920 THE FRUIT INDUSTRY IN XEW YORK STATE 



has paid more than his competitor, he goes back to the private 

 seller and asks him to cut down the price to what his competitor 

 paid. The private seller does this to hold his trade. The auc- 

 tion price stands and admits of no reduction. 



THE AUCTIONEER 



The men who do the actual selling must he efficient. It takes 

 years for an auction company to train a man for auctioneering. 

 The auctioneer must be a specialist in the fruit business. 

 His duties require him, just previous to the sale, to examine the 

 fruit that he is to sell as to quality and condition, and make a 

 notation on his catalogue so he can secure the highest price for 

 the different grades of fruit. . He must also know the quality and 

 condition of the fruit sold by his competitor. The auctioneer 

 pays a license fee and is under bond to the municipality. 



COMBINATION OF BUYEIJS IMPOSSIBLE 



There are too many racial differences and too manv varying 

 interests involved to enable the buyers to form a combine in the 

 market. There are Greeks, Hebrews, Irish, Germans, Italians 

 and Americans, both large and small buyers, at every public 

 sale. The auction companies have made combinations im- 

 possible by forbidding one buyer to bid for any other who is 

 present at the sale. Competition in bidding is keen in this striv- 

 ing in the open public sale ; and the price of fruit is forced up- 

 wards to the point at which there is only a small profit for the 

 wholesale merchant. The grower who sells at public sale has yet 

 another check. His agent can quickly discover any combination 

 that might be attempted. It is his privilege to withdraw the fruit 

 from public sale. 



NO WILD FLUCTUATIONS AT AUCTION 



There are no wild fluctuations in the prices at auction. The 

 fruit and the buyers are all in one place and the law of supply 

 and demand is not interfered with. The fruit auctions are Held 

 regularly every day (Saturday excepted) in the large cities, at a 

 scheduled time. The buyers who attend these sales make n 

 regular business of buying and selling fruit. All of them have 



