The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1905-04-22
The Lottery of a Big Auction Sale
Mrs. c. R. Miller IN Leslie's Weekly.

Mrs. c. r. Miller IN Leslies Weekly.
An auction sale of the unclaimed freight
of Il big railroad is an interesting sight.
With the present improved methods Of
tracing lost articles and the splendid ma
chinery adopted by the up-to date trans
portation companies in shipping freight,
one might at first blush wonder how so
many articles 90 astray But when one
takes into consideration the great mileage
of trunk line railway, the millions Of
pieces carried by it, Of every conceivable
variety aud value, and the rush and hustle
of the American people, it is rather aston
iShing that such Il small percentage fails
to reach Its destination The motley crowd
that gathers at these sales is by no means
the least interesting feature The ubiqui-
tous bargain hunter is there, inspired by
no other motive than the qualification of his
morbid desire TO get something cheap. Then
there is another class Of people whose only
object is to speculate upon the hidden con
tents of the packages, boxes, etc On the
whole, it is a good natured lot, often vying
with each other in the bidding aud in this
way many things bring several times their
real value
Recently the Baltimore and Ohio Rail
road one of the largest carriers Of freight
in the United States, sold the unclaimed
articles in its custody at its most spacious
warehouse, at Locust Point, Baltimore.
Some idea of the extent of the sale NAV be
formed from the fact over eight quarts Of
paste were used in labelling the pieces to
be sold The articles disposed Of were
freight which had been kept for six months
at various points along the road and which
had not been called for After the lapse
of that time they were shipped to Balti-
more and sold at auction 4 large num-
Der Of the things on sale had been refused
by people to whom they were consigned
because they were either broken in trans
porta;ion or did not suit the buyer In the
latter ease the sender Is notified, and ia
many instances he refuses 10 take back his
goods. Sometimes a lawsuit between the
cousignor and oonsignee follows, snd in the
meantime the railroad sells the article. and
il IS generally worn out before the ease IS
settled by the courts.
At the sale just held ;, 600 lots were
advertised. This does not mean 5000
pieces, as one lot may contain any number,
For instance. 100 barrels of glucose were
sold in lump and brought $3.50. A crate
oi imported German Saussses, which looked
ike little legs Of pe,riied wood, was dis
posed Of with a box Of glass disks for elec
tricai machines The purchaser Of this lot
q; once presented the saasages to- German
saloou keeper, who said he would use them
ON his iree-luueh counter One man paid
81 for box Of worm eaten dried apples,
and another bought broken pump for So
\ barrel of what was supposed TO contain or
binary glass was Knocked down for s.. and
when openel about S200 worth Of cut
glass was found The oddest thing in the
sale was az immense concrete tomb, such
as is rarely used at the present time Ii
weighed >, eco pounds and was valued at
$50, bat it vas found to be imperfect and
the consignee refused te receive it. Twen
ty-fve ccuts was paid for this, and the
purchaser wiIl use it as Watering troagh
for horses.
Unlike similar sales conducted by ex-
press companies, the purchaser has some
little idea Of what he is buying, as many
of the articles are in open crates In ad-
diGion to the freight, the railroad sold 500
lots Of unclaimed baggage, which included
|, 500 pieces Here was the opportunity
for sport and gamble as the packages
we're unopened The uncertainty Of the
contents lent much interest TO the bidding,
which was spirited The second hand
clothing dealers were at their best here,
and one Of them purchased 10 trunks.
The smaller baggage, such as Is left on
ferry boats and in the coaches, was sold in
loss, and although buyers were requested
not 10 open them in the warehouse, yet
the curiosity Of some led to the breaking Of
the rules and several pieces were examined
Immediately. 0ne young man paid 50. %
for an old trunk, the contents Of which
we're two postalear,ls and a filthy suit Of
workman clothes Another found moth
ing but pair Of old shoes A woman
purchased rough looking travelling bag
fer seventy five cents, only to find that if
she would make use Of the contents it would
be necessary for her to become horse
doctor. A second hand clothing dealer
invested fifty cents in canvas bag and
found a new calico dress, eight aprons, and
a lot of toilet articles
The buyers were not all Baitimoreans,
aud those from oEt Of town packed their
goods in a car Just outside the warehouse.
Many of the purchasers brought lunch, as
the sale began at 10 a. IN, and the genial
auctioueer, who is also the clerk Of the
Criminal Court Of Baltimore, talked with
out iniermissi0n or even a glass Of water
until FIVE o clock in the evening, The sale
lasted four days and the proceeds amounted
to more than $40, 600. the bill Of one buyer
alone being 5000 The terms were strict
Is cash and nothing could be removed until
every article was sold. The day after the
sale draws and wagons Of every description
were pressed into service for removing the
purchases. They could be seen vending
their way single file between the hundreds
of ears which are always congested at Lo-
Gust Point, the main freight yard Of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, aud the
largest shipping point south of Mason and
Dixon line