Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-06-01
CITY WINS MILLIONS
BY WOOL AUCTION
Approximately $75,O00,OOO
of New Business in
Staple Possible
SIMPLICITY OF SCHEME
Will Operate on Similar Prin-
ciples to Those of Stock
Exchange


Increased business can be brought to Phila-
delphia by the newly organized Philadel-
rhia Wool Auction. This organization
nromlses to be one Of the biggest commercial
ooups which has been accomplished in Phil
adelphia in many years.
The magnitude of the undertaking be-
comes apparent at once from the fact that
1,oston wool men. who handle the bulk of
tbe wool business of the country. have been
nuttng up a strenuous fight against the
organization of the auction.
Roston has not only handled the bulk OF
.be wool of the country--it has steadily
furnished about four to five times as much
wool for Philadelphia consumption as the
philadelphia concerns out of between
Io5 600 900 and $50, 900 pounds used in
nd near Philadelphia each year only about
Or OOO 900 pounds are furnished through
local dealers The remainder has been fur
nished through Boston dealers principally
In other words, Boston has grabbed"
$50 900 900 worth of wool business from our
wool merchants annually.
From these figures 1t becomes apparent
how much is lost on wool demanded and
not procurable here. The function of the
new auction will be to make II possible for
ali Of the firms using wool in factories near
the city to get their supply through the
Philadelphia auction
A
Front street president of the auction, said
TODAY that great quantities of wool are now
available and that hundreds of inquiries
have been received relative to the coming
auctions.
2 is the only fair means of selling wool. It
will place the Philadelphia market on
basis euualing that OF London and will
insure that the farmer, in sending his wool
to Philadelphia, will get a better price or
at least a price founded on competition.
can not say just now rapidly this plan will
attract wool to this city.
1.-THE plan is a simple one, being some
what similar to a stock exchange. Members
will pay 500 for a seat and dues amount
ing to $50 a year for membership. The
business of the auction will be conducted
by an executive committee and the mem
bers will be governed by the bylaws. Mem
bers may be ousted from their seats for
violations The shipper OF wool to a COM
mission merchant, member of the auction,
will be protected by the Government, for
tine books of every commissioner must be
open for examination at all times It will be
as much a criminal offense to auction wool
for a client at one price and pay him an
other price as 1t is to sell a stock for a
client and pay him less than the stock
brought"
Public auctioneers will have no chance
IN the auctions. The auctioneer usually
charges somewhere near per cent for
handling a sale. This will probably be in
excess of the percentage that will be
charged for handling a consignment of wool
complete. Several local auctioneers have
been attempting to horn in" on the COM
ing auctions. Mr.. Bigelow laughed today
when he pointed out that auctioneers sug-
gested that they usually charge per cent
II does seem rather high when one consid-
ers that If one auctioneer got the business
of the auction he would get somewhere
around 100000 a year If the auction be-
comes as big as its potentialities.
AS soon as the auction has been organized
II will be given publicity throughout the
country. The plan will be to get the actual
producers of wool to understand that they
can ship any quantity from 100 pounds of
wool up to thousands or pounds to a COM
mission man, member of the auction. He
will carefully grade the wool, it will be
placed in the catalogue and the catalogue
will go out to buyers. Buyers will know from
the catalogue where they can find the
grades of wool they want, for it will be
held in the warehouse Of the commission
man until the day OF the auction Buyers
can go to the warehouse, examine the
wool and determine upon the price they
VIII bid for the wool. OF course, there will
spring up organizations of growers to ship
by carloads to cut freight costs and most
shipments will De handled this way
The commission men will handle wool to
commission will increase with the price they
OBTAIN II ey may take the wool of a hum
dred dinerent growers and grade II into the
necessary c.assfcations, each class con-
tanning few fleeces of each grower In
this way it will be sold as a big lot and
therefore Will bring better price than II
sold in small lots. Each grower will be
credited with the number of pounds he
has in each class
The grading will be done by the commits
sion houses expert graders ana an auction
eer' or member of the firm, acting as
apcuoneer, will make the sale on the floor.
THUS the commissioners will handle the
lots consigned to them from the time they
are received until they are sold on the
floor
IL is not known how soon the auction
can be started, but the officers are going
10 make all effort to get il under way this
summer They are urged on by the fact
mat there are 60O.OOO 900 pounds of wool
used In this country each year and Phila-
Of it,