Evening star., 1900-10-13

| government are usually stored in cellars
| or unused vaults and their very existence
Iorgotton. In one of the eastern states II
| was discovered recently that the gold-plat-
| ed half bushel standard measure was being
used to feed the horse belonging to the as
sistant chief of the fire department.; the
standard pound weight was busy holding a
door open; the gallon measure found its
sphere Of usefulness as a cuspidor and the
smaller prototypes all had jobs as paper
| weights. In another state the custodian
| bored hole In the standard OF liquid meas
ure and fitted 1t with spigot in order to
facilitate the measuring operations.
Effects of Hard Usage.
| Sometimes the state officials begin to sus-
pect that their measures are in need OF
polishing up, and they send them to Wash
| ington for renewal. Thus weights which
never should be handled except with spe-
cially devised instruments come in battered
and bruised and corroded until they have
not suggestion of accuracy about them.
There is no doubt that the public is cheat
ed daily in q thousand small ways by false
| weights and measures. There is a certain
style or scales in common use which the
government experts say should be abso-
lutely forbidden. This is the scale which
mas two pans supported on uprights which
rise from a horizontal bar balanced in the
| middle on pivot. The balance may be
perfect and the weights up to standard. and
yet the customer may have short weight
given him by the simple device of placing
the weight on the outside of the pan and
the merchandise on the side nearest the
pivot. Thus one arm of the balance is
heightened and the other shortened in the
interest of the dealer.
Necessity for New Standards.
The advent of electricity and the general
advancement of science has brought new
work to the bureau of weights and meas
ures. 1t has also emphasized the need OF
adequate legislation under the constitution
al power to provide the country with uni
form standards. All over the land people
are paying for electric light, and yet they
have no standard by which to measure it or
TO gauge the size of their bills except the
say so of the company which furnishes 1t.
There is no legal standard of measure and
the "ohm, which is borrowed from Ger
many may be big or a little ohm as 1t
suits the company to make it. There is no
standard candle power and there is no
way for customer to know whether his
lamp Is of a certain brilliance or not The
same principle applies TO the scale of cleo
trio power for the running of machinery
The United States has bought some testing
apparatus for measuring volts and ohms
from Germany, which Is the source of all
the best scientific equipment, but no effort
mas been made to furnish the states The
appropriation for this purpose has been en-
tlrely inadequate.
Where Accuracy is Needed.
There is almost occupation where the
need OF accurate standards of some kind is
not felt. For example, it is said that it is
almost impossible to get an accurate clin-
ical thermometer. A physician happens to
nave high registering instrument, and all
the patients he is called upon to examine
snow an alarming temperature. A survey
or mas q wrong tape and years later the
error results in a law suit and great loss
Not long ago a discrepancy amounting to
Soo,ooo between bill of lading and the
goods delivered was traced to a defective
hydrCmeter used to gauge alcoholic spirits
Ia the governments Gust tOmS duty on sugar
the importatiCns of which amount to a hun
dred million dollars a year an error of the
smallest fraction in one of the small TASKS
used in the tests will cause a difference in
the amount of receipts amounting to thouS-
ands or dollars. The need for uniformity
IN the customs was recognized in 1850 when
an investigation showed great discrerancies
ment that the Secretary of the Treasury
was compelled to take action without wait
ing for Congress-
The question of establishing an American
standardfzing bureau will come before Con-
SreSs at next winters session. A bill was
introduced last December and was favor
ably reported by the House committee hay-
ing II In charge. The Senate committee on
commerce has not yet given it considera-
tlon. 1t is proposed to create a bureau
with authority to undertake all functions
contemplated by the clause in the Consti-
tuition relative to fixing the standard of
weights and measures Germany has had
such bureau for thirteen wears and Eng
land is not far behind her The United
States has been the least progressive Of ALI
the nations in this respect