The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-07-20
TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER
Fruit and Produce Will be Sold
by Auction.
The New System TO Be Inaugurated Next
Monday Morning - Commission Mer-
chants Dc Not Favor 1t.

fruit and river produce that finds its way TO
this market viii be sold at public vendue
from Jackson-street wharf.
The commission merchants, as a rule, hope
and believe the further notice" will be
forthcoming very soon. The jobbers take
the opposite view.
p Steinhagen will be the auctioneer. He
has been empowered by the growers of the
Sacramento River TO auction of their ship
ments to this market to the highest bidder.
Aside from the Sacramento trade Mr..
Steinhagen expects soon 10 be in posi-
ton to control most of the fruit and green
goods shipped TO this market; ultimately to
control it all.
The jobbers hope with him while the COM
mission merchants say 1t cannot be done.
AuctlOneer SteiDhagen will receive
per cent commission on per cent goods
and per cent on per cent produce.
1.-The cost to the farmer will be no more,
he says, land the percentage OF the COM
mission that L will share with the commits
sion merchant will be more than c0mpen-
stated for to the latter by reason of the fact
that they will be able to dispense with the
services OF a salesman on the wharf"
Say the j0bbers at is the very best thing
that could happen to us and to tue produce
market Under the present rule we go to
the commission men early IN the morning
and purchase our goods in large lots for say
comes down town and buys the same goods
from The commission men for 10 cents
package. Hereafter the peddleTs must buy
of the jobbers."
Not so.' predict the comm ission mer-
chants. "Fhe peddlers aud retailers will
simply form a combination which will en-
able them 10 buy in large lots. They viii
go to the auction and buy there, and the
j0bbers will loose their trade entirely"
However, the thing is TO be given fair
So " daP Hsa0 AT "A
ing of the fruit and produce commission
men held yesterday afternoon in Dalton
Brothers warehouse on Davis street
A MEETING OF COMMISSION MEN.
Frank Dalton was chosen president and J.
a. Eveleth, of Eveleth * Nash, secretary.
AuetiOneer Steinhagen was called upon for
an explanation. He responded. Knowing
how the farmers wanted their goods sold at
auction. be had gone among thase of the
Sacramento River and offered his services
in that capacity. At a recent meeting OF the
farmers at Walnut Grove his services as
auetioneer was accepted and a resolution
passed binding each farmer to ship his
goods, as heretofore, to the commission firms
with which they had been dealing, with
these instructions, however:
That on aud after Monday next the CON-
mission men must turn over their consgn-
ments 10 i. Stelnhsgen TO be sold at auction.
lt was also decided, further explained
Mr.. SteinlIag gen, that in case the commission
men should refuse TO turn over their goods
TO the auciioneer. the farmers would ship TO
him direct.
MIR. Steinhagen then told the assembled
merchants tt at he had secured large store
and warehouse adjoining Marlborough 81
J0hnson's place, where he expected to
carry on a general produce auction busi-
ness.
He then informed his hearers that he had
decided that and 4 per cent respectively
would be about his proper share of the
and the pe< cent commissions,
The commission meu did not think it
would. They thought per cent and per
cent would be better for the trade, and
after some little discussion ii was SO de-
cded.
1t was also decided that all goods sold at
the auction should be on cash basis so
far as the anctioneer is concerned.
By this rule. II goods consigned TO Smith
are sold to Brown, the latter must get his
credit extension from Smith, or falling in
this. pay cash. At all events Smith Is re-
spnnsible to the consignOr.
Further decisions were that all goods
must be sold in straight lots, and that the
sale shall begin a o'clock in the morning
Then the meeting adjourned sine die. Its
decisions, of course, will affect only the
Sacramento River product
| In the meantime Mr.. Steinhagen will go
| out into the country again and endeayor to
| get the growers in other sections to adopt
the auction system. His success in other
| directions will depend largely upon the re-
| suit Of his scheme on the Sacramento trade
| Mr.. SteInhagen is quite confident of sue
| cess IN all directions. He points out that
| the system Is in vogue in Chicago and New
| York and all the large Eastern cities: that
| 1t will simplify matters greatly; that il will
| prevent the dumping of fruit into the bay
as has heretofore been done, and that the
| dishonest commission merchant will have
no opportunity to vietimize the grower.
CANNOT BE DONE.
ut can't be DONE" say the commission
! men. who will advance the grower the
| customary loan al planting time. Certainty
| not the auctiOneer.
Another result will be that all the good
| fruit will be sold. but the poor fruit will ind
| no buyers. At present the commission man
takes the good and the poor fruit together,
| and feels himself bound TO work them both
| of, but the auctioneer will have no such OBJ
| legation in the matter and the poor fruit
| viii remain unsold.
| AT present anybody can sell good fruit.
| There's nc trick in that, and the farmers
| know it. il they think the auctioneer
| scheme will help them dispose of more of
their under-grade product they are sadly
| mistaken.
''Then, too. what win happen when there
Is giut In the market, as there is every
year, OF some produce or fruit? VIII the
| auctioneer work it off to advantage? Not
much. He is interested in his commission !;
| that is ALL"
| Continuing In this vein, the commission
| men point out that there is no earthly need
| for an aueti0neer anyway. The competition
| IN their own ranks is strong enough to
| keep things in shape and permit the grower
to dispose OF his goods to the best advan-
| taEe.
| However, the auction will be tried !:
| there's no doubt about that. Mr. Stenha-
| gen IS a well-known man on the street hay-
| ing been in the commission business here
| for years; and though it is whispered that
he Is looking after job where something
| may be made for nothing he is generally
looked upon as man OF good. sound busi-
| ness sense and integrity.
| Another project broached to the commits
| sion men Is that OF combining all their
forces and housing themselves under one
| roof somewhere on the water front
+. w. Butler is The prime mover in this
| plan, but he IS not over sanguine of its real
| iZation. He has pointed out the benefits of
such move, but the merchants do not
/ enthuse.
"As it is now" says Mr.. Butler, "the
Sansome-street merchant has somew hat the
| best OF the bargain In the way of prices. A
| great many buyers never go away down.
town, though II they did they might some
times be able to get better bargains. The
fact is that as at present constituted those
| occupying different positions on the street
have different advantages. Were the COM
| mission men all under one roof all would
have equal chances and goods would be
sold on their merits alone"
But the Harbor Commissioners say this
plan is impraeticable unless the commission
men should take some of the vacant lots
| near the water front No such wharf room
| as would be needed could be spared, at
least not unless special law were to be
passed. as IN the case of the fishermen for
| instance
From Pacific street to Spear street there
is no more available wharfage space and
the commission men could not be accommo-
dated along the seawall this side of Sec