The Indianapolis journal., 1896-04-26
WOMEN AT AUCTIONS
A PASSION WITH SOME WHO HAVE
PLENTY OF TINE AND MONEY.
Amusement to BE Had, to Say Nothing
of the Fun Of NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
and What Attracts Them.

II VIII DC SAD day Tor gOou many
women in this town IL the Association
for the Suppression OF Fraudulent Auc-
tions succeeds In closing all the auction
rooms which ii has marked down on its
list. Hundreds of women have contract
ed the auction fever in a virulent form,
and go to auctions as regularly as they
attend to any other part of their GUS
tomary round of pleasures. Buying at
auction has more fun in it than bargain
hunting at the stores. Whether the
women get things cheaper than at the
stores or whether they are cheated are
matters entirely outside OF the question.
Besides the fun of bidding. after they
get bold enough to raise their voices
above whisper. the women like to buy
at auctions because it has spice of
gambling in 1t, and, in addition, offers
some features of the continuous variety
performance.
II haven't bought thing for my house
at store In five years." says one auc-
ton woman. When the house needs
anything, rug or a piece of furniture,
l wait till what want is put up at auc-
tion here. If can't wait tell the auc-
tioneer what want and he gets it and
puts it up, and 1 have the pleasure of
trying to get it. Then you never know
what you're going to pay for anything.
It's fun to buy that way"
Before 1 began coming here" says
another auction woman. II suffered
dreadfully from nervous prostration 1
tried everything and only got worse.
Then 1 came here. and it has cured me.
l am all well now. No, l don't have to
buy things to keep we'll I didn't really
buy anything for six months after 1 be-
| gan coming here / was too frightened.
L didn't dare to speak loud enough to
| hear my own voice. let alone bid that
the auctioneer could hear. And a quar-
teri she shouted suddenly as the writh-
ing auctioneer. with despair stamped on
| his face, assured the crowd that the vase
was worth ten times as much as was
| offered.
! While the auctioneer writhes and roars
IT is easy to hear plenty of such confi-
| dences. There are half dozen auction
| rooms in town, some of them, alas. OBJ
Jects or pursuit Of the Association for
the Suppression of Fraudulent Auctions,
! Where special efforts are made to at
tract the patronage of women. The kind
| OF women wanted are those with plenty
OF money and plenty of leisure and no
especial way of disposing Of either; such
| women are treated with Difference and
consideration, while others are tolerated
only. Some of the auction rooms are
| very handsomely fitted up and decorat-
ed with rugs and bric-a-brac in a way
calculated to make some of the GUS
toners Jealous and give ideas on the SUBJ
Ject of ornamentation to all. They are
dc6 doxy It,xv
men. but the women buyers are pre-
ferred and are in the. majority. AS a
rule they are women without household
| cares or duties, who are tired of their
ordinary occupations and are looking for
| new sensations. Some are experienced
and skilled hunters after bric-a-brac and
| such things that are worth having and
they snap up the prizes eagerly Toward
o'clock men begin to drop in on their
| way home from business. Some men are
buying on their oo%if account. while
others are husbands or friends Of the
auction women.
THE AUC1NONEER'S MANNER.
The auctioneer furnishes support to
the theory that women like to be bullied
He bullies his customers. He roars al
them and bluffs them and bullyrags
them, but only enough to keep their in
terest excited. Most of the time he holds
their attention simply by acting as q
low comedian. His reward for amusing
and occasionally knocking down lots tc
them is their implicit confidence and un.
swerving faith in this, the hour of his
tribulation. To the professional expires.
sion of despair on his face he adds
anguish, patience. injured innocence
virtuouS indignation and a dozen Other
sentiments, as he tells Of the wickedness
of the Association for the Suppression
| of Fraudulent Auctions and its persecu
tion The simple faith of the womer
breaks out In cries of They're Jealous
of you, Mr. Smith. That's why they de-
it,! and they really believe what they
say.
1t is really necessary that he should
bully the women occasionally If the auc
tion is to go on. AS has been said, it il
easy to hear plenty OF condolences In the
rooms. That is because the women who
are regular attendants get to recogniz,
one another and grow. chatty. They
learn the varied objects that bring then
to the place and the special lines OF
which one and another makes purchases
They are constantly called upon to as
sist one another with advice. The ole
hands like to encourage newcomers b,
telling them all about themselves ant
everybody else. . .t,.,
THAT is Mrs. Blank" the old hand tell
the newcomer, naming, the sister Of on,
Of the foremost men in New York. He,
meaning the auctioneer, "lets her hav,
everything she bids on. She is one o
his best customers. She buys everything
| Oh, she must have spent thousands o
dollars here. She has a great big hous,
| up on Fifth avenue, and she pulls up tn.
window curtains SO that people can se
the things in the windows. People cal
it the junk shop. She is filling il, film,
it. filing 1t with things, You can hardl.
walk across the floor. She'll invite yol
up to see 1t after you've been comm,
here for a little while and she gets t
know YOU" ae To-
The women do invite one another t
visit their houses and inspect the &C
| cumulated purchases at the auction
rooms Some of them are very rich, lix
| Mrs. Blank, and seem to buy things sim
ply because going to auctions is the mos
exciting use they can find for their tim
IN the afternoon. They are certainly hav
| ing plenty Of fun for their money i
these days, thanks to the efforts of tn
Association for the Suppression O
Fraudulent Auctions Excitement ha
been added to the bidding, the spice O
gambling and the continuous variet
performance of the auctioneer. Thus o.
one occasion IN one auction room tn
J | auctioneer objected to the presence of a
| agent of the association.w who was takin
notes of everything that was said O