The Waco daily examiner. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 187?-1888, 1881-12-06
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
SHALL "a inform System be
Adopted. with an Inspector"

Some months ago the EXAMINERS at
tention was directed, by business men,
to the subject of weights and measures,
with the view to calling forth public
discussion of the matter, and, eveutu-
ally, to the establishment of uniform
system throughout the city, under the
supervision of an inspector. This
paper, being the first to agitate this
question, feels at liberty to allude to it
again, more especially as it has the
sanction of the Marlin Index, in which
journal is found the following refer
eDce to what is seemingly very i'm
pOrtant business matter. That paper
says:
Several persons have called at the
Index Office within the past few weeks
and asked us to expose instances of
short weights. As related by the indi-
viduals the sharp practice has been
resorted to i'll the most wantOn manner.
When these statements are made over
their own signatures, space Will be
given The Index holds that mer-
chants are entitled to IA fair margin on
their merchandise, and on the other
hand consumers are entitled to fair
weights. There should be an inspector
of weights and measures III every town,
not for the purpose of watching honest
dealers, but to protect the mass
of the people against swlndlers. The
shirt cuffs of this town, if deciphered,
would tell fearful tale of tricks IN
weights. A certain farmer came to
the city with a bale Of cotton to sell.
The cotton was weighed and the
weight marked on the cuff. The
cotton was sold to better ~
bidder. The cotton was reweighed and
the farmer, seemingly contented, re-
ceived the money according to the
second weighing. An estimate was
made and it was found that the farmer
had received just $3.50 less than the
first offer. Swindling of this character,
SO we are informed, Is becoming Il
little monotonOus. Such conduct on
the part of dealers cannot be less than
downright swindling. The Index is
not the custodian of the peoples
rights, but it Will here add that
rumpus will be kicked up if such d
system of fraud does not cease to be a
matter OF complaint. There are many
people IN this, as well as other coun-
ties, that are ignorant they have be-
come a prey to the swindlers. They
should be protected"
SO far as the EXAMINER knows there
is no swindling III weights in Waco, if
we except the instance of Cross, some
weeks since, and this question is not
urged on that score; but such
things do occur elsewhere, and the
trading public naturally grow more
and more suspicious, and are more
liable to injure an innocent party than
a guilty one, for the latter are but few
at best and generally cautious
enough to cover their actions.
Nearly all the larger Texas towns
have adopted the inspection system, for
the reason that it affords almost abso-
lutte guarantee that nothing unfair Is
practiced or possible, and, furthermore,
does away with illegitimate dealings by
fixing a uniform scale, from which, IN
their efforts of competition, dealers
have no reserve fund on which they can
get even," or, i'll other words, they can
not make up on one article what they
may have lost on another i'll their
anxiety to outdo rival While VT do
not know that such Is the case, 1t is net
improbable that the same suspicion
may have attached to our city
as the Index indicates il resting upon
Marlin, mayhap uniustly, but none
the less injurious III its influence. The
trouble and expense of the adoption of
uniform weight and measurement
would he so light as hardly to enter
into calculation and it would etlectu-
ally silence any objections which, if not
now existing, may in the near future.
An honest dealer land We candidly be
Iieve this includes all Waco Dealers
has no objection to rule which does
not effect him, and one who is not hon
est il easily made SO. We think there
is preponderance of opinion in favor
Of such plan, if 1t could be unified.
The instance related by the Index is a
strong argument on one side of the
question at least 80 Examiner
would be gratitied to hear from one
or more of the merchants Of the city
on the subject under discussion.