Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-11-27
THE LAWS A
%DEADlETTER
A DECISION IN THE DISTRICT
COURT FAR-REACHING IN
EFFECT.
THE KREIG CASE
WAS DISMISSED TODAY,
Because the Law Relating to Standard
Weights and Measures ma Not
Been Complied With.

Judge Clancy struck the case of the
state against ohm L. Kreig a blow on
the solar pleXus today n knocked 1t
over the ropes. The blow is one in which
every merchant in the city and county
and those who do a weight business with
them are Interested. for it establishes a
precedent in relation to dealings betWeen
debtor and creditor which can be rect1-
fled only by compliance with a law that
has been heretofore entirely ignored In
Butte. The only class of merchants it
affects, however. are those who sell their
merchandise by weight.
In the summer of 1898 Mr.. kreig was
arrested on a charge of having sold the
Maggie Sisters. keepers of a
meat at various times. and charged
them more than the weight of their own
scales called for. On the 22nd of July
of that year the sisters had their scales
! compared with the standard scales Kept
in the Office of the city clerk. but it SO
happened that these scales are not the
brand for which the law of the state
calls. The law on the scale proposition
is as follows:
Section 530-The state sealer of
weights and measures has the general
supervision of the weights n meas
ures of the state. He must take charge
Of the standards, procure at the expense
of the state any that may be necessary,
and see hat they are kept in, and in
no case removed from, a fire-proof vault
in his office. except for the purpose of
comparing and copying. He must cor
rect the standards Of the cities and
counties, provide them with necessary
standards. balances and other mean of
adjustment. and as often as once in
49, 80 80 A. 800 ~.:Al Al.~-~
in his possession. The standard weights
and measures Of the state are prescribed
in chapter VI, title VII, of this code"
Section 1886 Of the same code reads
as follows: IAN vendors and traders in
goods and merchandise, gold lust and
other articles of traffic, must have their
balances. weights and measures COM
pared with the standard of their re-
spective counties and approved and
marked by the county sealer, and if
the same are found to be correct. to be
sealed with the name or initial letters
of the county inscribed thereon, or CON-
demned by him if found incorrect. and
marked condemned.
The secretary of state has complied
with the law SO far as the county is
concerned. but he has never furnished
the city with the necessary apparatus
Tor weighing. ana as IOr the county
scales. they are practically a dead leu
ter. They are located in the office OF
the county clerk and recorder. and sc
far as known no merchant In the city
or county has ever compared his own
scales with them. or had a comparison
made by anyone else.
Kreig was convicted In a Justice cour.
but he appealed to the district body
The case came UP for trial yesterday
This morning j. L. Wines, attorney fol
the defendant. objected to the testimony
of one of the Misses Maggie and j. T. Col.
Inns on the ground that while it was ad.
mitted hat they had compared the
scales of the former with those at the
city hall the city hall scales were not o.
the brand the law required.
In presenting the matter to the cour
he cited a decision rendered in a similar
case in Wisconsin. the law of which II
regard to the maintenance of weight!
and measures is the same as that O.
Montana. In that case Judge Wines
opinion in the Kreig case was upheld. AM
at the conclusion of the argument Judg'
Clancy sustained the objection. AS tn,
county attorney had no other evidence t.
offer he asked hat the case be dismissed
and the court pressed the button.
According to the decision of the tudg'
it would appear that any man that owe
a bill at a store for goods sold him b!
weight can escape the payment OF tn
same by fighting the case. as no mer
chant here has ever compared his scale
with the proper standard.