Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1884-08-05

W, made for this very trade-or thew are the
taii END OF stocks that have been cuiled over.
anu .nese unsaleable remnants sent out to feed
assured that tI, VI one thing the public can be
dos n ~, ua1 manufacturers of responsibility
40 nos s ser their fine goods to the auction
ITEM r. tbs eney would not trust the value Of
neither character nor money with whtnb re AZ
legltlmate business. Nevertheiess thew snc
of their pinchbeck STUFF as 10 rnate; IH
fere with the sales of the retail dealers The
a9ctloneer is generally possessed of a pleasine
and pleasing and taking way Of tei,;n sane es
most unblushing lies, even swearing to Them am
If occasion requires. w 'nohns
On a recent visit to an interior to,r .
CHANGED to encounter one of these nerinats,io
jewelry auctioneers. He was haraneuine q
motley crowd of men and women ana crem
ming them with any number of Mnncb orSlm,
stories, which they laughed over hugely ana
swallowed without fiinching, much more readi.
| ly than they would SO much Gospel. Holdine nm
q brass chain, for instance. HE harangue ran
about as follows:
Here. ladies and gentlemen, offer you a
magnincent cha1n. don't pretend that it is
an elghteen-karat gold chain, for it amt but
| 1t looks just as good as one and will wear bet-
g yer ana Keep bright longer MOI this is not
goio cnaln-l1 IL was 1t would be worth S50.but
| u is regular genuine fire gilt chain; none OF
your plated stuff, with little gold plate on the
outside and all brass inside. MOI this ia a
genuine Tobias fire gilt chain and all of TobJas
chains are warranted genuine. No rolled plata
! or eiectro, plate about Tobias chain-they are
himself in New York City. When talk oftbis
Tobias 1t makes methink of my boyhood days.
for old Tobias and used to go to school togeth.
er. tell you this is genuine Tobias chain.
and ought to know, for we were great chums
at school: Why. we used to play marbles and
ny kites together. and finally got to sparkling
the same girl. wanted to marry her but To-
bias allowed he could cut me out, and said he
couldn't, but he did-yes he did, and he marri-
gan to make these genuine fire gilt Tobias
chains. Why, he's made millions of dollars
making these chains. and Is one of the nabobs
of New York, while am out here trying to
make Living selling the only Tobias fire gilt
chains. How much am offered for it?"
Dnring his harangue he kept asking for bids,
and finally succeeded in selling several at 81
each, when they would have been dear at fifty
cents a bushel. Such .haIangues are wonder
interlarded with little abuse of retail dealers,
and some denunciation of their alleged high
price. This auction business is found to be so
profl1able that many auctioneers do nothing
put travel from place to place with bogus goods.
and some manufacturers are INSCRIPTIONS
enough to cater for their trade. OF course their
sales Interfere with the trade of the local deal
ers, for 1t takes from the people money that
might otherwise be applied to the purchase of
tioneers generally carry with them a mixed
stock ofalleged gold goods and plated ware, all
OF whlcn is SO poor in quality that it could not
Ina place In the stock of any respectable
dealer.
Peddlers are also nuisance to the retail trade
anu t FRAUD upon the public. They deal in
ABOUT the same quality of cheap jewelry as the
auctioneers. but not in so public a manner
They rathsr seek the by-ways and country
roads, v1ctimlzing the poorer classes in the
villages and the verdant country women along
the road. Being, like the auctioneers, good
takers, they readily get the best OF ignorant
women and servants, and contrive to work OFF
large amount of their bogus stuff in the
course OF year. There are factories In Provi-
dence and Attleboro that make goods especial
ly for the auctioneers and peddlers and have
grown rich by 1t. A ten-dollar bill will equip
peddier with very good assortment of goods:
and II he can't sell them for fifty or sixty dol
lars, he is not fit fbr the business"
In writing the foregosng, have been actuat-
ed by no spirit of luminosity against the regular
dealers in jewelry and silver and silver-plated
ware, but an earnest desire to warn the unsus-
pecting against the tricks of sharpers."
aug5-ft JAS. FRICKER.