Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-11-21
FARMERS AUCTIONS.
Busy Times in Rural Kansas Just
Now.

FAhmGno NV
Busy Times in Rural Kansas Just
Now.
This is the public sale season in the
farming and grazing counties In
southern Kansas, and every day the
lusty voice of the auctioneer Is heard
CRYING the sales. The attendance at
these sales is large and the most OF
the purchases are paid for In cash
because the farmers lose no oppor-
tunity to take advantage Of the cash
discounts offered. At one sale near
here a few days ago Of a total OF
$500 of sales $4,000 was paid In
cash. At another s1,1OO Of $1,000 was
cash. These are typical Of what Is
going on all over southern Kansas
now. for there are few farmers who
go to public sales without their
check books.
Cattle form the basis of most OF
the sales; but almost everything else
that can be sold goes in with them.
1t is a motley collection Of articles
that appears at most Of the sales.
This miscellaneous stuff Is grouped
under the rather indiscriminate term
Of too numerous to mention No
other appellation would suit as we'll.
1t often embraces the surplus OF
whole neighborhood, which has taken
the advantage of the opportunity to
sell to each other. The purchasers
who are beyond the confines Of the
immediate locality are those attracted
by the cattle or horses or mules, but
never by the junk labelled, too nu-
merous to mention"
This broad and Indefinite term Of
ten includes everything from the
cast off harness of the stable to the
surplus canned fruit of the faithful
farmwife Sometimes it has a pa
thetic tinge, for there have been sales
In every locality where old family
keep sakes and heirlooms have been
parted with-sometimes on account
of the sharp demand for the trifling
price that they bring; sometimes be-
cause a journey into a far and dis
tant country makes 1t impracticable
for them to take them along. Tears
are not infrequent at these public
sales when a faithful horse passes in
to strange hands, or perhaps the mod
est furniture that has surrounded a
whole lifetime Is ruthlessly knocked
down" to the highest bidder.
Auctioneering a sale is in itself
science, and the farmer or stockman
selects his auctioneer with as much
care as he would family physician.
A bad auctioneer can cost the seller
hundreds of dollars, while the buyers
reap the harvest. 1t Is the hardest
thing on earth for a new auctioneer
to get a foot hold in the country, be-
cause no one will trust him. They
are afraid they will fall down" on
selling the stuff, and after 1t is once
advertised to be sold to the highest
bidder there is no recourse. 1t must
go when the auctioneer Justify sweeps
all before him with his third and
last call, and sold" Unless he has
the magic power to boost the prices
everything will go cheap. and the
farmer is the loser. The auctioneer
gets for his work one per cent. on all
sales aggregating more than $1,000.
Under this amount he gets SO any
how. This fee often gives him from
$50 to $50 for his days work. A clerk
goes along to list the sales, make the
settlements and to fill out the notes.
He, too, is well paid, and often gets
the same per cent. as the auctioneer.
but seldom less than $40 for the sale.
Most of the sales are settled for
when not paid in cash. by non-inter-
est bearing notes, provided the note
is paid when it becomes due. If it is
not then paid it draws ten per cent.
from the date Of the sale. These
notes are taken to the local banks and
discounted and thus the farmer gets
cash for practically everything he has
sold. He gives purchasers a dis
count of one per cent. a month for
cash. If the sales notes run ten
months the cash discount is ten per
cent Small sums are nearly always
required in cash. regardless Of dis
count.
The sale season comes in the fall,
lecause most OF the farm leases ex-
pire early In the new year, and those
who have to move are getting ready
to do it now. Many of the sales are
those of farmers who are retiring and
moving to the county seats to spend
their later years in rest.
Socially the public sales are i'm
portant events in the country neigh
borhoods The families come from 8
or 10 miles around and while the
"men folks" find plenty of entertain
ment at the sale itself, the women are
by no means idle. While the auction
eer is waving his whip out over the
live stock where the men are bidding.
the women of the neighborhood are
preparing the noon meal (unless this
has been turned over to lunch stand
mani, and at IL o'clock all gather in
picnic fashion and eat and take an
hours rest Then for once the auc-
tioneer's voice is stiled.-Kansas City
Star.
WHAT BEvERIDGE's LAUGH Cost
THE direction of my career was COM
pletely changed" said United States
Senator Albert j. Beveridge. "by a
careless laugh When I was a youth