Evening star., 1925-04-02
POST SALE
DRAWS BIG CROWD
Bargain Hunters Flock to
Dead" Authorization
lists in Trouble.

The first dead parcel post sale ever
conducted by the Post Office Depart
ment is on, and the halls and rooms
of the dignified department buildings
are ringing with the raucus and rasp-
ing voice of the auctioneer and the
| shouts and howls from the thrilled
gallery.
pandemonium this morning one man
gained entrance to the tobacco chew
ers paradise, when he bought so
pounds of plub tobacco for s22, or
about one-third the price he would
have to pay for it on the outside.
Another outstanding feature about
this sale is that 1t was the largest
one during the morning.
Beginning, at $3.50 o'clock, the sale
was about one-tenth over at noon.
There are 900 lots to be sold, and of
hcials in charge will strive to clean
up today and tonight. If by o'clock
1t is found there still is a mass of
articles yet to be disposed Of ad-
journment will be taken until to-
morrow morning.
The conference room of the depart
| ment was congested to the breaking
point throughout the morning. Cap
tain of the Watch A. S. Riddle mount
ed the rostrum and began to peddle
his wares. Lot No. l consisted of
cigars, snuff and tobacco, which went
for small sum, and then came the
prize-S0 pounds of chewing tobacco.
Bidding was lively, but al the s22 fig
ure it stopped and the sale was
closed.
Woman Wins Contest.
Ranking next in Importance TO the
chewing tobacco was item No. 49,
| listed as "Woman's and child's ap-
parel, 20 pieces" The bidding start
ed at 81 and rose rapidly A lady
| with blue-gre hat" as Capt Rid
| Ole denominated her, raised every
body, and when the bidding closed she
was at the long end of It and her
| pocketbook shy of $1,000
Household goods, books and mis-
cellaneous dry goods and wearing ap-
parel for man, woman and child con-
stituted the items offered this morn
| ing. They will continue in this same
vein throughout the afternoon, and
| then radio antennas and loud speak
| ers, automobile and accessories, cam
eras, monographs and records, gaso-
| line lamps and what not will run
| through for several hundred items.
| Then will follow 81 items dealing
with slippers and shoes. The conclud-
ing $50 items deal solely with jewelry,
| in which there are some excellent ar
| ticles.
The most valuable articles offered
| are two machine reamers which, it is
| said, sell for 500 each on the
market. The auctioneers, however,
do not expect to get more than $40
| for them.
Three auctioneers altogether are
handling the sale, Capt. Riddle,
| Charles kracke, a clerk in the dead
| letter and dead parcel post division
and the appraiser of the articles, and
Harold Day, clerk in the City Post
ONCE. F. c. StaleX, superintendent
Of the division of dead letters and
dead parcel post, is in charge and his
guest at the grand opening this
morning was Charles N. Dalzell, for
mer superintendent and now retired
after A years of service with the de-
partment.
All the articles were open for in
| spectfon yesterday and hundreds of
persons conducted examinations So.
| In a majority of cases today the
buyer was not buying sight unseen
and in the case of the person who
old not get chance to go over the
stock yesterday, he was allowed a
LOOK at the item he desired to pur-
chase.
Many motorists attending the sale
had found parking space unavailable
on arriving at the Post Office Depart
ment and seeing four public hacker
automobiles in the space in front of
the department, drew up alongside
Soon there was a line of automobiles
running from Twelfth to Eleventh
|streets and others came up along
side the curbing at the entrance of
the building and parked, although
the curb is painted white for several
feet, denoting mo parking" Emerg-
ing from the sale with their packages
the motorists, who had the choicest
parking space in the downtown sec
ton. were greeted by policeman
from the first precinct, who charged
violations OF the traffic law.