Inside Great Gity Stores Where Santa Glaus Holds Undisputed Sway
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A1
FRAGMENT
Away to the north irhtre the snow love to
linger.
Inside of a mountain old Santa Clau$
dwells.
HAT is the way we learned It In
I childhood and that is the way
J I one lovea to think of It still
WHen me last loucnps nave men
put to the Christmas tree and
the coals burn gray on the
it -M
hearth behind the row of stockings. What
a marvelous place that Santa Claus land
was all glistening with frost and a-twlnkle
with millions of candlos; ana peopled with
that busy army of fairies that spun the
wonderful tinsel ropes and with deft Angers
tended the magic garden where the trees
and plants and shrubs yielded wonderful
toys for the boys and girls and Just the
right things for the grown-ups. And what
a wonderfully busy placo It was Just be
fore Christmas, when all the treasure boxes
are unpacked undor the direction of Mrs.
Banta, who keeps the record book, and
the things stowed away In that maglo
"pack" Just where old Santa can put his
hands on them without losing a minute as
he dashes from one housetop to another In
his reindeer sleigh the night before Christ
mas. It was a beautiful old myth.
But down In the heart of the city there
. Is another Banta Claus land more familiar
to the men and women and to many of
the boys and girls of today than the old
njursery version. To even the prosalo It
requires little stretch of the Imagination to
recognize In the lavish decoration of al-
most any of the stores at this season the
source of the Inspiration and the scheme,
for the tinsel roprs, the glittering frost,
the twinkling lights, the holly and mistletoe
and all the wonderful toys for the boys
and girls and the things for the grown;
ups are there yes, and the busy fairies too
ysiy they look a little different to) the
' mature eyes. But one wholly new element
has entered into this modern version, the
throng of men and women and children
that surge through the aisles looking,
handling, sometimes buying, but for the
most part Just mingling. And as the
Men Who
LMOST a decade after the Trans
mlsslsslppl and International ex
position a movement Is taking
shape to publish In some way a
history of the great patrlotlo
Jubllvo held in Omaha durim
A
tho summer of 1S8S apd of the men who
organized the enterprise and guided it to
the most successful close of any exposition
Of recent years.
Of the fifty members of the board of
directors but thirty-one remain in Omaha,
ten having died since the close of the
exposition and nine left Omaha for other
fields of endeavor. Of the six members
of the executive committee but one would
fall to answer to the roll call If the old
board should meet-Edward Rosewater,
who- -passed away Thursday, August 30.
130.
If there Is a thirty-third degree for boost
rs, conferred after a sufficient lapse ot
time for younger mn to appreciate the
worka of the men whose placea In business
and community life they are taking almost
daily, the degree should be conferred on
the fifty men of Omaha who gave days of
their time to the promotion, organisation
and executive work of the Transiulsslaalppl
and International exposition.
Ask an Omahan why tho exposition at
Oman a In 1S98. held during months when
the country was at war with a foreign foe.
was such a success In every way, when
almost every exposition since has been a
"frost,'' to use an expression applied to
showa which fall, and the answer comes
quick, "Because of the magnificent busl.
nees organization behind the enterprise, be
cause every man of the fifty was a suc
cess at his own business, and because they
were specialists In tiie lines of work which
they did for the big Omaha show."
In planning and handling the affairs 'of
the Transmlssisstppl and International ex
position the number was sufficient, fifty;
they were the best minds in the city, and
many of the directors were recognized as
leaders in their business and had been
entrusted with public affairs ,ln the great
Missouri valley and broad stretch of rich
country composing the transnilaslsalppl
states. Then, they were the men most
Interested In the welfare of Omaha, among
those whose Uvea were Inseparable with
the history of the state tf Nebraska, and
Who had alwaya been the foremost when a
test of patriotism to country came. Aa Indi
viduals they had the strong and Interested
minds necessary to guide the affairs of any
gigantic enterprise.
The fifty members of the board, divided
as to the business of the Individuals. con-a
slsted of nine wholesalers, eight bankers,
three attorneys. sven retail merchants,
five railroad managers, one editor, four
real estate dealers, three packing house
manager or men who had held executive
positions with varied live stock organisa
tions, three manufacturers, two managers
eif transfer companies and on each from
-: USTA .-
OT" TUB EEAlTl'lfLTL. DECOR.1TI0N3
holidays grow nearer there comes a change
in this crowd and with every day there
grows an Intensity that toward the last
becomes almost apalllng. Nowhere In all
the great world Is the selfish departure
from the beautiful traditions of Christmas
more apparent than In the holiday rush
In the big stores. Feverishly the shoppers
elbow their way through from one coun
ter to another, taking every possible ad
vantage, seemingly unmindful of all but
their own desire to get what they want and
get It quickly. The very atmosphere of
the big stores Is charged with this Inten
sity until the crush becomes suffocating
with something besides the close contact
and the warm air. All day long the busy
clerks have "waited on trade" answering
a thousand questions, showing goods they
know they will not sell, taking down and
putting back, straightening out the tangle
again and again and always with the
crowd passing before them until It is little
wonder that before the day Is gone their
enthusiasm becomes , forced and their
smiles like their movements become auto
matic. But there Is not a minute to atop
and rest.' Even the stools that the law has
placed behind the counters for1 the women
employes, are pushed aside to make room
that they may move more quickly..
But this Is not the only aspect of the
Christmas shopping crowd; It has its bright
spots and its cheery aide, for In the main
the people are happy. With a persistence
irresistible, because It Is born of love, the
Christmas spirit pervades ' everything am ..
unconsciously the better nature ot i men
and women asserts Itself. ' Everywhere it
Is evident. It gives to the Intent face of
the shopper something that Is not seen
In an ordinary crowd and it even steals
Into the wistful faces of those whose por
tion it Is only to look on. And there are
many such in this throng; such extremes as
it represents. In her warm furs and trim
tailored suit the woman of means makes
careful selection over the counter of such
finery as her taste may suggest, oftprf with
careless extravagance and absorbed to the
point of forgetting that other woman who,
Built and
Executive Board
Gl'RDON W. WATTLES.
President of the Exposition Company.
the following lines of business: physician
and surgeon, president of a hotel company,
president of a telephone company, exten
sive farmer and grower and a press
man who represented organised labor.
With such an organlsatloa. covering the
entire range of human endeavor, the Trans
mississippi exposition could scarcely have
been a failure from a business standpoint.'
Then the board of directors was assisted
by hundreds of patriotic men and women
from Omaha, from. Nebraska, states of the
union and foreign countries.
The ' preliminary organisation which
adopted the articles of Incorporation In
January, 1K6, and elected officers for the
company which was to do the first work
for the big show, consisted of the follow
ing: President. Qurdon.W. Wattles; Vice
president, Jucob E. Market; treasurer, Her
man Kountse; secretary, John A. Wake
field. The directors .were: W. R. Bennett,
John H. Evans. Dudley Bmlth, Dan Far
rell, Jr.; George U. I'ayne. Charles Metx,
Isaao Carpenter, Henry A. Thompson and
C. 8. Montgomery.
Just eleven months after the temporary
organisation was effected, the officers re
ported that subscriptions amounting to
t4M,T3 hud been secured and a stuck
holders meeting was held In the Board of
Trade rooms and ' fifty ' directors elected.
The vote was to Incorporate all the mem
,bera of the old board, which waa done, but
W. ' R. Bennett resigned when the board
waa made permanent.
Gurdon W. Wattles, who became presl-
, t
i
l r
s. .
TH TUB BRATvDEIS BTORH.
ONE OF THE
poprly clad, timidly fingers the bits of
finery as she passes from one bargain
square to another or stands In undisguised
wonder and admiration before the marvel-'
ous fabrics In the showcases those things
um ,1r"t!'P ' ; ( '
-' - ..--Sg- - , . -
Managed the Great Omaha
Transmississippi and
From Photographs Made
Z. T. LINDSAT.
Chairman Executive Committee. In Charge
of AmusemeuLa. ,
EDWARD ROSEWATER,
Department of Promotion and Publicity.
dent and an ex-offlclo member of the board
of directors was then president of the
Union National bank. Mr. Wattles Is one
ut the thirty-one members of the exposU
tlon board who .' has remained In Omaha,
and become mora closely Identified with the
business interests of the city since the big
enterprise "which put Omaha on the map."
Besides many other Interests Mr. Wattles
la president of the consolidated street rail-'
THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: DECEMBER 15, 1907.
x
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AISLES OF THE THOMPSON, B ELD EN,
that are only for the few. It Is at leaBt
her privilege to look, however, and as she
stands and contemplates these things she
knows well she may never possess the
wistful look fades from her face, giving
r
r
-r
I
International Exposition Association
Daring the Exposition Tea
F. P. KIRlf ENDALL,
Department of Building and Grounds,
W. N. BARCOCIC.
Deparlmtnt of Transportation,
road companies, vice president ' of VI. e
United States National bank, president of
the Omaha Grain exchange and president
of the great Ak-Sar-Ben Board of Gov
ernors. John A. Wakefield, who was elected '
secretary of the exposition, was a retail
lumber merchant, but stepped Into the
"ahow business" aa though he had been
born In a circus wagon, and has since been
V:
' . i-'V "ii t. ''7
VISTA DOWN AN AISLB ON
4 CO. STORE.
place to one of utmost satisfaction that
lingers as long as the shifting crowd will
permit her to stand and admire,
And so the crowd moves on, the women
of fashion, with time to look, the little
E. B. BRUCE.
Department of Exhibits.
' ' A. L. ItKED,
Department of Concessions and Privileges.
engaged In many departments of the vari
ous expositions throughout the country,
though Omaha Is still his home For the
last-few weeks Mr.' Wuketteld has been In
Jamestown, where he was suddenly needed,
and his friends In Omaha say "If John had
been secretary of the Jamestown show he
would have certainly made arrangements
for an attendance," and not allowed the
big enterprise to fall.
1 I l i 4
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THE MAIN FLOOR AT THE BRANDEIS
woman with the baby who has but little
time, the little company of "foreigners" In
their picturesque but undeniably attractive
' head shawls In pleasing contrast to the
bargain counter hat, and many others
that bear the stamp of the pattern room
the bewildered man who has strayed or
been sent Into this throng and occasionally
the hurrying young woman Just released
from behind the counter of some other
department or some other store who has
a few moments over the time allowed for
luncheon. As she pushes her way to the
counter the face of the "saleslady" on tho
other side brightens perceptibly. "Did you
lay that aside for me?" or "Here Is- my
sample, now what shall I use with it?" she
Inquires confidentially across the show
case.
Like magic every trace of weariness
vanishes from the face of her friend and
with an enthusiasm that lingers long after
the little shopper has gone back to her
work, , produces box after box, making
suggestions or trying effects with an In
terest she has not felt for many a day.
But down In the basement In the toy
department the crowd changes. The tense
ness and the selfishness are little In evi
dence here. It is. the children's depart
ment and the very atmosphere Is different.
IT modern commercialism has trespassed
dangerously upon the sacred preserves of
St. Nicholas the dear old fellow has not
been crowded out of business. He has
followed It up even Into the crush of the
big stores, and he Is there In reality over
looking his own. For proof one needs only
to look at the crowd, for his cheery smile
Is reflected upon the face of every one who
has ever loved him. Of course this Is fie
who comes down the aisle with the merry
laugh, his pack on his back and his sleigh
bells Jingling, pushing his way through the
swarm of eager children that surround
him laughing excitedly, the bolder ones
crowding close and the more timid content
to remain at a distance. Perhaps the dear
old fellow has grown a bit thinner or a
1 V
Expositionof 1898
W. N. Babcock, director, member of the
executive committee and in charge of the
transportation department, was 'the general
manager of the Union Stock YardB com
pany while In Omaha, but Is now general
western freight agent of the - Delaware,
Lackawanna & Western Railroad company,
"with headquarters in Chicago. i
George F. Bldwell, director, was general
manager of the lines of the Northwestern
railroad iwest of the Missouri river, wo
still makes his home in Omaha, but has
been retired from active service of the com
pany. J. L. Brandels, director, now dead, was
president of the firm J. L. Brandels &
Sons and founder, of the Boston Store, the
great store which now occupies a new
eight-story building of stone and marble,
covering a half block at Sixteenth and
Douglas streets.
J.
Brown Is another of the directors
f the
exposition who has passed away
the enterprise cloned. He was a
real eBtate dealer, a director in the
K.tinn.i J.iink and the street railway com
pany. Mr. Brown erected the Brown block.
E. E. Bruce, director and member of the
executive committee In charge of the de
partment of exhibits, is president of the
E. E. Bruce company, wholesale druggists,
and Is In Omaha to stay.
I. W. Carpenter, director. Is president
of the Carpenter Paper company, whosm
Arm recently erected a great wholesale
warehouse at the corner of Ninth and
Harney streets.- - '
Count John A. Crelghton. director In the
exposition and one who promoted its Inter
ests with his energy and money, passed
away In Omaha a short time agof leaving
a fortune of over I3.000,U)0. a large part
of which was left to the university which
bears his pame and charitable Institutions.
Edward Dickinson, director, was general
manager of the Union Pacific Railroad com
pany during the eventful year of K-S and
Is now connected wllh the !'Orient" rail
road, with headquarters In Kansas City.
John H. Evans, director and member of
the temporary board of directors, died dur
ing the years following the exposition. He
Is remembered as the "man who bought
up all the laundries in Omaha." and waa
president of the National Bank of Com
merce. V. B. Hlbbard, director and only mem
ber of the board from a to an or city
outside of Omaha,. Is an extensive farmer
near Irvlngton., Mr. Hlbbard hnd the
double distinction of being an Omahan
for a whole summer and being the oily
farmer on the board.
a. M. Hitchcock was a member of the
board for a short time and had charge
of the department of promotion, after
wards combined with the department of
publicity.,' He Is now In congress.
J. IL Hussle was one of the "faithful"
retail merchants who served on the
board. Mr. Hussle's bume Is still In
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STORES.
little taller than he used to be in the
pictures, but It Is he without doubt, else
how could there be so many toys? As for
Santa Claus land, Mrs. Santa is up there
taking car of things.
To be sure tho big price cards stationed
so conspicuously about the toy tables
occasion some doubt and the clerks are
very positive In their injunction not to
touch things. But, after all, what boy or
girl ever solved the mystery of Christmas?
Things are always there when we wake up
In the morning; that Is, nearly always.
Rich and poor, big and little, dirty and
clean, the children troop In and with them
the grownups, who confess to attractions
quite Independent of any small son or
daughter, nephew or niece. I'p one alsla
and down the next they move. Here a
little knot of youngsters stop for an
excited whispered discussion of soma par
ticularly attractive toy and qver there a
group of little girls go Into ecntacies over
the merits of that beautiful Jointed doll
that opens and closes Its eyes. In the
meantime the real purchasers carry on
whispered negotiations wfth the clerks, not
alone concerning the price, but the time
and place, fer the delivery of the purchase.
It is here in the toy department that some
of the most pathetic Incidents of the holi
days occur. While Joy Is commonly counted
synonymous with childhood, It Is not the
only emotion that the child heart knows,
and one needs but to look about at the
little faces for proof of It. The legend of
Santa Claus Is one of the most beautiful
Inheritances of childhood, but It Is responsi
ble for heartaches such as only aehild can
experience. Few lndoed are the children
who are unfamiliar wllh the story of Santa
Claus, but there are many who fall to
understand his apparent discrimination.
Like the wioman in the shabby clothes up
stairs, however, they are at least privileged
to look at and admire the toys, ami so
the great annual display fulfills the beauti
ful mission of making them forgtt for a
time at least, and after while they come to
understand.
Omaha and he Is still busy running a
hardware store at Twenty-fourth and
Cuming streets, on the theory that If
Omaha was a good city before tl.t, ex
position, It Is better afterwarui und is
getting better all the time.
Thomas R. Hoctor, present mayor of
South Omaha, got his early training for.
public life ns a member of the board of
directors, which exceeded In value the
coirespondence schools of parliamentary
practice as a ylelder of knowledge. '
G. W. Holdregc, general manager of
the Burlington railway company, was a
member of the board of directors and
still holds his position with the rallroal
company.
Walter Jardlne of the Omaha Transfer
company, still claims Omaha as his home.
John A. Johnson of Johnson Bros.
Transfer company served as a director and
has slnco been active in, pulling the Ak-Sar-Ben
parades when the king does
stunts.
Thomas Kllpatrlck, president of the
Kilpatrlck Dry Goods company, was one
of the seven retail merchants on the board
of directors. He Is still at the lu'ad of
the big dry goods house on Douglas street.
Thomas L. Kimball, director, Is one of
the ten who have pasMed awav. Mr.
Kimball was active in the affairs of the
Union Pacific Railway company, and his
son, T. R. Kimball, was chief architect
of the exposition.
F. P. Klrkendall was a director and a
member of the executive committee In
charge of the buildings and groundJ de
partment. Mr. Klrkendall Is, president cfi
the manufacturing shoe company Which
bears his name.
L. If. Korty, director, Is superintendent
of telegraph of the Union Pacific: rallro;id
company, with headquarters in Omaha.
li.rman Kountze, director, and treasurer
of the Transmi"t!isslppl exposition, U nnu
of the prominent men of Omaha who lias
passed away In recent years, lie bundled
the money received by the exiWslllon and
his knowledge of financial matters asalsleil
In the association being able to pay T."
per cent on the stock subscriptions within
four days after the close of the exposition.
Dr. E W. Lee, director, and In chaifc'n
of the medical department. Is praitlcin
In New York (ity. Dr. Ie guve lis at
tention to 3.C.-5 cases during the summer
of the exposition.
'.. T. Llndsey, director, chairman of the
executive committee and of the ways and
means committee, is In Omaha, as presi
dent of the Interstate Rubber company.
C. W. Lyman, director, was president
of the Commercial National bank during
exposition days, and is at present a cap
italist of Omaha.
Charles F. Manderson, director, and since
made chairman of the history committee
of-the exposition, Is general solicitor of the
Burlington railroad company.
Charles Mets is president of Metx Broth"
(Continued on Page Seven.)