New-York daily tribune., 1843-07-29
The s1easuring Monopoly.

General, we have been furnished oy d ci'iH'i
with some facts bearing on the question al ISSUE
which we deem it our duty to submit 70 inc
public
It is known that this is no party question, IN d
Political sense and we feel justified IN FeInafHls
that the parties to it are emphatlcahy INC great
n,.ss of business men OH ono side ana the
official Measures on the other. This Official mo-
nopoly of Grain-measuring at prce whlch seems
,o rs eyorb;tant rs cents per hundred bushels
was created avowedy for the benefit of the buy
ers and sellers Of Grain, for else affected
by it. And yet the great mass-we bcheye all
of those who are thus sought to be benefited, no.
tens colcns, expressly reject the proifered boon,
and declare that they can beg Or borrow guinp
ton enough 10 know whether halfbushel Is
filled without troubling State officer to take
care OF them. Ought not this to be conclusive
If a buyer and seller Of Gram, who have struck
a bargain think they have W.T. enough to employ
a proper person TO measure 1t for them, II seems
to us very clear that they ought 10 be allowed to
DO it; but if the great body Of the buyers and
sellers insist on being allowed to employ Official
measurers or unofficial as they shall see III, by
what right does the State Government interfere
and say they shall not have the privilege II
the proper measuring of the Gram between them
were to affect third persons and the public gen
eraIy. there might be an excuse for State ln'cF-
ference but as it is, why not let them employ
whom they please?
Il rcf
and obtained judgements against at least one
man who was hired by Tie 'ceck to do measuring
and whatever else might be required OF hun. One
other has been sued who is boaa fdc working for
a bare pittancc Of $50 per week, on which he
has to support large family. verdict against
this man will strip him of months earnings,
and take away the bread Of his children. Let US
say again, since Mr.. Grout deems it so hcnous,
that we believe it will be tough job for any
Jury to give verdict against this man, however
strongly they may be charged.
We cannot believe that the Legislature ever
meant to punish man for being 50 hired by the
week and set TO measuring Gram. What IS he
TO do? Ifhc refuses, he disobeys orders and IS
thrown out of employment; if he obcys, the
Mcasurcr General is down upon him and strips
him of his earnings. They never had such law
as that in Algicrs.
Mr. Grout cxults over the glorious liberty al
lowed to every man TO measure hls own Gram II
he chooses. SO he can; but a heavy dealer IN
Grain has not time to measure all he buys with
his own hands and if he sets his clerk or hired
man to do it---or if the clerk of the buyer and
mate of the seller arc set to measure It between
them--that is held d violation of the law OF -,
and Paul rains down upon them! As that law
is interpreted, no clerk or laborer in gralnstorc,
grocery or fecd-storc, can measure the Grain OF
his employer without subiecting himself TO
penalty of S25! What would be hard case if
this is not
Mr. Grout speaks of cases III which Gram has
been incorrectly measured by those not IN Office
Cur readers need not be told that this might hap
pen with an official measurer, and we are assured
that it has happened even under the vigiant
Gcneralship of Mr. G. a case was related TO us
in which an error of seventeen bushels IN one
cargo was detected. As to setting the measure
plump. &C, we CANNOT OOuuJ tlldt q Guy llICd-
surcr could do that, and common man, uuslfted
by the official stamp, might learn 1t IN d month
But as q plain laborer generally fills the measure
and son of Ethiopia strikes it, while the official
stands upon the dock and keeps tally the wisdom
and virtue pumped into the lattcrby the Governor
and Senate have hardly chance to fructiiy and
dcvclope themselves in the plumbing of the mca-
sure,
But there are of course two stories as TO the
abilities of these commissioned gentlemen One
of the heaviest importers of grain into the city
has testified that he hired common man to nlca-
sure grain because the ncw.mado officials were
utterly ignorant Of their business! One OF thcm
for instance, while measuring out the cargo of a
vessel inquired whether tie gram before his eyes
was Barley or What He had evidently not
been inspired from Albany on that point.
We have more to say on this subject.