Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-12-23
THE PUBLIC AUCTION
George Thayer Tells Of the Eel
low Who Wanted to Buy
Some Sheep
EVERYBODY GOES TO THE SALES
The Market Day Sale Has About Run
Its Length for the Reserved Price
Prevents Interest Necessary for Ac-
tive Biddns-RuraI Observations of
Traveller.
Special to Times-Republican.


Tama, Dec. 23.-Pick up country
weekly, go into the lobby of the post
office, or look on the walls of livery
barn, nothing confronts you except no
tees of public sales. The crops have
been gathered. Here is one who has
decided to give up farming and move
to town. There is another who does
not like the climate and is going to try
California. Here is one whose hus-
band has died and the widow does not
care to continue the farm with hired
help and then comes the renter who is
going to move in the spring. He
either does not want to move his stuff
or has to have the money to pay his
rent No effort is made as q rule to
dispose of his goods at private sale
He goes to the newspaper office and
gets his bills which includes a notice
in the weekly and offers everything at
public auction. He has NO fear that 1t
will not be sold or that it will not bring
full value.
This fall has been fine for this work
since corn husking, good roads and no
snow, and the result is a great many
early sales and everybody attending.
Here they meet friends, learn prices
that are prevailing and last of all and
not least is the free lunch which is
served at noon. In every town there
is a number of people whom you viii
sec at every sale, who. Were they to
I'LL 1,tv
home.
A few days ago I attended a sale
which was a closing out sale. While
selling the machinery the people who
were looking for horses We're looking
them over. The same was true of
those wanting cows, hogs and sheep
and as wandered around among them
I found they were not looking entirely
at the stock but also at the other fell
low In fact getting a line on whom
they We're to bid against. AT this sale
there was to be sold forty-four sheep.
They had generally intended selling
them in punches of six but there We're
SO many evident buyers, they sold
them eleven head in bunch, and
their wisdom was shown by the result.
When the first bunch was brought out,
the auctioneer announced they were
the finest sheep in the county. I hap
pened to be standing next to far
mer who is a sheep man. He grinned
and his neighbor said: Not as good
as yours are they?" The bidding was
not very brisk until they reached Sc.
Then my friend began to look around
to see who was his competitor, only to
find him a stranger. The bidding went
I'D 25 cents more at time until 1T
reached 81, about their value then.
Then came spell where Mr. Auc-
tioneer again dwelt on quality and
urged for another quarter. Then fol-
lowing conversation took place between
two farmers, "who is he?" wonder if he
will stand another bid? ETC., finally ne
offered the quarter and got them, much
to his surprise as the stranger quit, so
it went until the last bunch, the strang
er bidder every time, it was evident
that he wanted sheep. l wandered
around to where he was standing, with
his hat pulled down over his eyes,
cigar in his mouth at an angle OF 40
degrees, and blood in his eye. He
started the bunch at seven dollars, evil
IDENTIFY trying to scare the rest out, put
someone came back with seven fifty,
but the stranger was game and finally
got them at nine dollars
He said with a great snapI1 came
here to buy some sheep and would be
d If would go home without
them.
An innovation from the usual sales
is the sale days which have been in
troduced in the last few years. day
is set aside, usually in town where any
one can bring in anything he don't
need and 1T will be sold. 1t has result
ed in clearing up many farms of unde-
sirable stuff, but in many places it has
been run largely into horse sale. The
only difference from ordinary sales is
that you put reserve price and if you
don't get your price there is no sale,
which has made lots of work and very
little profit, and now different livery
barns are running opposition sales. AT
Nevada this week this occurred. This
market day sale is not as popular as it
was and it. is only question of time
until it will pass into memory.
GEORGE THAYER.