The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-08-10
MERCHANTS PROTEST.
Ask Mayor Hoos to Veto
the Scales and Weights
New Ordinance.
COMPLAIN THE TAX IS UNJUST
His Honor Replies That Many
Merchants Are Using In
correct Weights and
They Still Retain
Them.

The new ordinance imposing a tax for
! examining weights and measures by the
Inspector whenever he shall call on a
tradesman in the year has stirred up the
tradesmen of Jersey City. who, one and
all, denounce it as an unjust burden.
They say the community. Who receive the
benefit of inspecting scales. weights and
measures, should bear the tax.
To induce Mayor Hoos to veto the or
dinance about thirty representative mer-
chants met in the Mayors office. City
Hall, yesterday afternoon. Among the
speakers were J.. w. Beach. James e.
| Banks, James T. Newton, J. T. Cough.
of the Merchants Protective Assoeia-
ton, who all denounced the ordinance as
unfair.
James Waters Of the Travelling Mar
ketmen's Protective Association, said
that strict watch should be kept on the
| street vendors. who had discarded the
legitimate peck measure and had substi-
! tuted a basket considerably less than
the STANDARD measure. The vendors
measures should be stamped by the In
| spector.
j. w. Beach complained that the tax
was exorbitant. To sell bottled goods a
license of $3.50 was required, and there
We're only two firms IN Jersey City hand
ling these first-class goods in competition
| with firms in New York. The additional
| burden would be severe.
James t. Newton said that the mer-
| chants do not object to their scales and
weights being examined as often as pos
| sible, but that examination ought to be
a police or city duty, and the public
should pay for it, as 1t affected the pub
lie at large. The ordinance. he complain
| ed. had been railroaded through the Al
| dermanic Board.
Counsellor J.. Anderson of the Mer-
chants, Protective Association, who had
left the breezy climate Of the Catskills
to fire a few legal points at the Mayor,
asked why should the merchants, who
are already heavily taxed. pay a tax for
the benefit of the community. He had
/ looked up the charter and he could find
no authority for the tax imposed on the
merchants. In 1887, Justice Dixon held
that every awful tax rested on legisla-
tive enactment, and when any snbordi-
nate body seeks to impose a burden 1t
must show clear, warrantable authority
from the statute to do so. In this in
| stance. Mr.. Anderson said. he could find
none. ana W0uDQ UP Will Lilo pCi1A
your Honor shouldn't send us to the
Supreme Court to test the constitution
| alitv of this ordinance; it is not inlDor-
tant enough"
The Mayor, after quietly listening to
| the speeches. unfolded a roll OF many
| sheets of paper, closely written, and at
ter scanning them closely said that the
| Inspector had made this report to him,
that of late he had found a large NUM-
Der of merchants using short weights
and some of these merchants prominent
What was the Inspector to do? On the
one hand, he was criticized for not doing
his duty. and on the other for doing it
too much.
II believe continued the Mayor, that
| it is for the public benefit to have weights
| and measures examined as often as pos
| sible. In this list which I hold in my
| hand and which l am bound to accept as
true, because it is made by a sworn Off
| Ger Of the city, I find that out of forty
nine merchants nine had short weights
| Out of seventeen in another class eleven
| merchants carried short weights. I don't
think the Inspector visits places frequent
~ from any political motive. The ordi-
nance permits him to make his visits as
he sees fit. and he tells me that he has
visited some merchants, found their
weights short, gone back again and found
no change had been made
Wallace Black once weights inspector,
said that during his experience in that
capacity he a failed to find any short
weights among merchants. A merchant
could have weights up to standard and
still cheat his customers.
James E. Banks said that scales don't
protect the public II a merchant desired
to defraud his customers.
Mr.. Zimmerman said that the Inspector
had visited him and told him that his
weights weren't correct. He afterwards
bought new ones, but he knew two cases
where the Inspector had not Inspected
the scales at all.
Mayor Hoos sent out for Inspector
Rohde to come and answer the criticisms
which were beginning to fall thick and
fast on his method OF conducting the du-
ties of his office, but that gentleman
could not be found.
well" said the Mayor in conclusion.
II will consider your arguments, and, as
you see, / have still some time yet, /
could have railroaded it through. but I
kind but give 1t patient and thorough att
tenfione"
The deputation withdrew. 1t is under
ctaaS that tha A favor will sign the ordi-