Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-12-28

To the Editor OF The Evening Star:
A short time ago the dealers in the Cen
ter Market sent committee to the Com
missoners stating that they were being
undersold by unlicensed hucksters, who.
representing themselves as farmers, sold
inferior vegetables, and also gave false
weight and measure, to their detrlment
and also to the detriment Of the con-
sumers. The farmers were in sympathy
with a movement tending to abolish such
prac as they were crowded out OF the
line on Il street and were also brought into
disrepute by being COMPOUNDED with these
bogus farmers. The law Furnishing those
buying and selling without a license was
amply sufficient to abate this nuisance,
only requiring the services of a detective
for a day or two, or paying one of their
own class to procure evidence and inform
against them.
For the past twenty-five or thirty years
the barrel or peach box has been conve-
nlent package for conveying and selling lot
only other vegetables, but Irish and sweet
potatoes and they are of various capacities.
Should any one represent falsely that the
barrel held three bushels or that the box
held one bushel, he is criminally respon-,
slDle, and the buyer has always the right to
inquire IL the box or barrel holds certain
amount Both the barrel and box have be-
ceptacles for vegetables or fruit. and deal
ers, boarding house keepers and hotels
know to nicely how much each contains,
and will offer more for flour barrel full
of vegetables than for apple barrel full
of the same, and will give more for a large
box than they would for small one.
This year, owing TO the hard times, con-
sumerS have found it to their advantage to
buy potatoes, both Irish and sweet at
wholesale, as they can save from % to 90
per cent by SO doing, and farmers have sold
| more potatoes in peach boxes than ever
before.
Having obtained the sympathy of the
Commissioners and of the public, the deal
ers in the market proceed to carry out
their plan of reformation. They hunt up
an old law that even the judge knew moth
ing of until it was shown to him. and, act
ing under Instructions, Officer Sullivan ar
rests a farmer whom he knows to be no
huckster nor bogus farmer. The farmer Ia
fined in court s. for selling sweet potatoes
without weighing them. There was no at
tempt to show that the farmer said there
was a bushel in the box or misrepresented
them in any way. Acting under the law,
the officer could have arrested any or all
of the commission men doing business in
Washington; but one Of the committee of
dealers toli me: I'VE have no desire to
disturb the commission men, for We can
buy from them our own judgment"
Have not the housekeeper, the small store
keeper and others the same right to ex-
ercise their own judgment, when they can
save from Is to so per cent by so doing?
Knowing that the commission men do
not care to be bothered by small buyers,
the dealers think they may gain small
advantage by making the housekeeper buy
entirely from them instead of the farmer;
meanw lille the bogus farmer goes on sell
ing stale vegetables and giving scant
weight, as usual.
The law is obsolete. The same law seys
all vegetables must be measured, except
potatoes, which must be weighed; and yet
there is not farmer or wholesale dealer in
the United States who does not sell his
produce in boxes and barrels which are of
various capacities. All feed dealers should
at once be arrested, as, unless the buyer
demands it, the corn or oats bought by
him will probably be measured unless he
| buys more than a small quantity. The hay
also has tag stating its weight, which
was only the weight of the bale at the