The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1860-03-28

1t may seem strange to many, and must
no doubt be Illuminating to ALL TO think
that in no commercial nation of the world
bat our own is any system or custom
tolerated by which merchants, manufa ,tur-
ers or producers are enabled to cheat in
tares and even in this country this system
is confined to what is called the West, or in
other words, the valleys OF the Ohio and
Mississippi. There is no reason, no necessi-
tn, that this should be so, and it is absolute
" disgraceful that it is so. The halEciyil-
lied Chinese and the traders of the Indian
Archipelago give us actual tares upon their
teas their spices and their sugars, and so
throughout the West India Islands. In
Cuba there ia no cheating in tares and no
matter what we may say regarding the
deceitfulness or perfdy of the Spaniards
or Portuguese, their commercial morality,
in this respect, is vastly superior to ours. In
Rio do Janeiro so careful are the merchants
about giving actual tare that they not Only
weigh the bags in which coffee is packed,
but also the Irvine with which the mouth
of the bags are sewed up after they are
filed. In this enlightened and civilized
State of Ohio, boxes are made in which to
pack cheese, and barrels in which to pack
lard and butter, with special reference to
swindling the purchasers not by all deal
ers, but by some but system is tolerated
by all which enables the few thieves to dis
grace the whole community. In Louisiana
some dishonest planters have their sugar
hegsheads made so that they will weigh
twenty to sixty pounds more than the Gus
tomary tare calls for; and in this way the
price of cheese, butter, lard and sugar is OBJ
tanned for timber.
A week or so ago a cheese box was ex-
L. iGbanna tho hnftpv,, 81 ,iob
was one inch thick aud of the solidest white
oak, and the weight of the whole was fifteen
pounds more than the customary tare and
in this way the purchaser had to pay 81 so
for the box Samples of the heading of
surar hogsheads have also been exhibited
from two to two and a half inches thick,
sawed, and of the heaviest description of
wood. showing, beyond doubt premedi-
tated fraud and upon the packages to which
this heading belonged, the loss of tare ran
from thirty to sixty pounds per hogshead.-
We have seen lard barrels with heading one
and a half inches thick and the slaves
ut the ends, in some places, three-quarters
TO one inch thick, upon which the loss in
tare ranged from ten to fifteen pounds per
barrel Now, it must be understood dis
tinctly that we do not here intimate that this
is generally the case-far from it but these
whole trade is disgraced by them; and not only
so. but injured. The dishonest trader is by
this system given the advantage of the hon
est and honorable one. No men are more
honorable and just than the planters of
Louisiana, as a body; STILL by permitting
this system of ten per cent. tare to prevail,
they are fostering, nay, sheltering, a few
among them who are disgrace to any COM
munity, and who are by their acts stigma
tizing the reputation of the whole. They
should, therefore, abandon the system of per
cent. tare, and adopt actual; and compel all
to brand their names upon their goods.
In this State t.ere is a stringent law,
compelling actual tare on all goods, wares
or merchandise packed in the State; but it
is comparatively a dead letter. If it was
amended so as to cancel all contracts in
which actual tare had not been given, it is
probable that parties would be more careful.
The Chambers of Commerce of New Orleans,
Cincinnati, ST. Louis and Chicago should
take this matter in hand, and by concert
of action this whole system could be easily
abolished, and the correct one fully ana
generally established, aud our commerce re-
Iieved of a foul stigma.