Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1868-09-19
LIGHT WEIGHTS.
Important Decision by tie Ar
bItratfon Committee OF the
Chamber OF Commerce.
How Tare shall be Determined.

case iuvolviuga com nercial ca bom WHICH
nss long obtained in our meTca tie c9mmu-
nifty. and thee ore Of great interest," 10 every
merchants, cane up sc. tsrday for settlement
before the Arbitration ommlJJes OF tue Jham-
bsr Of Commerce. The parties at diE-rsnce
and who had cillsd for the arbitration were
Messrs. Clarke, Ey q Co., On The one hand, and
MsssTs. r =. Taylor * Co, o. Tue other.
The subject OF Inference was a transaction
which occurred 90 The 18th Inst, IN Wnicn
Clarke, Ely & Co. we're the purchasers OF I'VE
casks O. bacon from r. :. Taylor q Co., and IL
EhicE the tare on the hOgsleads was iCcor-
rectiy marked. Clarke, Ely & CO. eDptled TIE
casks, weighed the meat, anu oitred 10 pay
Eor its net weight, which proposition Isy.or d
Co. refused, calming 4 settlement on the basis
Of The tare marked by the packer. The matter
was, by mutual consent, referred 20 the C1&in-
Der OF Commerce, which ia Us by-laws pro
vIdeS for uAe settlement OF all such ci1cultles
among its members, appointing II ihAt PW-
pose d standing COMMITTEES on sroit-aI'r.
TIE parties ~ variance and the
me: Yesterday mOraiog in the rooms or The
cha aber OF Commerce, ;. MOaby, Esq, IN the
chair. Mes re. T7y or 8 70. presented, As ls le
CURED by the chamber, a written statement o.
thefr vers' on Of the afEr. Aessrs. Clarke LILY
B 30, not knowing tast it wa necessary, were
mol pre- AIRED, bat NJ. Clarke made a verbal
statement, whicl was taken Gown d. the Sec
EEAAEk o. NAE AA6-AtHAH ~ - 9@-1sA-aa@Aa -
follows. d" IN Jue 10 Inst. I pIrc1a ed i've
casks Of bacon from Messrs. r ). taylor q C.,
and when they wcle delivered. uoic5d an ap-
parent discrepancy Of the marked tsrs and
what 1 conceived II sEOuid be. 1 caused two
Of tie casks 70 be opened and the mea5
wsizhed. aad found that in O-e instance the
ARE was eleven and ii the other IOurlsea
pounds moe than that marked. L notified
s1essrs. TaylO or 4 Co that 1 w0Ii1 only pay
them Tor me msst, aud thsy refused either to
sccept our moaey or to a b .ek Jhs meat.
Mr. Clarke, in making thsstatems nJ, said that
the sum Involved was a vey small one, and
was MT the cause % the appeal 70 arbitration /;
it was on principle, and - bring before the
Chamber ofCommercs and the public this mat
ter OF hgaL weigaU-tu iaiaMous swindle
which IS, and has Deen, for a long ume prac-
uced on the merchant and consumer by the
packers. Two-thirds Of all the Ieas sod IL
mis- market is ugnt weight, and &c vas time
that The matter was maze puzzle. AessrH. Iay-
Tor & Co. we're actuated by the same motives
as b. was. 1here could DC no blame attached
10 them, 1or they were the victims OF the pack
e.. He had requested several gentlemen Wall
acquainted wish the subject TO be present, and
II committee pleased he would AXE TO have
them examined. Mr.. WuiOughby Williams
had purcse ed several casks OF bacon Tor 10
cCunds, which old not average 49,, and some
we-s as low IS leo. Hs contended that Il was
IN uOS5luAG Llal LAia amount E4AaG BG ANHA "
absorption. He did not believe, and was pre-
pared to prove By merchants present, that alb
Sorpti0n would not make a difference OF mose
than two or three pounds, and in many iu-
stances the ssasoRingo of The wood Would cOOn-
terba,anes ths absorption altogether.
Messss. Taylor & Co.'S communication sets
forth substantially As follows;
/. Thstit is not customary 20 have the cask
emptlea and Weighed TO get at the tsre, the
amount marked " the packer being taken as
correct
Z. Clarke, Ely & CO, should nave Ia sds their
objections at the time OF purchase, and not AZ
ter two days had elapsed.
3. Taey claim thaJ the bacon was sold IN the
,snI way-.hst is, the gross weight 1fthe cask
- he ARE marked by the packer.
Toere vss, therefore, no question before the
Committee orthe correctness OF tae statements
oGlhe parties, or Of the gross amounts, or o.
"a. faeJ orths tsre being what MsssFs. Clarke,
Ely ( Co represented. 1t was simply one o.
commercial usage rs 3 right demanded by
Messrs Clarke, Ely a co.
Mr.. wm.Gay was called upon BY the Com
mittee to state how much ought TO be usually
allowed for absorption. He, as a merchant who
haa had q great dsaI OF experIeucs, said, IN his
opiufon, two aud a half pounds "a ibs) was a
sreacient aIlsyancs. In this statement ne was
supported by Mr.. WsrjIow Howard, who put
a. down at from two to tEo and a half pounds
Mr.. Webb re-we ghed ndeen or twenty casks
spd a heavies- gain wss ave pounds.
Tae COMMITTEES having received The state
mems aud heard tie testimony, requested the
i~ntereSfs ed parties 20 retire, and after due con-
sultation, made the follow g decision
That Sfessrs. Clarke, Ely q Co. pay Aessrs. R.
4. Taylor < Co. Tor the gross weight, less the
actDA tare, allowing three pounds Cor ABSORB
ton. The costs al the arbitration were assessed
% Messrs. r.. =. Taylor a Co.
This settles this matter and f0rnishes a prece-
dant. doing away completely with the com
msTcial custom WHICH maks IS The packer'smac
tins obligatory tare, and viii havs the effect 0,
making every merchant re |elgh ms meats
before selling them 70 the consumer. The
,aekinR house from whom tHas lot g meat
Va obtained Is S. A. Hatcl Il Co., oiSt louis.