Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 February 1910 — FASCINATION of the AUCTION HABIT [ARTICLE]

FASCINAT ION of the AUCTION HABIT

In the fall and spring one goes to auctions; that is, if one has acquired * U€t! f* bablt ” You ' dear lonian, who have time and the inclination ?annot resist if you let this peculiar habit get hold of you- you will go—you . bl 'y—thing s for which you have no use; things you do not need, just because the temptation proves tod strong and you cannot resist. t is said a drunkard cannot pass a saloon with its tempting sign- there u-l“ tlon iD th ° Se S ' SnS for him because of his raging thirst for’drink. v\eu, i have seen women who could no more resist the red flag of the auctioneer than can such a poor, demoralized man the signs that carry temptation in every letter. There is no doubt of its oeing a nice, ladylike form of dissipation, this love of auction buying; you will look with disgust, with loathing, and be loud in your denunciation of gambling, of drunkenness of , bolts ot thln Ss, but if you have contracted this habit its hold is quite as vices 8 UPOD y ° U aS UP ° n th ° Se ° ther Victims ’ or> rather , victims of other And it is not always In the hope that something really worth while may be "knocked down to you,” for next to nothing that carries you Jo such sales. Are you not nearly always on the lookout for some bit of antique furniture, perhaps; some rare small piece of bijouterie that has been tucked away so others do not see it? Sometimes you, ddar woman, may have a “fad” for collecting somethin*it may be fans or tables or ’amps, or anything about the house; then vou go to every auction where there can be a chance to bid in something of the Ta re “ ember tbat auctioneers are always cognizant of these fads. They will soon recognize you; any one'of them will note exactly what you are in the habit of buying, and, dollars to cents, he can tell iu«t which of the hundreds of things he is about to sell you are likely to bid on Then, if he knows his calling, he will have an imaginary bidder readvhe will watch you when you think you *re indifferent; he will not need that you call out the additional bid; just the barest nod of the head- even the flicker of an eyelash will be enough for his experienced eye and von will be caught in the meshes of your habit again. . ’ We ail know that woman that buys bargains; I know one exceeding well; so well that I never go to a store on “bargain day” without a severe mental arraignment of myself, and a peep into numerous boxes where !r! stored things I may never hope to use, and which nobody on earth wlms tor which not much cash was paid in each especial case, but a respectabt sum can be counted up in the sum total. That is why lam tellkj tl not let the “auction habit” grow on you.—St. Louis Globe-Democraf 1