The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-05-02


vas country wide for Washington relics
al auction are quite rare. The special
sale was held IN due time. the property OF
the old Magruder estate-an Old family
homestead near Mount Nernon-being dis
posed Of. There was much fine furniture
and furnishings. and some Of IL brought
3 )0d prices, especially those articles that
had been obtained by the Magruders from
the Mount Vernon estate.
Many OF the prospective buyers were
disappointed. however, because al the
eleventh hour Il was announced that the
| Washington cradle and mirror had been
| withdrawn Those articles are held by
representative of the MagrudeT estate IL
Washington. with a view TO letting con-
gress purchase them for the national mu-
scum, as IS proposed in a bill recently in
| uOduced in the house Of representatives.
That was one case where the auctioneeT
was deprived Of the opportunity TO maxi
good He has r-ade good in so many
other cases. no ~ever, that one fsilurs
should not be counted against him. when,
in fact, he is one Of the most popular and
successful members OF the community.
His business once discredited. is now rec
ognized as one Of the fine, as well as use
fJl arts-the art of persuasion il has
been aptiy called.
The aUctioneer can point with pride 10
I the long and honorable history Of his pro-
f=ssiOn- Some authorities trace that mis-
tory back almost 10 the days Of Noah and
Adam, and IL is certain that the profess
SION is much older than Methuselah. The
first recorded .uction, according to Jo-
saphius. occurred when the children OF
Israel captured q certain city. and after
lOOting it, sold their plumber at public
/ "Outcry-' According 10 another author
i.y. when Abraham bought the cave OF
Alachpelah for 40 shekeis Of silver the
transaction was made by auction Later
I.aban is said to nave sold Rachel TO ia
cob at auction, the price being certain
services on Jacobs part. which. accord
ing 70 tradition. he failed TO perform.
Within the last seventy-five years the
sCctiOneering profession in the United
States has advanced enormously in the
amount and character of the business
transacted. as well as in the improved
standing OF the profession among the peo-
PIE generally. Early in the last century
there was great opposition to auctions
and auCtiOac5-s, which eliminated IN
ISIS. when a petition to congress was
signed by a number of New York mer-
chants urging that the government inn
Jose a heavy tax on the aUctiOneering
business, with a view to destroying il al
! together. At that time the New York
sUctioneers dealt largely in imported
goods. and they were charged with de-
mOralizing the market and with other
more or less heinous offenses. They re
piled to these charges in a memorial to
congress TO such good purpose that they
were not taxed to death
Since then the usefulness and activity OF
auctiOneers has increased until today the
demand far exceeds the supply. In the
panic period from 1873 to 1873 when many
business failures occurred. auctiOneerS
were constantly occupied closing out in
solvent firms etc. on that account. and
because the auctiOneer is frequently called
in to settle an estate after the death Of
an owner. some people have an idea that
he auction ser is a sort of vulture. On the
contrary, he is generally admitted 10 DC
a benefactor TO the race. He usually sells
.hings in the fairest possible way and af-
lords people a chance to buy at their own
3 Hnea~- 4s,ns-
Is worth, that is not the auctioneers fault
The boast OF the profession, as an Iowa
auctiOneer said in an advertisement not
eng ago. is that it makes sales Of any
thing anywhere this side of the celectial
realm A glance at a few recent auc-
lions shows this to be true. A cemetery
y as sold not long ago 70 a Pennsylvania
nan, who wished TO utilize il as a private
ourying ground. A choice assortment of
Did tombstones. grave rails and head
stones was offered for sale in the grave
yard OF St. Peters church. in the Bronx.
New York Another odd auction sale was
that which disposed Of the battlefield OF
Gains mill. near Cold Harbor, where
StonewaI jackson met the Union army IN
ls62
Not long ago the Basingstoke canal in
England. thirty-seven miles long with
twenty-nine locks and an annual revenue
of $4,000 was offered for sale at auction.
Perhaps the only instance of an entire
village coming under the hammer was
Z s
famous Zion City. ILL.,, which is said to
have been bought by agents Of the now
deceased prophet. Some years ago a
New Jersey man purchased two ponds at
auction and made a neat fortune from
chalk deposits found in the I'D of the
ponds. A number Of railroads have been
sold at auction, perhaps the most notable
instance occurring in 1898. when the Union
/ Pacific between Omaha and Ogden was
sold by order Of the United States gov
eminent, bringing S5S,01O,000
The government frequently patronizes
Z the auctiOneer. In wartime captured
prizes are sold at auction. In the piping
times OF peace IMPORTS on which customs
duties are not paid are sold at auction, as
are also obsolete naval vessels and old
furniture and other junk that accumu-
lates in the capitol and department build
ings- Not long ago a number Of demi-
johns were disposed of at a war depart
ment sale. Nobody explained how they
happened to be among the effects of the
government. despite the anti-canteen law.
Ine annual CedQ-lettsr auction is q fea-
ture of Washington life. and though cat
alOgues give q hint of the contents of
letter and package. a lot Of useless stuff
Is generally bought for the fun Of the
thing. The 'Old boss sales of express
. companies I'm many cities dispose Of the
unclaimed packa yes. and as Il Is ''buvine
q pig IL a poke" game, there is much fun
attached 70 such auctions. Where one
man may BID in package for a song and
find that il contains valuable jewelry an
other may pay much for a large box to
find it holds rusty ploughshares.
AucUonecrs. like the members Of every
other profession, are specializing. There
are many real estate auctioneers. espe-
chilly in the large cities Unique among
these IS Massachusetts man. who fol-
lows the sO-cailed "speeder'' plan which
is said TO have been invented by his ia
Their. Under this system piece of land
is divided into several parcels Bids are
solicited alternately upon the plot as
whole and upon each parcel and II is sold
all together or I'm parts. whichever way
il will bring the most money.
In the west livestock auCtiOneerinZ is q
popular and lucrative branch Of the bust
ness. Some auctiO1eers deal particular
" I'm furniture, antiques. curios and art
objects.
New York and Washington are fertile
fields for these specialties. In the latter
city there IS a constant stream of gov
eminent officials and others coming and
going, who furnish houses when they
arrive and sell out at auction when they
depart. Articles belonging 20 ex-Presi-
dent Roosevelt and to the Persian minis
ter were recently spld there. There arc
wei known auctions periodically in New
York Of hooks stamps. coins rugs. etc
One London firm has been conducting
book sIctions for over a century
In New York several al1ctioneerS con-
duct clearing houses Of insolvency and
do a business aEsregating over 81 Co 90
q year IN unreGeened pledges Of pawn
shops In Australia and New Zealand