2o6 Early History of American Auctions 



extra when the original packages were broken.-^" No action was 

 taken by Congress. 



The campaign reached a high pitch of intensity in 1828 along 

 with the tariff legislation then engaging Congress. ^Memorialists 

 said that "the effects of the auction system as detailed in memo- 

 rials — in 1 81 7, 1818, and again in 1824," had "increased in an 

 alarming degree" and might "now be denominated a national 

 evil."~^^ "Above fifty memorials, from almost every state," were 

 received at Washington-^- and it was confidently expected that 

 Congress would act.-^" 



A monster petition with 10,000 names was sent by New York-^* 

 and a great anti-auction meeting was held and resolutions adopted 

 and sent.-^° From this date political pressure was openly brought 

 on Congressmen ; a meeting of mechanics in New York nominated 

 an anti-auction ticket for Congress ; this ticket was indorsed by 

 a meeting of the merchants' clerks. ^^'^ Mr. McDuftie wrote a 

 letter to the New York Evening Post explaining that the New 

 York resolution and petition came too late for legislative action 

 and thus he hoped to defend Mr. Verplanck, Congressman from 

 New York, from inaction or ineft'ectiveness.-^' In the wards 

 of the city where the commercial and trading classes principally 

 resided the anti-auction candidates carried the election.-^® 



Meanwhile an inter-city movement was organized, committees 

 were appointed to cooperate with similar committees of other 

 cities and to push the propaganda.^^^ ]\Iass meetings were held 

 at Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other cities.--" Petitions poured 

 in from widely separate cities, as Buft'alo, N. Y., Norwich, Conn., 

 Northampton, Mass., Lynchburg, Va., Nashville, Tenn., Hart- 



-'"Niles, 25: 371. 

 ='^Niles, 34: 140. 

 "^Niles, 38: 185. 

 ='^Niles, 35: 241. 

 '"Niles, 35: 255. 



^" Xiles, 34: 174, gives the resolutions. 

 -" Niles, 34 : 188. 

 ^"Niles, 35: 116, 129, 147. 

 -^'Niles, 36: 185. 



■"Niles, 34: 349-50. See report of activities of the anti-auction com- 

 mittee in Niles, 36: 184. 

 -■" Niles, 35 : 209, 228-9. 



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