad fallen heir to nurtden lirhes. The l' I emcrtiency funrl of five million was forrjnlt.en. !; ;! Workmen were finding steady employment and good pay. They bought, ' pianos. Jewelry, cosmetlcg and expennlvo furo. Tho nale of dictinnarloa ; '; assumed large proportlorm. A Sherlock Holmes might h.ivo deduced that ' ! ;! people who lai:ked culture were bniflhlng up for contact with the nobility. ': I ; The holiday trade wan so great, that practically all the large retail stores ;' broke the records of the palmy days of peace. Nothing wan too good for ! the soldiers there wan a big biiHlnesu In expensive goods sent to tho front. I ;! Selfridgo, after six months of war, counted sulwtantlal gain over the ' ;' year preceding. Iu 101U his figures surpassed 111 in, and In the year Just ; ; ended the profits revealed a gain of nearly $ 100,000. Hanod's had ', ; similar experience, as dirt others. ', ! War has not taken us by surprise, as it did England. Why should not our slocking this Chili.tmns bulge plumb, or even he filled to overflowing? ;! ; ( l;.-'rii!l, i oiirlc-y of Mic '.'hicago 'rrilunc. t |