davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16
His Honor

<SCOME men," said Andrew Carnegie,
- at a dinner at his New York house,
'.have very queer ideas of honor.
81 was once riding from Pittsburg TO
Philadelphia In the smoking compartment
of a Pullman. There were perhaps six of
us in the compartment, smoking and
reading. All Of a sudden a door banged,
and the conductors voice cried:
"'All tickets. please"
"Then one of the men in the compart-
ment leaped to his feet. scanned the faces
of the rest of us, and said, slowly and
impressively:
Gentlemen. l trust to your HONOR
And he Owed under the seat and IT,
manned there in a small silent knot taa
the conductor was safely gone"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16
WASHINGTON Has

wv WASHINGTON Has a
wv Number of Auction
Rooms Where All Glasses of
People Throng to Purchase
Relics-Collectors of Curios
Find Many Bargains = Vast
Estates Have Been Sold I'm
der the Hammer. AS Well AS
Valuable Household Goods
MANY Customers Have Fads
for Attending the Sales in
This City.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16

more help attending every auction saie
advertised than could the confirmed dope
1iend' eschew his cocaine. Then there
are others who haunt the Sign of the
flag and bell in pursuit of hobbies Tor
collecting certain articles.
The sources from which the auctioneers
draw their goods are as many and varied
as the goods themselves. Washington
presents perhaps as great a field for the
art auction and the sale OF antiques as
New York or even some of the conti-
mental capitals, because of its heteroge-
neous citizenship. Diplomats who have
exquisite and exclusive In handiwork are
recalled: senator's and representatives
whose terms have expired leave the capt.
tai and men of wealth and culture die
and leave their estates to be divided
So, on good authority, 1t has been said
that more of intrinsic value and of more
excellent taste may be found in many of
the Washington auctions than in those
of New York.
This being true. the sale by auction
with so much disfavor that respectable
persons would not be seen in auction
rooms has become an accepted medium for
the sale of certain classes of property.
In fact, the more exclusive and in
dividual the property, the more certain a
sale of it will be at auction. And many
famous sales have been held In Washing
ton. Among them were the goods of
LORD Baltimore. tnOSe or GOV. swami,
the Countess d Audigne. Millionaire David
ID. Cotton. Senior Don Luis F. Corea,
former minister from Nicaragua; the
Roosevelt stable. just prior to March 4.
1909: Frank r. Stockton. the author: the
Baroness Won Sternberg, Cen Sheridan,
David Rothschld. Nathaniel Mckay,
Senator William NJ. Stewart and so on
through long list of notables.
Within the next few weeks another
sale. in which many valuable art objects
will be offered. is scheduled in the dis
posal of the effects Of Mohammed Ali
Bey. the Turkish minister, who incon-
tinently fled this country at the time OF
the uprising of the Young Turks, some
thing more than year ago. Mohammed
figuratively speaking, took with him only
his tooth brush and clean collar when
he folded his tent. and left behind him
some of the rarest of Turkish rugs and
centers. besides other pieces Of oriental
handicraft.
And on the books of some of the auc-
tioneers OF Washington. as purchasers
appear such names as Mrs. Foraker, Ad
miral Logan. Max Weyl, the ar
fist: Admiral Pillsbury, Countess
Moltke. Mrs. Henderson, wife oil
Senator Henderson: Senator Lodge
whose hobby is the purchase of books
Mrs. Dewey. wife of Admiral Dewey: Mrs
Alfred c. Barney. Admiral kenney, Sen
ator Nixon, Senator and Mrs. Dolliver
who have purchased several valuable
rugs: Mrs. Mann and Representative
Bartlett.
Then. too, there are the government
auctions. of which the annual dead letter
office sale is perhaps the best example
This year it netted more than $11,00
n n
offers diversity OF articles as wide a.
the imagination. sold in sealed package:
by number, with the most incongruou!
objects commingled without regard Il
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16

of these are the larger percentage of auc-
tioneers. Yet some dealers even go
abroad to obtain goods for auction sales
OF the diversity Of objects there Is no
limit Cradles. church pews and even
collins, standing for the three greatest
things in life birth. religion and death.
have been knocked down under the
auctioneer's hammer In the Washington
auction rooms.
There are various kinds Of auctions,
ranging through the different classes OF
legitimate bidding sales to what Is
known to the calling as grinding shop
auctions. which have now fallen into
disrepute.
A grinding shop auction is one, ex-
planned an auctioneer the other day,
where number of dealers get together
with quantity of cheap goods. Fart OF
them act as bidders until bona -fide bid
ders entering the contest are caught be-
tween the auctioneer and his confeder-
ateS. who soar the prices, and are often
tieeced."
Government sales are usually attended
by a great number OF bidders. because
there are often opportunities to purchase
a chair or a desk. paper weight or Ink
stand which has been used by some IA
NOUS official or cabinet officer. and Oft
times articles which have seen use in
the White House have found their way
into government auctions. Then, too,
when regulations change in the army
worse for wear and some of them new
are sold, including equipment OF almost
every variety, tents. rations. etc.
Auctions are as old as the human race
itself. Motley writes Of auctions held In
the year IA. where carpets were disposed
Of at auction. The same author has also
mentioned sales which occurred at inter
walls up to the year 6s9 In 1895 Warner
speaks Of the auction of Menacchnas,
when will be sold slaves" and in 1895
Phillips speaks of an auction as max
ing a publick sale and selling goods by
outcry"; also, in the year $50. mention Is
made of having "auctioned off their con-
sciences to the ministerial bidder.
OF the modern auctions. there are many
which have become annual events. Three
times a year coffee is sold at Padang, the
chief port on the Island OF Sumatra. Al
Sydney. Australia, and Auckland, New
sold for many years. In London the
auction is a regular means of disposine
of goods. Hides. skins. leather, horns
bones and hoofs, tallow and all kinds
of lumber and timber, besides fruit and
other products. are thus sold. During tn,
business depression in the United State.
from 1873 to 1879 many wooden and cot
ton goods. carpets, boots and shoes, mat
tings and oilcloths fell under the auc
tioneer'S hammer.
Cases have been known when auction!
were conducted on such large scales tina
they seriously affected general trade ant
manufactures. One of these periods wa.
comparatively recent. occurring since the
panic of 1913.
Previous to the war of 1912 there wer,
but two or three auction houses in New
York At that time it was considered ;
discreditable mode of selling goods. ant
various devices were practiced to con
ceal the owners name. During the wa
of 1872 goods could not be imported di
rectly from Europe. therefore connine
through neutral channels or from Can
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16

HE bell. the ham,
mer and the red
flag. symbols al
most always OF ad-
versity, and always
Of the auction room.
have become more
and more an insti-
tuition commercial
il in the world.
From The thrice
yearly coffee auc-
lion al Pendans'
r
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16

low the Nation Is Re-
/ l organizing Its Educa-
tional System-School Books
for Four Hundred Millions
Big Money for Foreign
Publishers-China's Earliest
Printing Establishment and
It's Composing Rooms
Maps. Globes and Dumb
bells-With the Bindery Girls
Celestial Book Pirates
What the Missions Are Do
ing-Western Novels Among
the Celestials-The New AL
phabet-Chances for Ameri-
can Teachers.
Copyright, 1900. by Frank 6. Carpenter
special Correspondence Of The Star.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16

new learning. Wncn The system IS IN
full sway millions Of volumes Will he re
quired. and a present there IS practically
nothing in hand. Tie old text hooks de
scribe the earth ~ Tat, With China COW
.rinG the most - its surface and tic
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16

Scriptures. concordances and the western
classics. These people are pining for the
new learning; but they are unSpeakably
poor and cannot afford to buy books. The
Chinese women want them. In every
community clubs are already established
where the women come together weekly
or daily to gossip and talk. If they
could have such books they would be
educational movement might thus be in
stituted. AS to the Chinese TRANSACTIONS.
they are cheap. The concordance of the
Scriptures costs less than % cents gold.
and there are few books of any KIND that
sell as high as a dollar
I cite this conversation as A Sugges-
ton for some rich American who would
like to he known as the Carnegie OF
China.
The Inauguration of the new school
system and the new civilization is bring
Ing in TRANSACTIONS of the most popular
books of the western world. Today two
hundred and twenty-one novels. originally
written in English, French or German.
are in circulation. They have been
translated into Chinese, and the demand
for them is increasing. In one year fifty
seven such novels were issued. They in
Guided TRANSACTIONS of Uncle Tom
Cabin Jules Verne's Voyage to the
Moon" and Charles Lambs 'Tales From
Shakespeare" One of the most popular
of the new issues is Conan Doyle's Me
moirs of Sherlock J. Holmes" and an
other is Robinson Crusoe.'' Among
TRANSACTIONS from the French are LES
the most popular English stories are
''Ivanhoe'' and other novels of Sir Wal
ter Scott. Thesesworks are published on
cheap paper: they are sold by booksellers
in the various cities. some bringing
little as 10 cents apiece. One of the re-
cent TRANSACTIONS of this nation sold to
the extent Of 100000 copies. and that
within a year; another had circulation
20
In addition to novels. some heavy works,
such as Darwin's "Origin of Species"
Spencer's Evolution and Mills Essay
on Liberty" are being published, and the
new constitution has created a demand
for treatises on politics and parliamentary
law.
DR.. c. D. Tenney, formerly head of the
Chinese University at Tientsin, and now
the Chinese secretary OF our legation at
Picking, has published number of school
books. which are in general use, includ-
ing readers. primers and Biographies, and
Mr.. Wylie of the London Mission has
prepared a complete series of text books
and mathematics in the Chinese for the
Japanese translators.
A large number of the new TRANSACTIONS
come from the Japanese. The written
languages of Japan and China are some
what similar, and the Japanese scholar
learns quickly to speak, read and write
the Chinese. In the Commercial Press
editorial room a large number Of Japa-
nese men are employed as translators, and
find Japanese teachers in all the Chi
nese educational centers. Much of the
new school furniture has been made in
Japan and a large number Of the modern
maps and charts.
The Japanese teachers will work for
lower salaries than other foreigners and
this is one reason for their employment.
AS rule. they are not thorough. and
the probability is that they will eventual
ly be replaced by Americans. Englishmen
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16

Washington, even though they offer for
sale a diversity of goods and chattelS as
wide as those found III the average bid
ding rooms, still keep their particular
class Of patronage. To some of the stores
go exclusively the members of the social
elect: to others the trade Of the middle
class is given, while to still other and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16

in the press. He explained apologetically
that they had been forced to change some
of the literary matter in the chapters on
China their people did not like to be
tailed heads and deformed feet. He made
no bones about taking my books without
pay. and even offered to make a royalty
contract with me if | would write him a
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16

SHANGHAI.
NE of the problems
which China IS
facing is the max
ing Of text books.
\ public school
system is being es-
tablished all over
the empire. Acad-
enlies, colleges and
universities are be-
ing organized, and
books are needed
for teaching the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16

Just now is such that money spent upon
missions will return thousand-fold.
In this connection. a bright woman clerk
of the mission book store of Shanghai
said to me today:
else is a system of circulating Libraries.
which shall contain the simpler books of
our modern literature, including the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16

smaller stores the poorer people 60 to
spend their mites.
Not so with the auction rooms. From
every class OF humanity they draw their
patrons Mlady in her ermine furs, whose
gold purse bulges with yellow bills for
the purchase of art objects from some
wor'd-famous collection, steps from the
cushions of her limousine car to mingle
ing until the stove, the battered bedStead
and the frayed and out-of-date circular
coat. necessities to their lives. are put up
for sale Art connoisseurs in their fur
lined coats, dealers who are waiting for a.
chance to bid in some article which re-
finished will bring a better price at pri-
Vate sale and men of the middle classes
who in passing have seen that Sheraton
style table that wife Mary wants mingle
them all moves a distinct class of people
we'll known 10 the auctioneers of Wash
ington.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16
Carpenter Describes the Making Of Text Books for the Chinese

China. All OF these have a high regard
for our methods OF education. and they
would favor the selection OF our college
graduates as leaders for the new schools.
FRANK c. CARPENTER
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16

or Germans I look for the steady in
crease in the number of American teach
ers. There are hundreds Of Chinese now
studying in the United States, and there
are many American-Chinese graduates in
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16
4 - = tn d@n Of tEnF h6 o1,d Bell

ada. Prizes taken during the war were
always sold at auction. When peace was
declared in 1915 large importations We're
made. During eight months of that year
the sale OF foreign goods in Philadelphia
amounted to $SOo.o0.
-.
The importations being so great. the
prices in England scared In 1916. how
ever, the demand for goods sold at auc-
ton ceased. and there was general
slump. In order to find market for
their goods the English manufacturers
sent agents TO this country TO sell goods
at auction. Auctioneers became numer-
Gus and the business again became pros
porous. In this manner the custom OF
supplying the American market through
his own agents was established by the
English manufacturer
A certain veteran auctioneer In the
city spoke recently concerning the rise
of the custom of selling by auction.
ITO be a successful auctioneer netessi-
tates the knowledge OF a wide range OF
subjects. He must be able 10 appraise
anything salable. from the finest painting
to houses and horses. and from rugs to
ivory miniatures.
The custom OF selling goods by auc-
ton is as old as the hills. The Romans
Sub Hasta' (Auction under the spear) on
account OF its being a sale OF the spoils
taken during war. the sale taking place
under spear which was used as the
signal OF the auction. This same signal
was afterward used in other sales made
under the superintendent OF particular
tribunals. AS time went by certain rules
began to spring UP which were different
in the various communities. At one time
the question arose as to whether or not
1t was fair for any one TO bid for the
owner of the property at an auction. At
first this was not considered proper. but
later on ruling was made by which IL
was considered to be right.
-.
"As is the case in all things, habit has
given different shades to the custom
which We term selling at auction. In
England 1t Is termed sales by auction.
This is considered the more correct term
and Is to certain extent being taken
up IN this country. In Holland they have
Dutch auctions. These are the direct
opposite of those held here. Instead OF
letting bidder OFFER low price and
then have it increase, they offer il at a
much higher price than they expect IL to
bring. and gradually lower il until a mr.
chaser accepts 1T.
THE bell and red flag. which are A.
ways synonymous with an auction now
adayS, are used by requirement of the
law. At one time 1t was required to ring
the bell at the commencement of a sale
and also to display red flag. The bell
ringing fell into ill repute on account of
disturbing SO many people, and the law
was changed. Now IL is not used for
sales in the store, but only when real
estate or an out-of-door sale is to take
place. / have bell which is nearly sixty
years old 1t was made out Of thirteen
Mexican silver dollars. 1t has been used
so much that the clapper has had to be
renewed several times"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16
IN A MANDARIN LAW SCHOOL.
A native dictionary is in press.

new reader or so especially adapted to the
Chinese market / replied that l was very
busy, and he thereupon suggested that
the book could be written for me in their
office and that / could revise it. But In
that case they would expect to pay a
much less royalty. ] told him such a
proposition was out of the question: but
Notwithstanding this he brought it up
again and again, and urged it upon me at
a Chinese dinner which he gave me that
night.
Among the other books in the ware
house l saw piles of Chinese-English die
tionaries. They were in two volumes.
each as big as an ordinary table Web
ster They are practically translation
Of the Standard Dictionary, which is SO
largely used In the United States. They
we're edited by DR.. Yam. who has been
connected with our legation in Washing
ton. The two volumes are widely dis
tributcd; they sell for about six dollars In
gold. Pocket dictionaries are also print
ed. and a native law dictionary is now
in press This will be sent out to
the law schools, which are now being es-
tablished at all the provincial capitals.
After visiting the editors, 1 was taken
10 another large building, which contains
a curious branch of this publishing house
1t is devoted to school supplies. and
makes everything from desks to blow
pipes for the chemical laboratories. 1t
manufactures pendulums, globes. Indian
clubs and dumbbclls. The dumbbells
are cast from pig iron; they are made in
great quantities, and it is intended fncy
shall be used in all public schools.
Every room of this schoolbook factory
is lighted by electricity, and all are con-
nected by telephone system. The ma
x1,<N
whole it shows one something of what is
going on in the new China.
At present large proportion of the
new text books are printed upon the mis-
sion presses. The missionaries have been
at work in China for century. and they
have established schools in all parts Of
the country. They were the authors of
the first new text books, and as teachers
their graduates are now in demand. The
American Presbyterian mission press at
Shanghai has been pouring out volumes
for a number Of years at the rate OF
ninety millions pages per annum. and the
consolidated mission press of the Amer
lean Methodists has also published nu-
merous educational works. The Amer
lean Bible Society distributes between a
half million and a million volumes of the
Scriptures in Chinese each year. and
there is now a mission educational asso-
citation, supported by all the Protestant
sects, which is preparing new text books
for the schools. At some of the mission
airy stations they are making school mu-
seums. including such things as stuffed
birds and animals mounted fishes, cleo
trical machines. globes and model rail-
ways. They have printed charts of the
Chinese provinces. with the principal in
dustries and resources marked upon
them, and have inaugurated new methods
of teaching the people. Indeed, the work
which the missionaries have done cannot
be overestimated, and the situation here
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16

They are the auction fends Just as the
lure of cards or drink draws some of the
fiotsam and jetsam of humanity, so does
the near-LOreii voice of the auctioneer,
What am / bid for it," prove irresistible
to some people. These are mostly women
With some it has become a veritabe
mania. There are those who could no
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16

whether the purchaser can make use Of
them all. The packages. however, are
catalogued. so that one knows IN a gen
eral way the contents ofsthe package on
which he is bidding. So often such
articles as a rosary and a package OF
playing cards will be found nesting side
by side. and the man who desires the
rosary must OF necessity stand for the
cards or vice versa. 4 quantity of
feminine lingerie and two or three odd
hacksaw blades have been known as as
sociates in the packages OF the dead let
ter sale. pair Of baoys SHOES ana
of the widest. for there is no limit to.
the things which are lost in the mail
and find their way to the annual post
office auction from the dead letter office.
-
One Of the veteran auctioneers or wash
ington was interrogated the other day
concerning his patrons.
.,Oh. they're all different" he said why.
there are as many distinct classes of
patrons in an auctioneers business as
there are individuals in the room or
course some of them are more peculiar
than others.
For instance. I know woman. we'll
past middle age. who has hardly missed
a sale in these rooms In ten years She
seems to have a mania for having things
knocked down to her, and bids on any
thing, no matter what it may be, that
seems to her to be within the reach of
her purse.
i've seen her buy a little picture.
worth scarcely more than what she paid
for 1t. and the next minute start bidding
on an old bed or a pair of mems shoes.
I've been told that her home is close
second to the Old Curiosity Shop and
can well believe it,
But are many of the bidders possessed
of such universal mana?" the auction
eer was asked
NO But lots Of people who visit the
autiOn rooms are In pursuit of some par
ticular hobby for collections. and we get
so that we know them. Why, there's one
man who has a passion for miniatures.
another man who collects fans, another
who has a mania for cups, woman
comes here often and stands without bid
ding on anything until a pipe is put up
and then nothing under the sun can make
her stop bidding until she's gotten it
Some women make a fad of collecting sill
yer walters; others, jewelry; but / guess
the greatest class of faddists are those
who attend auction sales thinking that
they will have an opportunity to bid or
relics associated with famous men OF
events.
Besides the bona-fide bidders and the
people with hobbies, dealers often form
large part Of the audience in the auc-
ton rooms. With them the auctioneers
have considerable trouble, because they
will often. as soon as they see bona
fide bidder has offered fair price for an
article, begin bidding against him for no
other reason than to make him pay as
high a price as they can, he having per-
haps carried the price beyond what the
dealers wished to give for it. And that
is why in SO many advertised sales the
words NO dealers are displayed
Some auction houses buy their goods
outright others sell on commission, and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16

ada. Prizes taken during the war were
always sold at auction. When peace was
declared in 1915 large importations were
made. During eight months OF that year
the sale OF foreign goods in Philadelphia
amounted to SS,ONGa.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16
SHANGHAI

Copyright, 1900. by Frank 6. Carpenter
Special Correspondence Of The Star.