The Indianapolis journal., 1901-07-09
BACK TO THE OLD FARM
MEMORY STIRRED BY SCENES AT
BATES HOUSE AUCTION SALE.
virtuous Indignation of Mr.. Shank
that Decent Prices Were Not
OHered UnhesftatingIy.

and that attended the opening OF the auc-
ton of the furniture of the Bates House
yesterday could not but be carried back to
the scene at the selling out of farm. The
difference was that at the country sale the
auctioneer approached his victims individ-
ually, reproaching Dave Smith or Ben
Jones in a personal way. calling upon each
by name. to recognize the justice of his
statement that this plow or that harrow is
worth at least six bits. while Auctioneer
shank-whose name, by the way. also car
ries with IL rural suggestion-appealed TO
the mass of men and women packed about
him in the hotel not to be narrow-minded
and niggardly in their offerings for beds.
chairs. tables, carpets and gas fixtures
The auctioneer's manner, his style in the
Of words. which was of the David
Harum class. and certain characteristics of
his audience stirred up the memory of the
country-bred person. Mr.. Shank is a tall.
strongly-built young man. with an omnipo-
tent voice and commanding presence.
He moved from room 10 room Of the hotel
all day yesterday and shouted continuously,
and when evening came his tones were as
fresh as when he began in the morning
and his manner vigorous. The
crowd that followed him and absorbed his
burning words was composed partly of con-
ventional secondhand dealers. but mostly
of men and women OF varied personalities
attracted by the glamour of the bargain.
The auction fever, powerfully insidous.
was In the air, permeated every room of
the oid hotel now being disnantled to make
way for the new Claypool Hotel. The
women In the crowd were especially eager,
and they tagged after the auctioneer as If
he were throwing away gold pieces.
SATISFIED THEIR CURIOSITY.
Most of the people were strangers to the
Bates House, and they looked about them
curiously. examining the paper the
walls, the stair-railings. the arrangement
Of the rooms. and wandering far through
the corridors as If romance lurked in the
dark corners. There was no romance about
the auctioneer. Now, listen TO me. folks"
he cried. This furniture is dirt cheap
Look at this gas fixture. Who'll give me
so cents for it? Fifty cents is bid. Who'll
give me 60?' The gas fixture sold. he
turned to dresser. IF somebody doesn't
offer decent price for this dresser I'll buy
II In myself, just to sell it again" He
mounted bed and stood on a mattress
NOW, here's a fine hair mattress that you
| can't buy new for less than $l2 and the iron
| bedstead is worth Sc. Now look here
ladies', l. m not going to play here with you;
haven't got time. Offer a decent price for
| THIS bed without fooling.''
Henry Lawrence, proprietor of the hotel,
also had the fever. He moved about in the
crowd, earnestly taking part in the contro-
versy. Let me tell you something" he
shouted TO a group of women absorbed i'm
| the sale. I'm still in the hotel business,
and IL you don't give decent prices for this
stun Ill take 1T myself l dare anyone TO
| say that this mattress amt worth sl2 new"
uha Hes ,ao, right, R Rpiped an elderly woman
in and left her horse at the Checkered
barn while she attended the sale, and from
whose face enthusiasm and honesty radi-
ated as rays from the sun; hes right. l
! bought mattress for my sons bed and
paid eleven dollars an half for it an il
warnt nearlys good a mattress Is that
there The secondhand dealers and all
| the rest of the crowd listened to her re-
| spectfully and some nodded their heads
Auctioneer Shank beamed down on her ap-
provingly from his eminence on the mat
| treSs.
| SHANK SNUBBED ROMANCE.
No, there was no romance about the auc-
tioneer. He did not call attention to the
fact that on this brass bed may have re-
posed the handsomest woman that ever
| sang a Juvenile part in comic opera and
who lay on it to rest after performance,
| imparting TO the bed the poetry of the
music and the footlights and her artistic
! personality and thereby heightening the
value of the bed immeasuraby. Mr. Shank
|
| the leading politicians of the country may
| have sat while he issued instructions as to
| the way Indiana should be handled in the
| approa ching presidential campaign. Mr..
| Shank did not say that more than likely
| on this table a millionaire wrote a check
| for $4,000 TO send home to his wife to buy
| the childrens summer clothes with He did
| not appraise higher this Brussels carpet
| because Edwin Booth, Charlotte Cushman,
| John L. Sullivan or Edna May probably
| walked on ii while going TO or returning
| from the theater.
Late in the afternoon, Mr.. Shank ex-
| planned in a confidential roar to the crowd
We'll quit till tomorrow, now, folks just
| as soon as we go downstairs and sell lady
folding bed. Come on He led the way
| TO the second floor and down dark corri-
| dor until he came to a walnut folding bed
standing against wall. Here's a bed"
it amt scratched. Where's the lady that
| wanted folding bed. | guess she's gone
| No, here she comes. Here you are, lady,
| fine, walnut, folding bed. Well start it off
| at s11''
The woman conferred anxiously with her
| friends, and then appealed TO Mr.. Shank.
| who told her as If he had been an old
| friend of her family and was looking out
worth at least sl2. She bought it at sl3
Mr.. Shank and his audience reluctantly
| quit work for the day, each apparently
| struggling with a desire to keep up the
| fascinating occupation through the night.
| The sale will be resumed this morning at
| o'clock.
Men that ought to know expressed the
opinion that the furniture was going cheap
ly and that the bargains were real. There
was no lack of buyers yesterday and il will
| take very few days to clean out the house
| When an article is sold, il is numbered
and moved down to the lobby. where the
| purchaser takes ii up and bears IT. off a
soon as he may.