AMERICAN FETJIT AND PRODUCE AUCTIONS 31 
tionally or otherwise, will cause the trade to lose confidence in this 
method of buying and selling. 
" By-bidding " and fictitious sales should be eliminated by the 
auctions, wherever such practices can be detected. Reference to the 
catalogues reA^eals that in some instances the same car has been sold 
and resold at two, three, or even more successive sales, being listed 
at each sale for the account of the original shipper. In such cases 
it is popularly believed that when the wire bidding does not reach a 
figure at which the shipper is willing to sell, the car is bid in by the 
shipper or by the auction company acting as his representative, the 
car then being re-offered at subsequent sales in an effort to secure a 
better price. 
The tremendous increase in production and consumption of fresh 
fruits and vegetables in recent years has created a demand for the 
development of every possible channel of distribution, and the f . o. b. 
auctions constitute a natural outgrowth of this demand. This 
method of selling is comparatively new, and under present practice 
is limited to sales in car lots. It remains to be seen whether it will 
safely pass through the period of experimentation and become per- 
manently established as an influential factor in distribution. 
ESSENTIAL POINTS OF AUCTION LAW 5 
AUCTION 
An auction is a public sale of property to the highest bidder by 
one licensed and authorized for that purpose. The main purpose of 
auction sales is to obtain the best financial returns for the owner of 
the property sold ; hence competition among a number of bidders is 
a necessary element. 
AUCTIONEER 
An auctioneer is one who sells goods at public auction for another 
on commission, or for a recompense ; one who conducts a public sale 
or auction, although the goods sold are his own. 
An auctioneer in making a sale of goods is, by virtue of his em- 
ployment to make the sale, primarily the agent of the seller. When, 
however, the property is struck off the auctioneer is also made the 
agent of the purchaser to the extent of binding the parties by his 
memorandum of sale, by the act of the purchaser in giving him his 
bid and receiving from him without objection the announcement 
that the property is knocked down to him as purchaser, or by other- 
wise expressly or impliedly assenting thereto. 
By virtue of his office, an auctioneer has no authority to sell prop- 
erty at private sale. It is his duty to sell at public sale, unless he 
is expressly or impliedly authorized to sell at private sale. 
In the absence of facts showing a different intention of the seller, 
an auctioneer authorized to sell personal property has authority to 
receive and collect the purchase price. 
PARTIES TO A SALE 
In a sale by auction there are usually three parties — the owner of 
the property to be sold, the auctioneer, and the portion of the public 
5 6 Corpus Juris, pp. 821-846. 
