New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-06-15
DAYS ENDURANCE FEAT
Difficult Task of AuCtiOneer OF
Morris Park Sale.
A TRUE TRIAL OF ENERGY
Estimated That He Used l.
100000 Words in Disposal
of 3,071 Lots.

OF SUI hOUS.
As feat in physical endurance and
mental alertness Joseph p. Days achieve
ment in selling 3O7l lots in a period OF
twelve successive days. excluding Sun
DAYS. is believed to be unparalleled. .
To appreciate what task this has been
it is necessary 10 keep in mind the fact
that successful aucuoneering calls not
only for a large amount of mere physical
exertion. but also for an unusual eX-
penditure OF nervous energy with mental
forces working at top speed all the time.
The six-dav racer or the 'loneshorenan
perhaps expends more units Of physical
energy than does Mr.. Day in selling real
estate at auction. even in one Of his most
enthusiastic periods. but there is none Of
that continual strain on the mental and
nervous systems which contributes so
largely to the eXhausting work of the
auctioneer.
Simply TO keep track of the rapid sue
cession Of bids requires no small amount
of concentration. Aside from this the
auctioneer has a dozen things 10 engage
his attention. Always there are the spe-
cial features Of the parcel being sold at
the moment and usually there is faint
hearted bidder in the back row who will
come back" only with just the right sort
Of a punch" from the auctoneer
Mir. Day was on the stand an average
Of between eight and nine hours a day.
That makes total of about one hundred
hours that ne actually spent on the stand
In The twelve days.
And il was no parlor gathering he was
addressing. The ballroom Of the old Nor
ris Park clubhouse measures about 6OXl5O
feet and has a 2J-foot ceilins. In such a
room no conversational tone will do for
an aucuoneer. whether the crowd is 1000
as it was on the opening day of the big
sale. or from 500 TO 1000, as it was during
the subsequent sessions.
An expert stenographer who afforded
the sale estimated that Mr.. Day used
an average Of at least 500 words in sell
ing each lot For 800 lots that would
make 100000 words and that figure is
probably low. Occasionally Mr.. Day
would let his voice down to little above
conversational tone in relating some in
cident but practically every one OF these
10000 words was uttered in loud tones
that could be heard 2)0 feet away from
the clubhouse as well as they could inside
the salesroOm.
An average newspaper column contains
300 words. Thus 100000 words would
fl 1880 columns or about us pages OF
seven columns each. Anybody who wants
TO get a vivid personal idea Of what MI
Day has done in the way of talking dur
ing the first half OF June. 1918. might take
two or three Sunday newspapers and read
them aloud through at the top Of his
lungs until he has finished lis pages,
making due allowance, of course, for the
illustrations
The remarkable thing about Mr.. Day s
effort was that his voice was in better
condition on the last day than on the
second or third day. He seems 10 have
not only a second voice" corresponding
to a second wind. but also third and a
fourth voice He says he could have
gone on for a month.
Mr.. Days diet and manner of life
throughout this ordeal present interesting
features for those who study physical
efficiency, particularly as he is not one
YOU would pick out of a crowd 10 undergo
great bodily exertion. His body. how
ever is a perfectly adjusted machine
ready at all times for such an emergency.
Before the sale he tipped the beam at
40 pounds and-since this was a race
track sale-it is proper to say that he
weighed in at exactly 40 pounds after
the event. There was absolutely no
change in his appearance. He looked less
tired than almost anybody else connected
with the management Of the sale, and
aside from a slightly husky voice. his
most intimate friend would never guess
how he had been spending his time for
the last fourteen days
During the sale and. for that matter, at
all other times Mr.. Day has kept below
even the Rooseyeltian minimum in the
matter Of stimulants-his unvarying
standard in this respect being none at all.
His diet has been almost exclusively
milk and eggs. His breakfast has con-
sisted Of oatmeal and cream, two soft
boiled eggs and cocoa. Nothing more
shen until about p. m. at the close OF
the afternoon session Of the sale, with
the exception OF the whites Of two eggs,
taken on the stand at intervals Of two or
three hours. Supper was made up of two
soft boiled eggs. a hard cracker and a
glass OF milk with sometimes a piece OF
eating chocolate. A glass Of warm milk
at the close Of the evening session suf-
feed until the next mornings breakfast.
After being taken downtown TO his hotel
in a closed automobile, a. m. would md
Mr.. Day sound asleep and a. m. would
find him up fresh as a daisy, ready 10
tackle what most auctioneers would re-
gard as an enormous days work If they
tackled II once a month.
The careful diet and conforming TO
natural laws did II.
Altogether II was a wonderful piece OF
endurance and one which will stand un-
approached in the history of auctioneer-
ing for a good many years, If not for all
time.