New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-10-24
AFTER FAKE AUCH0NEERS
Commissioners of Accounts Re-
port 100 in the City.
MAYOR STARTS THE FIGHT
Gases Will Be Turned Over to
the District Attorney for
Prosecution.

jeremiah T. Mahoney and Harry II.
Rice, Commissioners OF Accounts, sub
mitted report to Mayor Gaynor yester-
day with regard to a complaint made TO
them by Mayor Gaynor himself on Sep
TENDER "a, alleging that two auction
rooms on Broadway were conducting
fraudulent auction sales and that many
persons had been victimzed in these
places According TO the Mayor, these
places ARE disgrace to the city"
The investigation by the commissioners
shows that there are about one hundred
places In the city In which such practices
are openly conducted. The largest OF
these shops are on Broadway, near Hth
street; Broadway. near Goth street, and
at 32d street. on Sixth avenue. The COM
mIssoners recommend that their evidence
in connection with such places be turned
over TO the District Attorney.
TT has developed in the course OF the
inquiry that there are many OF these
places in the city" the commissioners
report. "and that the auctioneers have
VOCABULARY VI lItlI O"lf ." -
cuar TO the mock auction system. Thus
the auctioneer terms his confederates
'schiliber,' a single confederate or cap
per- is called a 'schill,' prospective
buyer is called n 'rummy' and a oidder
who Is not in the employ OF the auc-
tioneer Is called a sucker These facts
we were able to determine during the
course Of the examination. One Of these
places had eight confederates, or 'schiils'
Including what is known as LOOKOUT
man and one woman"
The commissioners report that the
method of operation employed is for the
confederates to hang about the entrance
and when n passerby stops he Is edged
into the shop, and the auctioneer imme-
diately starts TO put up an article TOT
sale. The bidding Is started by a secret
code, and II the auctioneer gets bid Of
81 from "schiIr' and wants another bid
he simply says Line two" when another
confederate boosts the article another
dollar.
When articles do not fetch the price
which the auctioneer believes he Should
get they are knocked down to one OF the
confederates. who never take them from
the store, but waR to the rear and APP
parently give their names to the cashier
The law requires a book TO be KEEP 10y
auctioneers, In which sales are recorded
when the person does not remove the
article Immediately. No such sales book
is kept by these men, according TO the
commissioners.
After going into details concerning tho
three places visited by them, the commits
sioners report says:
we were enabled TO get the correct
names and addresses Of all OF the conied-
crates engaged in this mock auction bust
ness together with the proprietors, ana
ALI OF these were examined under oath
and were compelled 10 admit the charac-
ter and methods OF the business thcy
were engaged In"
II Is also alleged that the auctionears-
there are usually three IN each place
change places on the auction block every
hour. but that only one aucuonee:
name appears on the aucuoneeTs nag
outside the shop. II Is extremely dlfhcH't
"a get evidence against such places the
commissioners report because persons
who have been defrauded In this manner
do not like the facts 10 become public.