HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1955-11-10, Page 3TUr ASM FRONT
The Mechanical Auctioneer,
a form of the Auction Method
of Selling, was started on the
•Ontario Stockyards Toronto,
Wednesday, August 10th. Actu-
ally it is the first time that this
has been tried in North Arne-
rica, This innovation was greet-
ed with widely varied opinions
and the majority of the old
timers are predicting an early
death. Mr. Fred Campbell Man-
ager of the Ontario Public
Stockyards is convinced that it
will be favourably received by
both livestock shippers and pro-
ducers.
x * :1
This new method varies from
the standard form of Selling
by the Auction Method in that
bids are registered, on a clock
like arrangement, by buyers
operating a button. The price is
started, by the Commission
Agent at a price higher than
actually expected and then any
buyer may stop the dial, by
pressing a button, at the price
he is prepared to pay. The es-
tablished proceedure of raising
the price by auction until the
selling price is arrived at has
been discaded. Under this meth-
od the buyer has to decide when
to "step in" because there 'isn't
any second bid.
* * *
The mechanical auctioneer is
on the opposite side of the ring
from the buyers and is about 3
feet wide and 8 feet high. It is
divided into 3 sections of ap-
proximately is each.
r: *
(1) The upper or top third
is a series of number approxi-'
mately 2.1/2 to 3 inches high cov-
ered by opaque glass. These
numbers represent dollars The
starting price is controlled' by
the Clerk of the Sale who lights
up the Board at the amount
named by the Commission man.
* *
(2) The second, or •middle
third of the machine, is a dial,
similar to the face of a large
clock, numbered in units of 5,
PAISLEY CHARM -One of the
elegant items receiving a fall
showing is this high -necked
sheath jumper fashioned of a
Paisley -patterned cotton print.
In muted gray and almond -
green, it is set off with traces
of black and crimson, Black
woollen blouse makes perfect
foil for jumper.
from 95 to Al. These numbers rep-
restns cents, Affixed to this dial
is a large hand that starts from
the position of 12 o'clock and
runs anti -clockwise.
0C a: *
(3) The lower section of the
machine is much the same as
the top section with the excep-
tion that the numbers are those
pre -arranged for the buyers,
There is a number for each buy-
er.
* *
The buyers are seated be-
hind narrow desks or tables, di-
rectly across this sales ring .from
t h e mechanical auctioneer.
There is an individual seat for
each buyer with a desk on
which is a button connected
with the mechanical auctioneer.
There are facilities for 48 sepa-
rate buyers.
$< * *
The starter of the clock sits at
one side of the ring and is
equipped with a public address
system. In front of him are the
buttons that stop and start the
mechanical auctioneer, control
the starting price, and allows
the Commission Agent to , de-
clare "no sale."
* * *
The consignment is driven in-
to the ring. The Commission
man instructs the clerk at what
figure to show on the upper part
of the machine (probably $24.00
if he thinks the actual value is
about $22.00). The Clerk starts
the dial (center part of the me-
chanical auctioneer). It goes
from 0 to .95 to .90 and so on
dropping down in units of 5
cents. It takes 6 seconds for the
hand to make one complete
revolution.
* *• ,
When the hand has made one
complete turn the number on
the upper third of the machine
automatically changes from $24
to $23.00 and the hand on the
center section continues its
downward circle.
4,
*
When the hand reaches the
figure at which ''the buyer
wishes to purchase (his estima-
tion of market value) he presses
a button that autonnatically
stops the machine. This could
be at $22.55, that is, the figure
22 'on the top section' would rep-
resent $22.00 and the hand
pointing at 55 represents the
cents. Thus the calf would -sell
at $22.55.
9 *
The buyer's number would
show up in the lower section.
For example, if a buyer operat-
ing from a seat number 10
presses the button the figure 10
would light up hi the ,lower
section.
*
The mechanical auctioneer is
so wired that it is impossible
for 2 buyers to register the
same bid. Immediately any buy-
er presses the button in front
of him the current to all other
buyer's buttons is automatical-
ly cut off.
,:: 9*
The Commission Agent in the
ring assumes the same respon-
sibility for accepting or reject-
ing *the -final price as he would
under the Private Treaty meth-
od•or under the ordinary Auc-
tion Method of Selling. If 'he
believes the bid is below the
value of the calf the Commis-
• Sion man can press a button,
available to him at the ringside
which registers the number 49
on the lower section, This' is his
means of declaring "no sale."
*: *
The Commission Agent may
GROSSWO TW
PUZZLE
0, Clouc inereu 31. iiia....
7. C011jmtct1o11 as. Mender
8, Ahnusphel•h' suitable
disturbance 36. come of
confusion
9, A dependent 89, Fertile spots
10 Singing voice 40, Cube*
1.1. Bare gas 41. Iieminine
ACl;07S• DOWN 10. Valleys naive
1. (tear of a 1. I#i;711 19. Air (comb. 42, .Lacerate
mountain form) 44. Nerve
20. Hardens network
111.Set of three 46, Historical
22,Invalidatiou period
24, Crippled 47. Deserter
26. Alacic 48. Mountain in
23. Warmth ("rete
29 Tnenut'liiy 49. Fond fish
senses
4, Iceland's, tale
3. Fart of w
bridge
12, Old card g*I'i
18, Legal. clams
14. Distant
(prefix,
- 10, Supplied
17. Upon
12. Minu,e
partic'a
18.118aliefo:,s
burning
20, Not fresh
33, ((am resin
21. Sea b1..4
18, 1-Tebrevo
month
27, Tlrlamatiun
30, Gaudy
ornament
32, Groaned
24, French coin
Mi. infant
17. No longer
operailve
00, Last
40..hrrows
41. The soul, in
'Hinduism
49, Pall in drops
411. Dregs
18. Operated 135
currents
SO, Animal's neck
11a3r
61, Fixed. charge
32. Buet.le
87. 1lrattenea of,
learning
114.(+1t7i>n' 011a
011. fir lel;,
2. 1n place of
8..A is o
4. The fuer
hundred -
6. Queen of
Carthago
iz
is
2. '3 'Y ;;4
gee
16
13
5
7 '-- 8 9 to
sr.
14 '
17
20
29
2.1
22
19
19
24,
27
28
29
Answer elsewhere on this page.
Fashion Hints
AFTER -SKI ENSEMBLE consists Oftea hooded blouse and ."Slim
Jims" fastened with tiny gold hooks and worn with a full split
skirt. The navy blue fabric is 50 ;per cent terylene and 50 per
cent viscose and the skirt is lined :in lime green jersey and ap-
pliqued with felt.
step in any time and Stop the
clock. For example, if he be-
lieves a calf is worth 23 .cents -
and the clock hasgone below
that level he can immediately
press number 49 thereby ad-
vising that' there is "no' sale."
The calf is then run out of the
ring and may be returned later.
Ancient Forgerss
Mint Found?
Archaeologists in Prague have
stumbled upon a 500 -year-old
secret underground mint : be-
lieved to have been used in a
form of "economic warfare"
during the Middle -Ages.
Their theory is that the mint,
found in a large cavern about
65 feet below .ground, belonged
to a group of Czeck nobles who
were 'trying to overthrow the
ruler of Bohemia. •
It 'is believed that they em-
ployed a band of forgers,, work-
ing by lanternlight in this dingy
den, to -flood the country with
valueless coins in a bid' to de-
base the currency and cause
economic chaos and unrest.
The cave is one of a network
in a hill called the "golden
horse" at . Koneprusy.. 22 miles
from Prague. Its name dates
back before the Christian era
when Celts inhabited the area
and used t'b make sacrifices to
a horse god on the hill. -
The archaeologists found prim-
itive equipment and heaps 'of
glittering coins, just as the for-
gers had left them. The coins
were made of copper; but coated
with silver to make them look
like the 'silver coins, called
parvis, which were at that time
the official currency of Bohemia.
Like the genuine coins, the
forgeries bore the imprint of a
lion in a circle. The archaeolo-
gists found the stamp which the
forgers used for .this
There was also .a wooden
minting block covered,. with
copper cuttings, an oven for
melting silver, steins of copper,
and piles of half -finished coins.
and' rejects. Eight small belle of
different sizes, made of tale, are
believed to have been used as
measuring weights.
The archaeologists believe
that the forgers got the copper
for the coins from kettles. They
cut the kettles into strips,
melted these into sheets, and
then cut out the coins. Neat,
they hammered the shapes flat,
stamped them with the lion ins -
print, 'and coated them with
molten silver. Then the coins
were circulated in nearby towns
and villages.
The entrance to the cave was
a verticle shaft 33 feet deep,
sunk .from an easily camou-
flaged circular hole at the nut
face. The forgers are believed to
have used a ladder to come
and go.
At first, the cave was thought
to be the hide-out of a bandit
gang which turned to forging -as
a lucrative sideline. This theory
probably had its origin in a local
legend dating back to the 15th
century but never considered to
have any foundation in fact un-
til the (liecovery of the cave,
The teeeltd (vile of shepherds
in the area being frightened by-
earnoke coming from holes in the
ground. One day, a shepherd
leered into a hole and saw a .
man sitting on a -heap of silver.
According to the legend, the
man gave the shepherd a hand-
ful of silver coins. and he became.
:very rich.
Because of the size of the
mint; its apparent efficiericy,.and
other factors, however, the
archaeologists reject the -bandit
gang theory.
It is a matter of history that
about the middle of the 15th
century, ' a group - of Roman
•Catholic nobles were„waging a
political struggle against the
Protestant ruler of ,the kingdom
of Bohemia, George of 'Pode-
br ady.
The Hussite wars between
Roman Catholics and Protes-
tants earlier in the century had.
ravaged the kingdom and left it
'short of goods and money. The
archaeologists believe that . by
circulating spurious currency
the nobles probably hoped to
add •to George's economic diffi-
culties and bring about his
downfall. •
The mint was ideally situated
for such . a purpose, near the
border • of the territory con-
trolled by George and that over
which- the nobles held sway. '
According. to the archaeolo-
gists' theory,' when .George fin:
ally overcame the nobles' efforts
to unseat him, the Mint was
abandoned and lay undiscovered
until three years ago.
The first clue to its existence
carne in 1950; when blasting
operations in a nearby chall,
quarry •1lnicbvered a horizontal
shaft- in the hillside leading to
another cave, - about 160 feet
under the ground. Archaeolo-
gists.' headed by Dr, Frantisek
Prosek, found in this the skull
.of a• Neanderthal man and skele-
tons of bears, a tortoise, a tiger
and other ice -age animals.
Later, they followed a shaft
leading to an upper cave . and
found the mint thet'e. The ar-
chaeologists believe that the
forgers .knew nothing; of the
eave below them. A third cave,
about 230 feet down, also was
discovered but nothing of ar-
chaeQln,gica1 value was found
in it,
BEE-ITAVE
It's rather a ticklish question,
but did you ever wonder how
a bee got .his back scratched?
Professor V. G. Milum, of the
University of Illinois, did, He
decided to -find out, After long
study of worker bees which
wez!e encased in glass -sided
hives, the professor said that a s
bee is able to cleanse most of
the pollen from •i Is body by
brushing it . off with his legs,
antennae Mid' pollen combs, But
there are still parts of his body
he r'an't reach, So the bee cries
into a 'grooming dantre" -- the
equl$algnt of asking someone to
scratch your back.
If the dance • is 'cottvitrcinti
enough, the "barber" bee will
lend e band by brushin' ntf nnl-
len from the mace eeefile :Tele- •
Grave Robberies
Something rare in the annals
of crime in Britain occurred re-
cently ---it was discovered that
the coffin of a Shropshire nolel,e-
man's ancestor who died in 'the
seventeenth century had been
stolen from the family vault' in
a village churchyard.
Lead thieves are believed to
have been responsible for the
theft. The leaden coffin they took
was the oldest in the vault.
Graveyard robberies are rare
because many thieves are super-
stitious. They believe that to
rifle a tomb inevitably brings
bad luck, but the lure of gold
and jewels has sometimes caused
thieves to defy this superstition.
When an eccentric and im-
mensely rich Irishman died at
theage of ninety-four in 1860,
the story ran that all his wealth
in gold was, by his order, buried
in the coffin with him.
A thief, who heard of the
story .sixty-three years later,
forced an entry at dead of night
through the stone walls of the
tomb and rifled the coffin. Local
belief was that the raider got
away with a fortune in gold.
Gravediggers opening an old
family tomb near Geneva in
preparation for a new burial in
1923 found that thieves had
stripped the body of a woman
of the precious jewels with
which she had been buried.
These included a collar of price-
less pearls and some rings.
In an old vault in a Surrey
churchyard a strange rite is
performed every August -a rite
that goes back to the grim times
of the body -snatchers in Britain.
This family vault, built by a
rich London merchant in 1777,
has been formally opened every
year since 1793, in accordance
with the will of two women
members of the family.
Fearful that after death their
corpses might be carried . off by
body -snatchers, they arranged
for the tomb to be opened regu-
larly to make sure they were
still there !
Operation Stork
The legendary baby -carrying
• stork found a new means of
transport recently when some 30
baby storks were flown . from
North Africa to Switzerland to
replenish empty nests.
For the past 20 years storks
have been becoming more and
more rare in Switzerland, where
the original figure of 240 nests
has- gradually dwindled away to
practically nothing.
Worried by the- exodus, orni-
thologists in recent years at-
tempted to replace them by some
from Alsace, in France, but when
they migrated in the autumn
they never returned.
This year it was decided to
fly baby storks from Algeria,
hoping that they would return
to Switzerland after their annual
migration to warmer countries.
So a group of stork experts,
including Mr. M x Bloesch,
known in Switzerland as the
"Father of Storks," set off by air
from Basle, and in co-operation
with French ornithologists.
caught 30 newly -born storks.
POOR EXCUSE
Erskine lounged into the . of-
- an hour late for the third
time in one week and found the
;•!b'oss awaiting him, arms akim-
.jio. "What's 'the story this time,
'nrekine?" he asked sarcastically.
h,Iiet',s hear a good excuse for a
-chance," Erskine sighed. "Every-
thing went wrong this morning,
boss. The wife decided to drive
me to the station. She got ready
in ten minutes, but then the
draw -bridge got - stuck. Rather
than let you down, I swam
across the river, (look, my suit's
Still damp), ran out to the air-
port, got a hitch in Mr. - Harri-
man's . helicopter. landed on ,top
of Radio City Music Hall, and
was carried here piggy -back by
one of the Rockettes. "You'll
have to do better than that, Ers-
kine," said the boss, obviorisiy
disappointed. "No woman can
get ready in ten minutes,"
MYS1OOL SalOOL
FSSON
It tiart•lay Warren B.A. 4L0.
Jesus Meets Human Needs
Luke 5:12-15, 21-32
Memory Selection: They that
are whole need not a physi-
cian; but they that are sick.
I came not to call the right-
eous, but sinners to repen-
tance. Luke 5:31-32.
Jesus was concerned with all
of man's need. He wasmoved
with compassion when he saw
men smitten with disease. When
the leper approached his saying,
"Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean," Jesus put forth
his hand and touched him and.
said, "I will: be thou clean." He
touched the untouchable and
healed him.
Wherever the gospel goes so
does the ministry of healing.
Missionaries without medical
training can do something to al-
leviate suffering. Doctors and
nurses follow. There are still in-
stances of what is called miracu-
lous healing. Who can limit
God's power? But hospitals alt
over the land bear testimony to
the efforts of man to care for
thesick and assist nature in its
processes of healing. Many things
are accomplished here which but
a generation ago would have
been termed miraculous. As
man's knowledge and sk'll ad-
vance, his dominion me "' l,-
ness and disease is increasing.
With regard to leprosy n' w
drugs that have been discovered
have proved effective, and there
are reports of discharges of cured
patients from leper colonies on
an unprecedented scale. There
are increasingly successful' op-
erations which heln to overcome
some of the handicaps and de-
formities that lepers have ac-
quired. The taking away of ba-
bies born to lepers from their
parents until the parents are
cured or can no longer transmit
the disease has prevented many
new cases from developing
among the young.
In the second half of our les-
son Jesus meets Levi's spiritual
need. Levi becomes a disciple.
He invites Jesus to meet his
friends at dinner, a thing which
Jesus is pleased to do. He went
where there was need and min-
istered to it. John Wesley and is
friend were meeting a man who
was drunk and unpleasant in
appearance. - The - friend said,
"Let'sturn aside: that man's - a
'sinner."-•Weslev- :t'epliefi, -"Let's
talk to him. That sinner is a
man." If we have Jesus we will
share his compaaeion for all the
needs of man: We will minister
to those- needs as ,eve can.
MINIATURE!
During Mark Twain's report-
ing days -in Virginia City, fame
and fortune were still very -much
in .the„future. The wife of the
owner of a big silver mine met
him on C, Street one day with
a cigar box held tightly under
his arm. "Me. Twain," . she re-
proached him, "you promised me
you were - going to give up
smoking cigars." "Madam," re-
plied Twain with great dignity,
"this- box does - not :contain ci-
gars. I am moving my 'posses-
sions frons one abode to an-
-other." -'
Upsidedown to Preven, Peeking
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CAMEL. MINE --Sgt, Herman H, Lee, right, takes time from duties
wi h the Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit station at
Heidelberg, 'Gerineny, to check an ailing circus camel with a
mine detector for bits of stray metal which the animal might
have swalLewad along with his food. No metal was indicated"
and the tynirnal':% int.;l poaition was put down as plain, old-
f;i l''ut1W;1 tuinioreezb e,