The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-02-20
SOME PEDDLERS
DISHONEST.
They Use Methods That Are
Much Below the Standard.
MAKING OF SHORT MEASURES.
Methods BY Which Purchasers Are Fleeced
by Tricky lilnerantS.
BREECRING STRAP BROUGHT INTO USE
False Bottoms Put In Measures 10 Reduce Their
Holding Capacity = Fraudulent Tln'ReasuTes
and Scales Bill 10 funlSh Users.
Methods by Which Purchasers Are fleeced
by Tricky lilnerantS.
BREECRING STRAP BROUGHT INTO USE

II is stated that there is quite busi-
ness carried on i'm this city in the di-
rection OF making fraudulent measures
and these wooden measures, after be-
ing sealed by the sealers of the city or
of the surrounding towns. are made
smaller for use by dishonest peddlers.
Many of these measures are II is claim
ed, used by the Hebrew peddlers OF
the North END. but others have been
found in the hands of American ped
dlers.
According to the city sealer OF
weights and measures. there is one
shop in the city i'm which breechnS
strap is kept for the special purpose
OF drawing together again the ends OF
the measure after the bottom has been
altered. The usual method is to take
a peck measure and draw circle
around the bottom with pair OF COM
passes. IL the measure has Deen
stamped by the sealer at the edge to
provide against this very thing. the
circle is drawn TO include this stamp
i'm the wooden bottom. The bottom is
then sawed out along the lines or this
circle. the rivets i'm the side of the
measure having first been taken out.
and the side allowed to spring out
again TO it's length. as one piece or
tough. seasoned wood
After the bottom has been made
smaller, the side is put on again. the
ends being drawn together and over
tapping each other with the breechinS
strap, and n new set of nails put IN,
sometimes six or eight inches from the
first line OF rivets The old line always
shows. and can be seen on the inside
Of the measure if looked for. The
measure then holds about six quarts.
perhaps. and is used for a peck meas
ure. and bears on its bottom the stamp
OF the sealer for anyone who wants TO
see livery few persons ever think OF
looking at a measure. III is or the
usual height. and apparently conforms
TO the usual standard of measures in
every particular.
This is one of several methods of al
tering q wooden measure, but there are
others that the peddlers practice False
bottoms are put in. sometimes, to re-
duce the amount the measures VIII
hold. These are usually discs OF wood,
Just large enough To fit snuglY inside
the measure. and generally about an
inch in thickness. They do not always
fit tightly. and sometimes the fraud is
very apparent. Another common method
is to take something from the top OF
the measure and thus reduce its size.
Sometimes this is done neatly, i'm an at
tempt to make il appear that nothing
had happened to the measure, and
sometimes IL is done roughly as if
the TOP had partly broken off from
use.
There is also a great deal OF fraud
practiced with tin measures. and this
also applies to scales and balances. and
now an effort is being made to find a
remedy for this state of things. Under
tho old law 70 convict n man of using
false measures ii was necessary to ac-
tually detect him in their use. the
penalty being $40. The act submitted
TO the General Assembly at this ses-
sion provides that possession shall be
sufficient. and gives the sealer tha
right to enter and search any wagon
The measures sealed so far this year
have been better than those OF last
Year or the year before.