Christmas Round The Globe

Northern Advocate, 26 December 1935, Page 5

Christmas Round The Globe

UPWARD SWING IN AMERICA. America is enjoying the best Christmas since the beginning of the depression. The income tax collections for the last quarter indicated that the people had many more millions of dollars to spend this year, and a survey of Christmas shopping throughout the country shows a 10 per cent increase over 1934. This is also the best holiday trade since 1930, and the benefits are spread uniformly over the country. The return of. that harbinger of prosperity, the worker’s bonus, was also marked in H&nsas City, Detroit, Chicago and New York, - the, principal industrial centres of-the country. All reported that business establishments were distributing from 100 to 2000 dollars in individual bohuses .to workers. The principal gift, however, was that made by the General Motors Corporation, which divided 5,000,000 dollars equally between 200,000 employees. Also Oil Standard (New Jersey) has announced the establishment of a thrift fund for pension purposes. Under the scheme the company will subsidise, dollar for dollar, the contributions of its employees, While the general sentiment is increasingly better, distribution of public and private relief remains undiminished, showing that the improvement in economic conditions has not yet permeated all levels of society. THE ROYAL PARTY. The Prince of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Kent travelled separately to Sandringham for the Royal Christmas party. The crowds at Liverpool Street Station cheered the Duke and Duchess of Kent, * and were delighted when' the nurse, lifted up the baby, Prince Edward, to the carriage window. The fourth broadcast of a Christmas message to his people throughout the Empire will be the last public event of His Majesty’s Jubilee year. CHANGE IN BRITISH WEATHER. A sudden change in the weather, dispersing the fog of the past three days and bringing rain and warmer temperatures, has dispelled hopes of a white Christmas. The fog in the London area was densest at Peckham, where the police used lanterns to guide pedestrians across the streets. Fog services were run on the south and south-eastern suburban railway lines. RECORD SYDNEY TRADE. Shopkeepers in Sydney report record trading this Christmas, and the railway and post office officials also state that the business done during the period leading up to Christmas has established records. The improvement in industry during 1935 is reflected in a decrease of about 40,000 in the number of unemployment relief workers. A year ago the figure was 80,000. The Government is confident that the conditions next year will improve to an even greater extent. Yesterday was very hot and there were great crowds in the surf at Sydney. At Melbourne Christmas Day was spoiled by rain squalls and a severe south-westerly wind. There was no play in the Sheffield Shield cricket.