Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1885-03-12
WOOL AUCTIONS IN LONDON.

WOOL AUCTIONS IN LONDON.
One of the Most Curious Things to Be
Seen in tho Largest City in the World.
There is no more curious sight in the
city than one of the wool auctions
which are now being held every after.
noon in the Wool Exchange. Coleman
street. Imagine 4 large and lofty room,
capable Of holding about five hundred
people. Benches. in the form of a
semi-circle, rise tier above tier. so that
all the sitters are plainlv visibie from
the tribune, or rostrnm-an elevated
desk at the bottom of the room. Every
seat Is numbered, and the hi chest mum.
Der is 1913. A narrow gallery provides
accommodation for the spectators. At
$3.50 clock nearly every seat is occu-
pied. the demand for them exceeding
the supply. and rs the clock strikes the
hour the auctioneer. or selling broker,
takes his place in the tribune. He is a
cool, self-possessed, good-looking man,
with a keen eye, rosy cheeks. and hair
parted in the middle On either side of
him sits a clerk-one bald and dark,
the other hirsute and blonde. No time
is lost in preliminaries; an eloquent
wool auctioneer would he an intoler-
able nuisance, and this one is as sparing
of words as n telegram from China.
Every buyer before him is TIE busiest of
men. and he has TO sell flG0,0O0 worth
OF wool before sis O'Clock. LOT 2l3,
ten bales he says. Simple words, but
the signal for a very tempett of excite
ment. From every pant of the
room come. as it We're. scattered shots
in quick succesSion-"E Eight ! half, nine,
ten. ten-half.'' Then up | spring a
dozen. or it may be scorel OF eager,
earnest men. who shout passion
atcly NJ the top of their VOICES. and al
most in chorus: '.Ten-half. ten half, ten
half, until It seems as if the rdof would
split. Some stretch their arms toward
the tribune, As if they were threatening
a t"e: Others work them to and fro, IS
if they were engaged in mortal combat:
others. again, raise them upward, as if
they We're appealing to Heaven. Tho
yell still more loudly, gesticulaAe still
more wildly, some in their excitement
bending forward until they nearly top
pie over on the seats below. IT. is a
bear garden, Il Babel, Il scene of indie
scribable confusion. and to he unfniti-
ated spectator it seems as if the frantic
bidders were about to spring from their
place, and punch each others heAds
But the auctloneer speaks one word
and the Storm is lulled; every voiedI is
bUSlad every man resumes his selt
THAI word Is .'TomkinS One lot hiss
been knocked down to Tomkins. With
out drawing breath the selling broker
goes on to the next lot. and then there
is another startling roar, followed by an
equally sudden collapse. The faces of.
some Of the bidders are a study. One
gentleman, with 4 bald head surrounded
by 4 fringe of black hair and features
Enthusiastically French. gets so excited
that YOU fear he may break q blood
vessel or have a fit of apople,.y His
wide nostrils CULVER, his. swarthy
face becomes dark, he fights the air
auetioneer. rs if he would annihilate
him. Near the Gaul is Il fair Teuton,
sl:hyart and .taLv .,;iA,s-ting' gttcrs as
IA hO WIZ XIV M NofWdtc. III tNe
smoke OF battle, and glazing at his com
petitorS as ); he would like to charge
down on them IL the Uhlans charged
down upon the French at GrayelOtte
and Sedan. Not far from the foreign
ers sits a gentleman whose cast Of
features and style OF dress leaves little
doubt that he'is manufacturer of WOO,
or stapler, and halls from northern
country. To make his bid more effect
i've he puts his hand to the side of his
mouth and gesticulates with the other;
but he needs no artificial aid, for he has
:: voice of thunder and shouts like q
Boanerges. But why all this noise?
Why can not a wool auctioneer knock
down his wares to the higest bidder,
All the firms represented at the auc-
ton know to fraction the value of
every parcel they wish to acquire, and
five. OF ten. or q score. as the case NAV
be. are willing BUYERS of a certain lot
at. let us say, Il shilling pound
more than they can afford to give. The
rule is. when there are several bidders
at the same price there are gen.
orally several bidders--to prefer the one
who bids the first, which is practically
the one who first succeeds in attracting
the auctioneer's attention. In such q
contest the feeble-voiced have no
chance 10 come out of it victorious
When the selling broker names the
buyer who has caught his ear all the
rest >tbside Ike would-be orators in the
House of Commons who fail to catch |
the Speakers eve. The confidence in
the Speakers impartially seems to be
absolute: he never loses his self-posses-
sion. and time is too precious to be
wasted in wrangling.-London Specta-
tor