The Washington herald., 1909-05-02

ana neaGSIGneS was offered for sale II
the graveyard OF ST. Peters Church. fn
the Bronx, New York. Another odd suc-
ton sale was that which disposed OF tbs
battlefield Of Gains Mi. near Cold Har-
Dor. whers StoneEau Jackson met ths
Union army in 1862
Not long age the Basingstoke Canal. in
England thirty-seven miles long. with
rwenty-nine locks and an annual revs-
hue OF S25,Oe5 was offered for sale AZ
auction Perhaps the only instance OF an
entirs village coming under the hammer
was that Of Winthrop Harbor. near
Dowie's famous Zion City, Ill. which Is
saic 70 have been bought 5y agents OF
the now deceased prophet. Some years
ago a NeT Jersey man purchased two
ponds at auction, and made q osst for
tune from chalk deposits found 10 ths
oeo OF the ponas. A number Of railroads
nave been sold at auction, perhaps ths
most notable Instance occurring 81 Isss
when the Union Pacific. between Omaha
and Ogden, was sold by order OF TIA
United States government, bringing &s.-
000. 900.
The government frequently patronfzss
the aUctioneer IN war tima captured
prizes are sold at auction. In the piping
times OF peace imports On which Gus
toms duties are not paid are sold al auc-
ton, as are also obsolete naval vessels.
and old furniture and other junk that
sccumulat-s In the Capitol and depart
ment buildings Not long ago a nunber
OF demijohns we're disposed OF ar q War
Department sale. Nobody explained how
they happened TO Be among the effects
Of the government, despite the anti-can-
teen law
The annual dead-letter auction IS a fea-
ture Of Washington life, and though
catalogues give a hint Of the contents of
letter and package. lot OF useless stuff
is grnerslly bought for the fun OF the
thing. The "oId hoss' sales OF express
companies in many cities dispose OF the
unclaimed packages. and as It Is buy
1 ing pig IN a poke game. there Is much
fun attached 10 such auctions. Where
one man may bic il e package for a
song and find that Il contains vaIuabls
1eWelry, another may pay much for q
large box. 10 ind II holds 2 rusty pIow
shares
Auctioneers, Ike the members OF every
other profession, are specializing There
arc many real estate aucroneers, sspe-
cially IN the large cities Unique among
these IS q Massachusetts, man. who fol-
lows the so-caIIed "speeder" plan, which
IS said 10 have been invented BY his faith
eT. CEder this system q piece OF land
Is divided into several parcels. Bids are
solicited alternately upon the plot as z
Whole and upon each parcel. and II IS
sold together or il parts, whichever way
II viii bring the most money.
IN the West livestock auctioneerirg
IS 2 popular and lucrative branch OF the
business Some suctioneers desl particJ-
larry IN furniture. antiques. curfos. and
art objects New York and Washington
are fertile fields for these specialists IN
! the latter city there IS g constant stream
of government officials and others COZ
I ing and going. who furnish houses when
they arrive and sell out az auction when
/ they depart Articles belonging to *
/ President Roosevelt and 10 the Persian
/ Minister we're recently sold there. There
are Weii-knOTl auctions periodically IN
New York Of books. stamps. coins. rugs.
&C One London firm has been conduct
/ ing hook auctions for over a century
In New York several auctiCneers con
duct clearing houses OF insolvency and
do q business aggTeEating over s.. .ala 90
q year in unredeemed pledges OF pawn
shops IN Australia and New Zealand
wool Is auctioned regularly IN Sunatra
the coffee crop is marketed in that wa.
In London there ar auctions from tine
70 tine OF hides. skins. leather. horns.
bones. JailoT. lumber. and other pro-
ducts. AT Dutch auction. so-calIed. the
aUctioleeT begins by naming a high P-ice
and gradually reducing i until he reaches
q figure which somebody is willing %
give
Auctioneers are subject 10 licenses and
other governmental regulations almost
( everywhere They are paid on q com
mission basis The prices o5tainfd for
various arriCi@s vary greatly with the
personality OF tie suct!Oneer, his method
OF advertising, the locality and season OF
the sale. the temper OF MS audience, and
other conditions. Sometimes a thing
brings more at auction than i would at
private sale Then again something val
liable goes for a mere song. In England
there is an Auctionesrs Institute with
q membership OF SO There Is also a
quarterly magazine published quoting
auction prices obtained for ali sorts oS
things IN New York, London, Paris, and
Berlin.
There IS an old theory that an auc-
tiCneer, Ike a poet. Is born. not made;
but that does not seem TO be horne out
By the facts. Some years ago John 7.
Graham. OF Des MOines. Iowa. started
the first school Of auctioneering. from
which knights OF the hammer were
turned out after a four weeks course
During that tine they were taught the
ethics OF the profession. voice culture
how 70 act, and what 10 say under almost
every conceivable Circumstance. and Other
useful knowledge, which was epitomizsd
under the heading Of ffty-elght sugges-
tons While education does much. nat
ira talent counts for a great deal also.
as do experience and heredity There
have been many families OF auctioleers.
Representative Greene, OF Nassa chusetts,
belongs 70 one Of them His father start
ed business az Nafchsz. Miss. IN IsSs The
Representative succeeded his sire. as
young Mr.. Greene VIII succeed the pres
ent head OF the firm
During the Democratic flibustsr In the
House OF Representatives several years
ago. when there were roll calls on every
possible proposition, the voices Of the
reading clerks were worn out, and q
Capitol policeman, who was sn ex-auc-
tioneer, vas called 10 the rescue For
days his tireless fog-horn voice vas heard
from one end Of The Capitol to the other.
The qualifications % a good auctionee-
are many. An Ottawa authority sun
married. them as follows: he must be
strictly temperate. moderately honest and
I'D to date" In addition 70 these cuaIi-
ncationS. he should have good health. the
gift OK gab.' pleasant voice. q fine
presence. and a knowledge OF languages:
be an excellent judge OF human nature,
vel informed about the things he sells,
Eood-Iempered- and quick-witsed: alto
gether the smarteSt man in the world,
as one admtrer Of ths profession saws
He must have a sort OF hypnotic power
X he would emulate the man who Induced
street-sweePer 70 buy base viol. which
the disguised laborer later broke into
klndling wood The Ideal knight OF the
hammer plays upon the feelings o. his
customers as q successful adrocste sways