Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1907-03-23
AUCTIONEERS' SCHOOL.
Going, Going, Gomez to Be
Heard Often In Macon.
THE FIELD NOT ovERoRowpEp.

Real Good Auctioneer,s. Services WIZ
he More In Demand Than Those of
HArss Class Lawyer, Says Colonel
Willard GrOss--CryinE Wares and
Persundtng Unwilling TO buy n Fine
Art, He Claims.
Colonel Willard Gross, a veteran aue-
uoneer, who has for long time been
engaged In crying stock sales at the
st. Louis, Kansas City and st. Joseph
markets, has moved to Macon, Mo-, and
Is making arrangements to establish
school for auctioneers there, writes q
Macon correspondent Of the Kansas
City Star.
1t Is not by any means a fanciful
scheme, but practical business prop
osltion. Colonel Gross has achieved a
wide reputation by his success In sell
Ing blooded stock as we'll as the nfe-
rior grades and commands the highest
wage paid any auctioneer In the mid
die west for that class of work. He
will flt up a large auditorium, where
he will drill his pupils and will In fine
weather take them out on a ten acre
lot for them to exercise their vocal
organs against Gods pure air.
There Is as much art in the auction
eer business as any other profession a
man can follow" said Colonel Gross.
You couldn't cry sale and get the
people so much enthused that they
VIII pay good prices unless you proceed
on q method. Your enunclatlon must
be good, your health perfect aud your
belief In your influence over humanity
must amount to an absolute convic-
ton.
Some auctioneers could get good fig
ures for lot of stuff that would only
be marketable otherwise to the junk
dealer. Others would fall In realizing
fair prices for the contents of palace
Mesmerlsm, personal influence, or
whatever you please to call 1t, must
center into the life work of the success
full auctloneeer. l am getting out u
textbook containing a number of wit
ticisms more or less original and other
devices for the man who Is ambitious
to succeed In this line. OF course moth
Ing can take the place of personal In
struction. | will not claim to make a
good auctioneer out of every applicant,
but am certain that | can develop a
pretty fair article out of every pupil |
accept.
ut Is Il profession that Is not now
and never will be overcrowded. A real
good auctioneer will have more of a
demand for his services and have a
wider territory to cover In response to
his calls than a first class lawyer, and
he will make more money.
"The auctloneer requires much the
same talent as the preacher does. Both
must be strong voiced, self confident
and dreadfully in earnest. Yes, | be-
lleve a course In our school would be
beneficial to the man who wants to
auctioneer. We teach elocutlon, the
choice of words and to be short and
terse In language.
The auctloneer must be honest.
With all his skylarking and fun he
must realize that there is no greater
sin than to deceive customer. If he
sells shoddy goods he must not war
rant them for the genuine article. Men
buy from the auctioneer. not the owner
Of the goods. The man who cries the
sale is the one who gives the war
ranty. The conscientious auctloneer
demands of his employer that he rep
resent his goods to him faithfully, and
he stipulateS In the contract that any
thing sold not up to the description
must be returned and the money re-
funded.
''In the country the demand Is ever
increasing for capable men to cry
stock sales and the sales of farming
implements, etc. But in the cities the
business handled covers a much wider
range. including every class of mer-
chandlse and manufactured articles,
jewelry stock household goods. city
lots and other things.
"Of course school to teach auction
eerlng Is something new In this state.
and don't know how 1t will turn out,
but | am confident that with our
course we can give almost any person
of average intelligence. man or woman.
an education that will put him In the
way OF making more dollars than he
ever made before"