Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-02
Europe Now After
American Mules,


through a clay soil full of roots The
allies have an office in Atlanta, and
four buyers are at the stockyards al
most daily. They have purchased 200
mules from one firm. paying nearly 5000
apiece for them. A good sound mule at
least 1000 pounds in weight is what
the military men like. The price for
such mules ranges from S185 to $235.
You can get any sort Of a mule you
want in the Atlanta market, however.
from forty dollar runt to a 1900
pound giant in perfect condition.
The mule trading in Atlanta takes
place almost wholly between October
and March During the season last year
about $4,000 mules changed hands.
They are shipped in from all parts of
the south in lots of four to one hundred
or more. and are turned over to the
commission men, who own the immense
stockyard barns covering some twenty
five acres. The buyers, with the excep-
ton of those from Europe, are dealers
from various small towns and country
districts They buy mules in lots of
twenty or more, take them home and
retail them to the farmers, making an
upon mules of the better grades. Thus
Atlanta acts as clearing house
through which large part of the south
buys and sells its mules.
In Atlanta the business is carried for
ward with great directness and upon
a high plane of honesty. Every sale
IS a contest in Judgment, but there is
no effort to conceal the defects in the
mules If an animal has splint or Is
wtnd-broken the fact is not concealed,
and a deduction in price is made 40
cordingly. There Is something Of a
speculative character in the trading, as
The value of mules sometimes nuctu-
Ates from to 10 per cent in a few min
months. The growing Importance Of
the mule is seen In the fact that the
acreage price has increased about 20
per cent In the last ten years.
The Atlanta livestock business is
largely in tho hands of a few fam
iiies. who have been trading horses
and mules for generations The story
of one family here, which Is prominent
in the trade, 10 a complete history Of
Tho mule business In the south The
of the business owned a big plantation
IN Georgia, and every year he drove to
Atlanta about 500 mules, which he
raised or bought from his neighbors
He auctioned them of In the city and
was considered to be doing an enormous
business.
His son, the grandfather of the CO.
temporary scion. thought the busin ess
could be enlarged by reaching a wider
market He formed gypsy bands"
who wandered all over tn. south with
their droves of mules, selling them to
farmers along the way. In this way
he disposed of 1000 mules in a year,
Then came the railroads. pouring
mules into Atlanta by the thousand.
Amy number
Business Has over four
Increased Steadily. carload AU Ua,.
II was possible to reach the most dis
rant farmer in a few hours So the rep
resentative of the third generation sold
$4,000 mules in a single year, and his
son. the present owner Of the business,
has increased It still further He some
times has 10000 mules in his stables At
p tfme-more mules than his great
grandfather ever saw.
Although the horse business has
shrunk by comparison with the mule
trade, thousands of horses are still sold
annually in the Atlanta market, and
custom DEGREES that they must always
he sold at auction. The horse auctions
Sre perhaps the most picturesque phase
Of the whole business. The buyers
Form in two long lines. with q lane
down the middle. where the sellers
stand. and every one II armed With q
whip SIX feet long. Ths horse 10 led
Gown the Gant1et by . negro. All the